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Sunday and Monday mornings saw us waking up to light coverings of snow here although on both days it soon turned to rain. Since then it has been very cold, almost as though we are having a proper winter for once.

Garden Moths 2024.

For various reasons including but not limited to poor weather and family commitments, my garden moth trapping in 2024 was very erratic and completely went to pot in August, so much so that I decided to knock it on the head for the rest of the year.
Nevertheless, I still saw some nice moths which included the only new species for the when I ran the trap for the first time of the year on the night of February 3rd. This was a Spring Usher, a very variable and common enough species that had avoided my garden up until then.
That first night also produced a Dotted Border, another very variable species as shown by the two examples below, the first one from the 3rd and another from the 14th February.
The last week of Feb and into March saw the usual spring species such as Common Quaker, Hebrew Character and Clouded Drab appear but not as many as in previous years.
This continued through March and into April with the added appearance of a few favourites such as Oak Beauty, Brindled Beauty and Waved Umber.
The night of May 2nd produced a Puss Moth, just the second one I have ever had here after the first one back in 2016 which was the year I started running the moth trap here.
Mid May produced the first Hawk-moths of the year with both Lime and Poplar Hawk-moths turning up on the night of the 17th. Lime Hawk-moth in particular seemed to have a good year here with three turning up on the 17th plus a couple more later in the month.
I also reared a few Lime Hawk-moths from eggs left me by a female in 2022, most of which emerged later in June. I remember using flash to take some photos of these due to the poor light on the dull days we were having then.
Two of these pupae did not emerge this year but still look to be healthy so I am interested to see if they will emerge this coming spring. This would not be the first time that I have had moth pupae go through two winters before emerging and this is recognised to be a fairly common occurance in some species. I cannot help but wonder if it happens sometimes with some butterfly species too, I am sure I remember reading about it happening occasionally with reared Orange-tips but not sure if if it occurs in nature.

The only other Hawk-moth species I had was Elephant Hawk-moth, a couple of which appeared in late May and Mid June.
June and July saw most of the usual summer species appear in the trap but with one or two exceptions the numbers for most were down on previous years.

A couple of Black Arches turned up on the night of 29th July, an attractive species that I had only seen here for the first time in 2023. This is a common species further south and is another one that appears to be extending it's range northward in recent years.
Old Lady Moth numbers appear to be holding up well around my garden with a few coming to the trap again in 2024, sometimes two or three a night. It is sometimes said that these don't often come to light but it would appear that they respond better to actinic traps like mine ( I use a twin tube robinson with a 30w actinic paired with a 15w green synergetic tube) than they do to M V lamps.
I also had the Ni moth pheromone lure out a few times in July and once again it proved to be a more effective Silver Y lure with 20 attracted to it. This compared with 47 in 2023 which was down to putting the lure out fewer times due to poor weather. In both years this was about four times the numbers that came to the light trap.
Despite the mostly less than favourable conditions, I still managed to get a Dewicks Plusia to the Ni Moth lure, just the one compared to 6 in 2023. I've still not seen anyone actually get a Ni Moth to this lure.
The last night that I ran the trap in 2024 was on the night of 27th August which produced a reasonable for here total of 195 moths of 33 species (inc. micros). These were all typical of what I would expect to see in late summer as shown in the list for the night shown below.
The end of August and into September saw a number of named storms track across the country bringing high winds and thunderstorms and this pattern continued through most of the autumn.
By now I had become so erratic with my trapping that decided to knock it on the head for the rest of the year and look to start again in the new year, perhaps sometime in early February.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Wednesday 26th February.

Despite some decent sunny spells recently, I have not managed to see a butterfly yet, although that is pretty normal for me here.

I have seen my first moth however as my wife Jane called me into the kitchen last night to see a moth that was settled on the window outside. I went out to pot it and identified it as a Dotted Border, a typical early season species.
I haven't yet put my moth trap out this year and looking at the low overnight temperatures for the next few days it looks like I will be hanging on for a bit still.

After a wet day today, we have some more sun forecast for the next few days although temperatures look to be in single figures still before looking to be on the rise next week.

