Almost a Target

There are several species which would have made it onto my target species next year, but didn't as they were found this year. Last year, one such species was Scalloped Hazel, but I did see one last June (just the one (incidentally, I have had several this year)), and one of these happened a week or two back.

So when I say target species, I mean 10 specific species, which I plan at the start of the year, and try to find throughout the year. That said, there are some species, which I go out to find, with them being a target species for the day, but not one of the year species. So here's the story of that "Almost Target" Species.

Of the resident Hawk-moth species, most are common, but two are more localised. Not only that, but unlike the other resident hawk-moth species, they do not fly at night, meaning that there can be no trapping sessions for them. They are the two Bee Hawk-moth species.
I have been keen to see one of the Bee Hawks for a little while now, so for bank holiday Monday, I decided it was time to find one.
It has not been very good mothing weather for most of April and May so far (only the last few nights have been good), and as I turned up at Powerstock Common, the winds were picking up and the sun was hidden by clouds. I was hoping that, like butterflies, the bee hawks would still be flying about despite the wind.
Anyway, I wondered onto the old railway line, and kept an eye out for moths, scanning every Bugle flower for the moth. The first moth to turn up was a Nettle-tap, not new for year, and a common day-flying moth. The next moth was a Pyrausta species, but alas, it got away before I could pot or ID it.
The first macro moth of the day was the dull form of Small Purple-barred, the first I've seen of this form, and I've only seen the moth on two occasions before. Then next thing on the wing wasn't a moth, but a butterfly, a Dingy Skipper, the first of which I had seen not far from my house the day before, and shortly after that a Red Twin-spot Carpet & Dichrorampha acuminatana turned up.
Wandering around, I noticed some plants which I'd never seen before, which looked a lot like orchids. A quick look in the book confirmed they were in the same family, and were Common Twayblade.

Pre-flowering Common Twayblade.

As I neared the edge of the railway, a sneaky look under a metal sheet produced a Common Shrew, not a moth, but a welcome site. I had almost given up all hope, but they a large bee flew in front of me.
And, you've guessed it! It was a bee.. No such luck here, it actually took a further five minutes or so before I actually managed to find one. My camera was turned off with the lens cap on, so I didn't manage a photo, but it definitely was one, a Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth.
Now, that just leaves one resident hawk-moth now, the Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth. Bring it on!

Walking around the rest of the walk produced little of great note, but some nice things. One Roe Deer did turn up, and a Buzzard and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were the only birds of note. Despite the poor weather, on the insect front I managed to find the longhorn beetle Rhagium mordax on a small tree, and the leafhopper Cercopis vulnerata. Plants include Common Spotted Orchid and a Primrose-Cowslip hybrid (that one confused a person who knows little on botany!).

Rhagium mordax

Here, have a cygnet:

 

That one was cute, but there's not really a story to tell with it.

So this week I had a couple of hours to kill, so I wondered down to Chesil Beach, to see what I could find on the moth front. It was sunny, but quite windy sadly, so no Cinnabars or Mother Shiptons on the wing. The only adult moth species I could find were Elachista argentella, which there were quite a few of, and on the caterpillar front were 5 Garden Tigers and a single Six-spot Burnet.

Garden Tiger cat.

The real prize was on the beach, where 15 Barrel Jellyfish were washed up on the strandline waiting for me. Sadly I was nearing the end of my 2 hours, so could only manage to photograph a couple before leaving, I would have liked to look for a living one in the sea, but alas, I didn't manage this.

Barrel Jelly

Also, is it me or were Swifts late this year, only the last couple of days have I seen them and heard their "screams" in the evening. That said, Swallows and House Martins appear to be in smaller numbers than usual, hopefully they will arrive all in due time.

Now, only the last two nights have I run my traps. Two nights back I ran my MV in the garden, and produced over 30 species, of which many were new for year, including Scalloped Hazel, Buff-tip and Mullein. Netting the same evening produced more species, including a Galium Carpet, and Tinea semifulvella, which was new for me.
Last night I ran my MV at work, and my Actinic at home. The actinic produced 20 species, with 3 species being new for year, my favourite being a Puss Moth, which has always been one of my favourite species of moth (after Angle Shades and several others).

Puss Moth

The trap at work produced just under 30 species, though far greater numbers that I had at home the night before, though the majority of moths were Clouded Border, of which 24 turned up. Again, several species new for year, and of note, including Sandy Carpet, of which I've only seen once before, on the coast path in Devon, Tawny Shears, which I've seen once on Chesil Beach and once in the old garden, but the real highlights of the night were the new for me species, of which there were two. They were the micro Epinotia subocellana, which is a rare moth in Dorset, and 2 Light Feathered Rustic, the nationally scarce noctuid.

Light Feathered Rustic