Butterflies and Moths

Sunday, June 19th 2022

When the sun shone and the wind dropped it was amazing to see what was flying around Foxglove. A glimpse of blue could have been a Common Blue Butterfly, but the first insect to be photographed was a Small Heath Butterfly, in a different place from last year.

There are two skipper butterflies on the reserve, Large and Small. Sometimes it is easy to distinguish between them, other times they leave you wondering if they have actually read the books on ID! I took this photograph and thought Small, but when viewed on the computer screen I thought Large. I'll let you decide, suffice to say this is a skipper butterfly!

Another movement and a quick click of the camera revealed a Painted Lady, not in brilliant colour as it had flown from the continent. These first migrants will breed and we will have pristine Painted Lady butterflies by the end of summer. Some of these adults will then migrate back to the continent.

The moth trap was emptied and another Eyed Hawkmoth was revealed. When placed on a leaf it decided that I was a predator and opened its wings to show its frightening eyes!

Something yellow caught my eye and on following it for a little while it finally showed its forewings, with not too much vegetation between me and it, to enable me to see that it was a Yellow Shell moth. Not frequently seen nor caught in the trap very often.

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Upcoming Events

Pond Dipping 2

Wednesday 10th August 2022 | Various sessions throughout the day - starting on the hour

Come along and find out which minibeasts are living in some of the habitats at Foxglove. Book a minibeast session for your family bubble. There will be a socially distanced brief to set you off and then you can use the equipment for the remainder of the session. You will be requested to use hand gel on arrival and the equipment will be cleaned between sessions. Please call the Reserve Managers on 07754 270980 to book your allocated slot. You are advised to arrive 15 minutes before your allocated time.

A donation in advance (card payment by phone) of £5 per family bubble is required in order to secure your booking.

All About The Bugs! 2

Wednesday 17th August 2022 | Various sessions throughout the day - starting on the hour

Come along and find out which minibeasts are living in some of the habitats at Foxglove. Book a minibeast session for your family bubble. There will be a socially distanced brief to set you off and then you can use the equipment for the remainder of the session. You will be requested to use hand gel on arrival and the equipment will be cleaned between sessions.

Please call the Reserve Managers on 07754 270980 to book your allocated slot. You are advised to arrive 15 minutes before your allocated time.

A donation in advance (card payment by phone) of £5 per family bubble is required in order to secure your booking.

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