Wax Moth, Vine's Rustic and other moths

Angle Shades, Phlogophora meticulosa

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

On Sunday evening our balcony light attracted many moths, including a new one, a Wax Moth (Galleria mellonella), so called because the larva feed on honey bee larvae, pupae, and pollen and honey. 

Other moths: Angle Shades, Common Plume, Marbled Beauty, Poplar Grey, Vine's Rustic, Rusty Dot Pearl and Setaceous Hebrew Character.

Angle Shades, Phlogophora meticulosa

Angle Shades

Common Plume, Emmelina monodactyla

Marbled Beauty, Bryophila domestica

Marbled Beauty

Poplar Grey, Subacronicta megacephala 

Vine's Rustic, Hoplodrina ambigua

Rusty Dot Pearl, Udea ferrugalis

Setaceous Hebrew Character, Xestia c-nigrum

Wax Moth, Galleria mellonella

Wax Moth

Seal top spoon terminal

seal top spoon terminal, circa 1600. 3.6cm

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

On Sunday I went metal detecting and found a seal top spoon terminal c.1600. At first I thought it was a pipe tamper, but our club expert identified the artefact. similar items can be seen here:

https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/103054

https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/408099

Also a military button, and a copper brooch plus buttons and halfpennies. Jim spotted a pair of mating Red-tailed Bumblebees.

The previous Thursday I found a copper clothes fastener which the guys reckon is old but I cannot find a similar one to give a period to it.

Red-tailed Bumblebees mating, Bombus lapidarius

military button

copper brooch 2cm wide

copper brooch reverse

copper clothes fastener 16mm long

fragment 22mm

Roman coin? 6mm

Tree-lichen Beauty and other moths

Tree-lichen Beauty, Cryphia algae

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

On 7 August I had a new moth visitor on the balcony, a Tree-lichen Beauty, Cryphia algae plus six regulars.

Brimstone Moth, Opisthograptis luteolata

Langmaid's Yellow Underwing, Noctua janthina

Marbled Beauty, Bryophila domestica

Marbled Beauty

Rush Veneer, Nomophila noctuella

Shuttle-shaped Dart, Agrotis puta

Steyning Downland scheme

Common Blue female, Polyommatus icarus

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

During visits to Steyning Downland on 6 and 9 August I saw Cinnabar larvae, Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns, Yellow Shell, Common Footman, Common Nettle-taps and many Horse Chestnut Leaf Miners on nettles by a chestnut tree covered in brown leaves by the path. Many juvenile common lizards were on mole and ant hills plus a Blue-tailed Damselfly cleaning itself on a nettle. In the enclosed prunus area I spotted a tiny moth, 2mm long, dancing around on a bullace leaf. It is a Stigmella species but there are many which look identical. Scrubland Pigmy (Stigmella plagicolella) has prunus as its foodplant so it may be this. There were also many bug species and other insects.

22-Spot Ladybird, Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata

Alder Spittlebug, Aphrophora alni

Blue-tailed Damselfly, Ischnura elegans

Blue-tailed Damselfly cleaning itself

Box Bug late instar nymph, Gonocerus acuteangulatus

Cinnabar larva, Tyria jacobaeae on Hoary Ragwort, Senecio erucifolius

Common Footman, Eilema lurideola

Common Green Lacewing, Chrysoperla carnea

Common Lizard, Zootoca vivipara

Common Nettle-tap, Anthophila fabriciana

Cranefly, Nephrotoma scalaris

digger wasp female, Ectemnius species

Dock Bug nymph, Coreus marginatus

Fire Bug, Corizus hyoscyami

Gatekeeper, Pyronia tithonus

Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner, Cameraria ohridella

Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner

hoverfly, Chrysotoxum bicinctum

Leaf hopper, Eupteryx urticae

Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina

Mirid Bug, Liocoris tripustulatus

Pearl Veneer, Agriphila straminella

Sand wasp, Crabronidae species

possibly Scrubland Pigmy, Stigmella plagicolella

Yellow Shell, Camptogramma bilineata