Bye for now,

Neil.

I do like the look of the Black Arches Neil I found a massive pupa on the path at lunch today, right in the middle where it would get trodden on so I've but in the glass case in the cold store and hopefully it'll be a Hawk Moth

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2025 6:28 pmDespite some decent sunny spells recently, I have not managed to see a butterfly yet, although that is pretty normal for me here...

Think Thursday will see that change, Neil. Temperatures are forecast to be 14c in the Midlands.

Cheers Wurzel. Much like Marbled Whites, that simple black and white contrast is what makes them so attractive. Fingers crossed that your pupa turns out to ne a nice Hawk-moth.

Thanks David. Yes, Thursday looking to be the warmest day this week before a wet day on Friday. At least it looks like the rain will be gone again for the weekend.

Tuesday 4th March.

On Sunday I saw my first butterfly of the year as reported in the sightings thread. By it's size and general impression this looked to be either a Comma or a Small Tortoiseshell but it was too quick and gone too quickly before I could be sure.

This afternoon a walk around the usual sheltered spots at my local spot by Wagon Lane produced a single Comma that I spotted basking on the path in front of me as I approached one of the usual 'Comma corners'
This turned out to be the only butterfly seen today. Although it was a touch warmer than of late, some high level cloud had drifted over which flitered the warmth from the sun somewhat. At least my fingers and nose didn't get so cold today.
I also noted the complete lack of nectar souces here so far, no dandelions and the earliest flowering blackthorn stand is nowhere near to coming into blossom yet.

The big elephant in the room is the poor showing of both Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock here last summer. Part of me is hoping that I simply missed some due to the poor weather at the time which resulted in them going into early hibernation. Another part of me however is concerned that the Small Tortoiseshells in particular are going into one of their periodic downturns, the last of which happened here around 10 years ago when they became very scarce for a few years before bouncing back.

Bye for now,

Neil

Congrats on the first sighting and photo Neil, it's always good to break the 'duck' in the new season Hopefully the Small Torts will bounce back and put in a good showing, fingers crossed

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Thanks Wurzel. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the Small Torts especially given how good they have been here over the past few years.

Thursday 6th March.

Following yet another cold night and a frosty start, clear skies and plenty of sun eventually made for a pleasant morning although it did take a while to warm up. By the time I was free to have a wander down to my local spot by Wagon Lane in the early afternoon we were starting to see some clouds building up although with the breeze now coming from the south it still felt like the warmest day this week albeit a bit short of what the forecasts from a couple of days back had indicated.
A circuit round the usual spots ended up producing 3 Commas with the first one spotted in the same place as I saw the one on Tuesday, although this one was definitely a different individual.
As I was taking photos of it on the ground a shadow flitted across, and it took off to intercept what turned out to be another Comma. I watched as they spiralled up and then separated to land again, the original close to where it had been and the interloper a few yards away.
Continuing on my rounds I found another Comma basking at the base of some brambles, making it number three.
These three were the only butterflies that I saw before the clouds built up into a blanket overcast and it became quite dull.

Tomorrow is now looking to be cloudy here with some showers before it improves again for the weekend, but temperatures are currently forecast to slide again next week.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Great to see more Commas Neil And all the sweeter as I saw my first today

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. Even more Commas coming up

Saturday 8th March.

A light southerly breeze and a few wisps of light high level cloud made for a really pleasant day today. After doing my usual Saturday morning chores, I made some hot-dogs for lunch and afterwards toddled off down to my local spot by Wagon Lane.

On the way I stopped to admire a nice display of miniature daffodils that have come into bloom over the past couple of days.
Continuing on around my usual circuit it soon became obvious that the warm sun today had tempted a few more Commas out with a conservative count of 9 scattered all around.
I also had a flypast from a rather tatty looking Red Admiral which circled round me before disappearing off into the distance, by far the earliest sighting of one of these I have ever had here. I wouldn’t like to guess whether it had overwintered locally or had come up with the recent southerly wind, possibly the latter given the Painted Ladies that I have seen reported from down south.

