Where did June and July Go?

As you can see, I'm not a natural blogger, preferring to spend most of my time out in the field. My photographic file is expanding rapidly, as is my moth list. This is mostly due to having had the opportunity to travel around a bit more. As my wife only recently joined me in retirement, at the end of July, the months of June and July were an opportunity to go on some extended tours. A four day trip to Ireland expanded into a two and a half week saga that encompassed Wales, Norfolk and some remote parts of Scotland. The Irish trip was to try to photograph White Prominent, a moth that was only rediscovered in the south west of Ireland last year after about 100 years without a record. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in our endeavours despite "help" from the people who rediscovered it. We did, however, turn up a lot of good records for that part of Ireland, so at least someone profited from our excursion. We will return next year and trap in the place where we had thought it might be but didn't actually go to. I did manage an excursion to the famous Burren while over there and caught up with the Irish form of Transparent Burnet.
























Transparent Burnet

A much more successful trip was to look for Pine Tree Lappet in Scotland. This species has also been recently discovered. The Forestry Commission were keen to find out the extent of its range and enlisted the help of amateur naturalists to augment their own efforts and give greater coverage. Our group managed to attract twenty one males to light traps with pheromones placed alongside them. A further seventy individuals were trapped later in the week by a second group of amateur naturalists who made the long drive up to Scotland. It was good to see the Forestry Commission and their professional ecologist showing such an enlightened approach to the use of amateur naturalists. While appreciating the need for caution due to the continued existence of collectors, most people I trap with are fervently anti collecting and a good photograph or a sighting is all they seek. The extra they give back in better coverage and a wealth of ancillary records makes for a win/win situation.



Pine Tree Lappet

While in Scotland, I took the opportunity to catch up with one or two other species that had long been on my wish list for late June but that small thing called work had intruded.

New Forest Burnet

Kentish Glory larva



Northern Emerald