Kithurst meadow Brown Argus

Brown Argus, Aricia agestis

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

I attended a camera sensor cleaning course at Cameracal, West Chiltington on Saturday. The sensor is the equivalent of film from way back. We used to ration ourselves to 36 shots Underwater you couldn't change film so it was even more important to ensure every shot counted. Today we are limited only by the size of our memory cards and the battery charge. I am unlikely to be challenged by these limitations as I have 100GB in memory, always go out with a fully charged battery and carry a spare. However, the sensor collects dust, especially pollen in summer which makes a spotty mess on the glass covering the electronic sensor. The particles are so small they seep through joins in the camera and lens. I found that a couple of months after having the sensor cleaned, it was covered in spots again which show up badly on clear light backgrounds when used with small apertures. I had to remove these spots during processing in Lightroom.  Anthony Sinfield's 4 hour sensor cleaning course is designed to enable you to clean your own sensor safely. There were 3 students and 2 instructors, both extremely knowledgeable and they gave us a thorough grounding in the theory and practice - highly recommended.

On the way home I called in at Kithurst meadow. There were plenty of butterflies and a few moths, including Chalk Hill Blues, Brown Argus and Straw Dots.

Blood moon - Sussex version

One day earlier we would have had a wonderful view of the Blood moon eclipse. However on Friday the rains came and this was the best view!

Brown Argus, Aricia agestis

hand held, wide aperture, no flash. The rest are with flash, small aperture.

Chalk Hill Blue ♂, Polyommatus coridon

Straw Dot, Rivula sericealis

Straw Dot

Kithurst meadow's July butterflies

Brown Argus, Aricia agestis

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

I visited Kithurst meadow yesterday afternoon and enjoyed the spectacle of many flowers and grasses up to waist height. I saw 17 butterfly species: Brimstone, Brown Argus, Chalk Hill Blue (2), Comma, Gatekeeper, Green-veined White, Large White, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Small White, Painted Lady, Peacock, Red Admiral, Ringlet, Silver-washed Fritillary, Small Heath, Small Skipper. Moths: Common Plume (Emmelina monodactyla), Silver Y, Six-spot Burnet. At one point 12 Whites were tumbling in the air together, including a Marbled White. Silver-washed Fritillaries flashed by and included a mating pair.

14-spot Ladybird, Propylea 14-punctata

Brown Argus, Aricia agestis

Chalk Hill Blue, Polyommatus coridon

Comma, Polygonia c-album

Common Plume, Emmelina monodactyla

unidentified larva on a bramble leaf

tumbling Whites

False Oil Beetle, Oedemera nobilis

Gatekeeper, Pyronia tithonus

Green-veined White, Pieris napi

Large White, Pieris brassicae

Nettle-leaved Bellflower, Campanula trachelium

Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui

Painted Lady

Peacock, Inachis io

Peacock

Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta

Red Soldier beetles mating, Rhagonycha fulva

Silver Y, Autographa gamma

Six-spot Burnet, Zygaena filipendulae

Small Heath, Coenonympha pamphilus

Small Skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris

Small White, Pieris rapae

Moths galore and a sparrow feast

Burnished Brass, Diachrysia chrysitis

The warm still nights on 6th,7th and 8th July have brought 46 species of moths to our balcony light, including many new ones to the list. I turned on the light at dusk and leave it on all night. Most moths arrive between 10pm and midnight. I have been going out 5-6am and sometimes several new species had arrived overnight. One morning there was a lot of tweeting from the hedgerow and while I was still on the balcony a sparrow flew past me, grabbed a moth from the wall and settled on the railing a few feet away. The moth was fluttering in its mouth then the sparrow flew off. Cheeky bird!

