A NEW WEBSITE!

As of March 2015, an official website for Surrey Moths has been set-up here. There you'll find information on everything to do with the Surrey Branch of Butterfly Conservation, including the updated events calender for 2015. Hope to see you there!




Friday 1 October 2010

a splendid puzzle

I've not done much trapping of late... work and weather have been against me. But I had a 'splendid' experience. I trapped a rosy rustic on 27th September. Then I remembered that I'd recorded one on 27th July. An alarm bell rang in my head - a rosy rustic in July? I looked back at my photo records and, sure enough, the 'rosy rustic' was something different. But what? I've consulted various experts and the consensus is that it is a splendid brocade - a species so new to the UK that it doesn't appear in my field guide. If it is finally confirmed as that species it will be a 'second' for Surrey. The first for Surrey was found about 10 miles from my home at Reigate, just six days earlier. Trawling through the web, I have discovered that there was an influx of splendid brocades into coastal Kent around 20th July, with about 20 being reported. So nothing is proven as yet, but it's fun to be involved in such a puzzle.
As I had dismissed it as a 'common' rosy rustic I didn't bother getting a really good pic - which is a shame. I'll also post a couple of other recent catches.


?Splendiferous brocade

garden carpet


rosy rustic

barred sallow

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