Saturday 31 March 2018

Sevenoaks Moths for March

Oak Beauty, Biston strataria.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 24 March 2018.
Oak Beauty, Biston strataria.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 24 March 2018.
Once a month (usually) I go to Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve to unpack a moth trap that has been set out behind the visitor centre the evening before.  (These traps are harmless and the moths and any other visitors are all released.)

Here are some from the March catch that are all different from those I have had so far in Crowborough.  First, an Oak Beauty, one of the prettier early moths.

Early Thorn, Selenia dentaria.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 24 March 2018.
An Early Thorn.  Thorns are my favourite moths for looks.  This species sits with its wings clasped above its body, like a butterfly.

Yellow Horned, Achlya flavicornis.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 24 March 2018.
Yellow Horned, Achlya flavicornis.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 24 March 2018.
These are Yellow Horned.  They look only faintly yellow to the naked eye, and not really very horned, but enough of both for a good name to be found.  The one on the left is only showing its underwings because it has been disturbed.

Twin-spotted Quaker, Anorthoa munda.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 24 March 2018.
Twin-spotted Quaker, Anorthoa munda.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 24 March 2018.
A Twin-spotted Quaker.  This moth is common in areas of deciduous woodland.

Brindled Beauty, Lycia hirtaria.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 24 March 2018.
Brindled Beauty, Lycia hirtaria.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 24 March 2018.
A Brindled Beauty, showing off its antennae like huge eyebrows.

We also had this visitor in the trap:

A ground beetle, Carabus nemoralis.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 24 March 2018.
A ground beetle, Carabus nemoralis.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 24 March 2018.
A large ground beetle, Carabus nemoralis.  This is a carnivore, and although moths are not its normal diet (it likes slugs and worms) it will happily eat them if they come down to ground level.  I am pleased to say that I did not find any half-eaten specimens or discarded wings.  In my Hayes trap I often found left-over wings in the summer.  That was down to the local ants, which came in through cracks in my trap.  Lots of small creatures can be as dangerous as one large one.

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