The Coronet

Thanks so much to you all for the presents for yesterday's offering. As expected, the moth trap last night attracted a bumper catch, including eight elephant hawk moths, which is more than we get in total in some years! I was out at midnight watching the moths spiral down towards the irresistible lamp. A bat was taking advantage of the honeypot and I watched it chase and consume one unfortunate individual. We also acquired a large frog who consumed at least one moth, as well as a watchful audience of cats.

The first swallowtailed-moth (see extra) of the year was seen, absolutely pristine, not a scale out of place. There were also several examples of The Coronet, also very fresh and exhibiting wonderful hues of green, aqua and purplish-brown. This species is widely distributed, but not common, throughout much of Britain, and ismore frequent in the south and south-west. Its habitat preferences are woodland, commons, downland and marshy places, and the larval foodplants are ash and privet, both very plentiful locally.


It was just as well that I had another early morning photoshoot as today has been sweltering and I've spent most of it helping to prepare food for a Father's Day barbecue. Lizzy's parents joined us and we had a wonderful evening together. Alex is proving to be rather an expert at barbecuing and all the meat was perfectly cooked - not a single charred offering. The meat was accompanied by a wide range of salads prepared by Chris and me, and there's enough left over to provide packed lunches for a couple of days!