DIARY

For returning visitors this page gives recent additions via brief reports on recent excursions for photography

Fermyn Woods.   A pilgrimage to visit His Majesty in early July found us in Fermyn Wood and Lady's Wood, with several sightings of Purple Emperors. The highlight was a male in a mad chase of a female. She eluded him and took refuge perched on Annette's shoulder for a minute - see photo in Butterflies, Nymphalidae.   We also found a White-letter Hairstreak nectaring on brambles - see photo in Butterflies, Lycaenidae - Hairstreaks.

Moths.   Having sold our flat in Chichester almost all the moth trapping in spring, early and mid-summer was in the garden in Disley, where we often ran two traps. This occasionally brought in very large numbers of moths, with a record of 462 moths of 54 species on 25th July. Of this catch over half (262) were Large Yellow Underwings. We have trapped a number of species for the first time in the garden - Common Lutestring (14/07), Yellow Shell (13/07), Vine's Rustic (29/05), Glaucous Shears (11/05) and Shoulder-striped Wainscot (11/06). We also had three species that were additions to the all-time list as well as to the garden - Maiden's Blush (07/08), Bulrush Wainscot (11/08) and Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (25/07). Photos are posted in Moths under various families.

Sussex in September. We stayed for a few days at Funtington, near Chichester, then near Three Oaks in East Sussex. Moth numbers were modest, but we trapped some new species - Four-spotted Footman, Scarce Bordered Straw and Webb's Wainscot.