balcony list:
Anacampsis species
Bird-cherry Ermine, Yponomeuta evonymella 
Bright-line Brown-eye, Lacanobia oleracea
Brown House Moth, Hofmannophila pseudospretella
Brown-tail, Euproctis chrysorrhoea
Buff Arches, Habrosyne pyritoides
Buff Ermine, Spilosoma luteum
Bulrush Cosmet, Limnaecia phragmitella
Burnished Brass, Diachrysia chrysitis
Cloaked Minor, Mesoligia furuncula 
Codling Moth, Cydia pomonella
Common Footman, Eilema lurideola
Common Rustic, Mesapamea secalis
Common Wainscot, Mythimna pallens 
Cream-bordered Green Pea, Earias clorana 
Dark Arches, Apamea monoglypha 
Dark Ash Bud Moth, Prays ruficeps
Dark Strawberry Tortrix, Celypha lacunana 
Dotted Oak Knot-horn, Phycita roborella
Double-striped Tabby, Orthopygia glaucinalis 
Elder Pearl, Phlyctaenia coronata
Fleabane Smudge, Digitivalva pulicariae 
Flounced Rustic, Luperina testacea
Four-spotted Footman female, Lithosia quadra
Garden Grass-veneer, Chrysoteuchia culmella 
Garden Midget, Phyllonorycter messaniella
Heart & Dart, Agrotis exclamationis 
Inlaid Grass-veneer, Crambus pascuella 
Long-horned Flat-body, Carcina quercana
Marbled Minor agg., Oligia strigilis agg.
Marsh Dowd, Blastobasis rebeli
Obscure moth, Oegoconia species
Poplar Grey, Subacronicta megacephala
Riband Wave, Idaea aversata 
Rosy Footman, Miltochrista miniata 
Silver Y, Autographa gamma 
Small Dusty Wave, Idaea seriata 
Small Magpie, Anania hortulata
Small Red Slender, Caloptilia rufipennella
Swallow-tailed Moth, Ourapteryx sambucaria 
micromoth, Syncopacma species 
The Coronet, Craniophora ligustri 
V-Pug, Chloroclystis v-ata
White-line Dart, Euxoa tritici
micromoth white with black spots, Yponomeuta species
unidentified micromoth

other insects:
froghopper, Aphrophora pectoralis 
Harlequin Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis
Lacewing eating fly, Micromus species 
Mirid bug female, Deraeocoris flavilinea

Mirid bug, Lygus pratensis

Anacampsis species

Bird-cherry Ermine, Yponomeuta evonymella

Bittersweet Smudge, Acrolepia autumnitella

Bright-line Brown-eye, Lacanobia oleracea

Brown House Moth, Hofmannophila pseudospretella

Brown-tail, Euproctis chrysorrhoea

Buff Arches, Habrosyne pyritoides

Buff Arches

Buff Ermine, Spilosoma luteum

Buff Ermine

Bulrush Cosmet, Limnaecia phragmitella

Cloaked Minor, Mesoligia furuncula

Codling Moth, Cydia pomonella 

Common Footman, Eilema lurideola

Common Rustic, Mesapamea secalis

Common Rustic

Common Wainscot, Mythimna pallens

Common Wainscot

Cream-bordered Green Pea, Earias clorana

Dark Arches, Apamea monoglypha

Dark Arches

Dark Ash Bud Moth, Prays ruficeps

Dark Ash Bud Moth

Dark Strawberry Tortrix, Celypha lacunana

Dotted Oak Knot-horn, Phycita roborella

Double-striped Tabby, Orthopygia glaucinalis

Elder Pearl, Phlyctaenia coronata

Fleabane Smudge, Digitivalva pulicariae

Flounced Rustic, Luperina testacea

Four-spotted Footman ♂, Lithosia quadra

froghopper, Aphrophora pectoralis

Garden Grass-veneer, Chrysoteuchia culmella

Garden Midget, Phyllonorycter messaniella

Harlequin Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis

Heart & Dart, Agrotis exclamationis

Inlaid Grass-veneer, Crambus pascuella

Lacewing eating a fly, Micromus species

Long-horned Flat-body, Carcina quercana

Marbled Minor agg., Oligia strigilis agg.

Marbled Minor agg.

Marsh Dowd, Blastobasis rebeli

unidentified micromoth requiring microscopic examination
of a specimen as there are many similar looking species.

Mirid bug female, Deraeocoris flavilinea

Mirid bug, Lygus pratensis

unidentified moth

Obscure moth, Oegoconia species

Poplar Grey, Subacronicta megacephala

Riband Wave, Idaea aversata

Riband Wave, Idaea aversata ab remutata

Rosy Footman, Miltochrista miniata

Rosy Tabby, Endotricha flammealis

Rosy Tabby

Silver Y, Autographa gamma

Small Dusty Wave, Idaea seriata

Small Magpie, Anania hortulata

Small Red Slender, Caloptilia rufipennella

Swallow-tailed Moth, Ourapteryx sambucaria

Syncopacma species

The Coronet, Craniophora ligustri

V-Pug, Chloroclystis v-ata

White-line Dart, Euxoa tritici

Yponomeuta species