11 June Moths

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Taking advantage of a lovely warm, still and dry evening, I caught a good selection of moths, including my first Elephant Hank-moths of the year.

Hogweed Flower Beetles

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Lots of beetles taking pollen on the Hogweed flowers at Kemerton Lakes Nature Reserve. Mostly they were Swollen-thighed Beetle (Oedemera nobilis), of which there were very many, but I did also find this nicely marked Black & Yellow Longhorn (Rutpela maculata).

1st June Moths

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Not an ideal night for trapping, as it was a bit windy, but more moths again - 51 moths of 30 species, including several new ones for the year. Swallow-tailed Moth, The Miller and Common Carpet are not ones I catch very often.

Green Dock Beetle - Gastrophysa viridula

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This Dock leaf has been reduced to a lace-like skeleton. Turning it over the culprits are small black larvae of the Green Dock Beetle (Gastrophysa viridula).

Juvenile Jackdaw

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This juvenile Jackdaw got itself grounded in our alley and couldn’t get airborne again. I put it up on a neighbouring roof to give it some height and get it away from the local cats, while all the other jackdaws in the area flew around checking what was going on. After a while an adult bird came down to check on the youngster, and then afterwards when I next looked both birds had gone - hopefully to somewhere safer.

Bank Holiday Moths

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A fairly typical selection of moths for the end of May. 17 moths of 15 species recorded, which is average for the time of year.

Moths - 11 May

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Been busy, so a small delay adding some photos from last week. These are fairly typical moths for May-June. plus the first Cockchafer of the year.

#1018 Downlooker Snipefly (Rhagio scolopaceus)

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Found this fly, the first Snipefly for my garden, in the kitchen window. Rhagio scolopaceus is ab fairly large fly with long legs and distinctive black marks on the wings. It typically lives in woodland where its larvae grow in leaf litter. They are called “downlookers” as the males often perch on tree trunks looking down towards the ground, but this one is a female and was in a more up-looking mode.

#1018 Downlooker SnipeflY (Rhagio scolopaceus)

#1017 Mullein Moth (Cucullia verbasci)

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After a mini heatwave for the time of year. I put out my moth trap on one of the colder evenings and din’t catch much. But one of the few was a Mullein Moth (Cucullia verbasci), a moth that files in one generation in April-May. Its conspicuously-marked caterpillars are found on Buddleia (and of course, Mullein).

Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis puta) is the most frequently caught moth in this season, with a second generation in Aug-Sept. This week I caught several - all males, like the one pictured (females are quite differently coloured)..

Lace Weavers

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I came across plenty of spiders while tidying up the shed and replacing some rotten timbers. These are two lace weavers, which produce a web of fine spider silk, usually around some kind of funnel or a hole/crevice.

Firebug Nymph (Pyrrhocoris apterus)

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Firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus), known locally as “Gendarmes” are common in France, often associated with Lime trees. This is a nymph, not a full adult, found in the garden in Frejus. Seems these bugs didn’t become too widely established in UK yet. The small beetles are not identified - one morning there were thousands of them all over the outside of the garden compost bin.

More Flowers from Provence

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These are a couple of beautiful flowers found on a short walk around Frejus. Small-flowered Catchfly (Silene Gallica), or Silene de France, is found on rough ground all around the Mediterranean. This version, Silene gallica quinquevulnera or Five-wounds Catchfly, with its pale edges to the petals is the common one in the Var and is especially pretty. The impressive looking orchid is a Violet Birds-nest Orchid (Limodorum abortivum) or Violet Limidore. This is a parasitic orchid living off fungi that are associated with the roots of Oak trees. It is found especially in Southern France, in damper and shady woodland.

Easter in the Massif de l'Esterel

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Back in the Var in southern France, we took a couple of hikes in the coastal range of the Massif de l’Esterel. In summer the hills are very dry and it’s also hot for hiking unless you are up early in the morning, but in April there’s lots of flowers. This selection was mostly photographed on Mont Vinaigre - a great hike too giving 360 degree views along the coast and across to the still snow-covered Southern Alps of the Mercantour National Park.

Warm Days, Chilly Spring Nights

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Daytime temperature bis up to 20 Celsius, but the nights are clear and still quite cold at night, even a touch of frost some mornings. It’s also nearly full moon, so there are not too many moths flying yet. These though are a pretty trio, and harbinger of more to come as Spring draws on.

Dark-edged Bee Fly (Bombylius major)

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I snapped this Dark-edged Bee Fly basking in the sunshine earlier in the week. These flies emerge in March and and are very fast fliers, unless you are lucky enough to catch one taking a rest. They lay their eggs in bees nests where the bee fly’s larvae eat the larvae of the bees. The long snout looks menacing, but it is just to take nectar from flowers. I didn’t see any at all last year as early Spring here was so miserable, so this one is appreciated!

Black Sexton Beetle (Nicrophorus humator)

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These sexton beetles are a regular catch in the moth trap during March-April. It’s always good to catch a big beetle! The adults overwinter emerging in the Spring. They tend to fly at night, searching by smell for dead birds or mammals, where the female lays her eggs and on which the larvae subsequently feed.

Quakers & Early Spring Moths

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After some warmer days, this was the first outing in 2025 for my moth trap, catching some typical moths for mid-March. All of these moths fly for a couple of months in a single generation in the early Spring.