The best butterflies for me however, were a couple of Small Tortoiseshells, especially considering my recent comments about my concerns for this species here this year.
There were also a pair of Buzzards that spent some time spiralling around each other higher into the sky. I tried to get them both in shot together but didn't manage to before they became just distant dots in the viewfinder.
So then, a dozen butterflies on my best day here so far. Tomorrow (Sunday) is looking to be similar and Monday may not be too bad but temperatures from Tuesday onward are taking a dive again and we even have some sleet or snow in the forecast for Wednesday. Fingers crossed the colder spell doesn’t last too long.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Those Small Torts are a cracking sight Neil There was definitely something in the air Comma-wise over the weekend - I did really well for them too!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Sun Mar 09, 2025 8:48 am..The best butterflies for me however, were a couple of Small Tortoiseshells, especially considering my recent comments about my concerns for this species here this year...

For sure, Neil. Had my first yesterday and I don't think I've ever been so delighted to see one in all my life.

Let's hope they recover after last year's annus horriblis.

Thanks Wurzel and David, a few more Commas and Small Tortoiseshells today

Wednesday 19th March.

Following the recent run of poor weather I had not been down to my local spot by Wagon Lane for a week or so but a definite improvement today (Wednesday) tempted me for a look this afternoon.
The biggest difference in conditions today was the breeze, which although still feeling slightly cool, had lost the cold bite of recent days and with plenty of sun it was feeling quite pleasant.

My usual circuit soon started producing butterflies and I ended up with a count of 6 Commas and 2 Small Tortoiseshells, plus a couple of rapid flypasts that could have been either.
About halfway round, a white butterfly bimbled slowly part me and plonked down just long enough for me to get a record shot which confirmed my first Small White this year.
Without checking my records, I reckon this is by some measure my earliest one of these I have seen here. I certainly don’t usually see a Small White before either Peacock or Brimstone, neither of which have appeared here yet, perhaps tomorrow which is forecast to be a few degrees up on today, as is Friday, before it then becomes more unsettled again for the weekend.

Bye for now,

Neil.

That's a great find that Small White Neil Things seem to be getting off to a start now, hopefully it will be a little less fitful than last year

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Great news of the Small White sighting Neil. Makes me optimistic of a sighting just up the M42 from you.

Thanks Chris. Unfortunately, nothing else since until today. Thursday was similar weatherwise but I had too much on and didn't get chance to go out again. With the weather turning on Friday and a dismal, wet weekend, that was it until this afternoon.

Monday 24th March.

After the turn in the weather on Friday and a cloudy and gloomy weekend with some heavy rain on Saturday night into Sunday morning, this morning started off cold and cloudy once again. The clouds broke up through the morning however and by midday it was feeling almost pleasant.
Early afternoon saw almost clear skies with just some thin high level cloud although a light breeze was once again coming from the north-east which kept the overall temperature down a bit. It did feel warmer in the usual sheltered spots though and I felt sure that a few butterflies would be taking advantage and coming out to play.

An hour or so wandering around my local spot by Wagon Lane produced a decent haul of 12 Commas and 4 Small Tortoiseshells. The blackthorn is now starting to flower and the warmer weather forecast for midweek should see it in full blossom.
I spent a while searching the blackthorn and at first all I could see was a few bees but then a movement high up pulled my eye to Small Tortoiseshell which stayed up high and turned out to be the only butterfly seen on the blossom.
Most of the other butterflies were seen either basking low down or on tnagles of old bramble stems.
Still no Peacocks or Brimstones here so just the two species again today.

Bye for now,

Neil.

I'm surprised in the lack of Brimstones and Peacocks Neil Still nice to see the Small Torts- is it just me or does the black extend down more than usual on the hind wings of the last Small Tort?Gives it a nice look

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Hi Wurzel. In 2023 my first Peacock was on 4th April and last year on 24th March. It is worth remembering that for me, nothwithstanding a couple of random February sightings and this years early emergence of Commas and a few Small Tortoiseshells at the beginning of this month, the third week of March has been consistently when things kick off here.

