Next generation of moths

Whilst out looking for Purple Hairstreaks and Purple Emperors this week at Roughdown, I spotted a couple of moths in their pre-adult stages of development. A Burnet moth species had formed a chrysalis on a stem of Agrimony…

Burnet sp (likely 6-Spot) chrysalis on Agrimony

And, a fabulous Small Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila porcellus) larva was feeding on Hedge Bedstraw. The head of the mature larva has incredible eye-like markings on the top. When alarmed, the larva retracts its long nose/mouth parts or trunk (from which its name is derived) and rears up like a snake. Very convincing it is too.

On the 11th June, the Trust mothing team trapped a Small Elephant Hawk-moth adult at Roughdown and it could well be the parent of this larva!

Left: larva/caterpillar; Right: adult/moth. Both photographed at Roughdown

Purple Hairstreaks!

Fellow Trust volunteer and experienced butterfly recorder, Brendan Sheridan, sent the following news:

"Carried out my [butterfly] transect walk on Saturday morning [18/07/2015]. Nothing particularly unusual until I had almost finished when I caught sight of a Jay watching me from a tree close to the access track to Lower Roughdown. Whilst keeping an eye on it to get a photo my attention was taken by three butterflies moving in an upward spiral above the tree canopy. I watched two of them eventually settle and flit intermittently around the upper branches of the canopy for the next 10 minutes.

This was my first sighting of Purple Hairstreaks (Favonius quercus) since 2013 (also at the exact same location). Pleased to see that they are still on Roughdown!"

This is really fantastic news and they should be around until early August.

Track to Further Roughdown from locked gate. Purple Hairstreaks seen in tree tops, right hand side.