For Brimstone it was 7th April in 2023 and 11th April last year. These are always a bit hit and miss around here and if it was not for the alder buckthorn that I planted in my garden a few years ago, I would struggle to see any at all around my immediate neighbourhood. They become a bit more common once you get out into the countryside either to the east or south of Solihull where they may be seen patrolling the hedgrows along the country roads and lanes.

Wednesday 26th March.

Not a bad day yesterday (Tuesday 25th) but I had a couple of appointments which did not leave enough time to do anything else.

Today was supposed to be the warmest day of the week but we had a blanket overcast here which did not start to clear until around midday. Once the clouds started to clear they thinned out quite quickly until around 12.45 we were left with mostly blue skies with a few white fluffy clouds drifting across the sky. There was still a lingering coolness in the air though, no doubt due to the overcast hanging around for so long, and the breeze had a bit of a chill to it, especially when one of those fluffy white clouds covered the sun.

I wandered down to my local spot by Wagon Lane where my usual circuit produced seven Commas today, a few down from the twelve seen on my last visit on Monday. Three of these were chasing each other around the blackthorn which is now in blossom and between their squabbles they would settle for a bit which allowed me to get a few photos.
No other butterflies were seen, no Small Tortoiseshells today and still no Peacocks.

So then, not the warmest day of the week after all, in fact I think Monday felt warmer. Lets see how the next few days turn out.

Bye for now.

Neil.

Thursday 27th March.

In a complete reversal of the previous forecasts, today turned out to be the day that yesterday should have been. Early cloud soon dissipated to leave us with mostly clear blue skies with some scattered white clouds and plenty of sun.

I hadn’t originally intended to go down to my local spot by Wagon Lane today but given the way it looked to be turning out I rushed through some morning chores and after a bit of running about, I put my boots on, grabbed my camera and wandered down just after 1.00pm.

It was definitely warmer today with the breeze having switched around to come from the south-west instead of more northerly direction of the past few days.

After spotting a couple of Commas which I didn’t bother photographing, having seen plenty of these recently, a bright yellow butterfly flew past me, my first Brimstone of the year. As it happened, a cloud covered the sun at this time which prompted it to plonk down in the grass. I crept up on it, hoping to beat the sun and snapped off a few record shots as the sun reappeared.
As I did this, I noticed a Bee Fly come into the viewfinder as can be seen as a blur in the bottom left of the photo above. I was surprised to see this bee Fly land on the Brimstone and remain there whilst I took a few more photos before they both took off again. The Bee Fly was also the first one I have seen this year, so a two for one
I have seen Brimstones with smaller flies on their wings before, no doubt attracted by heat radiated off their bright wings but never seen anything so large on one.

The next butterfly seen was a Small Tortoiseshell which turned out to be the only one seen today.
Given that I had now seen a Brimstone, I was on the lookout for a Peacock and was wandering along a grassy path when I put up a butterfly from just in front of me. A flash of maroon wings and a glimpse of eyespots gave me my first Peacock of the year and I watched as it disappeared into the distance across the open park area of this site. I reckon it had been settled with its wings closed in the warm afternoon sun which meant that I had completely missed it on the ground.
Circling back around I arrived back at the stand of blackthorn that is now in flower and spotted a Peacock on the ground with its wings half open a little way in front of me. I just managed to take a couple of ropy record shots before it took off to intercept something that had flown over, another Peacock. They disappeared over the hedgerow so I hung around for a bit hoping that one or the other of them would return, which one eventually did and settled on the path a bit further along.
There were also a couple of Commas around this spot, one of which gave me the chance to get a few more shots on the blossom.
The count for today ended up being 8 Commas, 1 Small Tortoiseshell and 3 Peacocks. I also reckon I ended up with 4 different male Brimstones given the whereabouts and timings that I saw them around the site. If I counted every time that I saw one it would have been 8 but I am certain that half of these were repeat sightings. I did see 2 in the air at the same time so I know that that there were at least that many. Either way, this is a good count for this site where they usually turn up one at a time.

There was also a single Small White that flew past me close enough to ID but it didn’t stop anywhere that I saw.

By mid afternoon, the light breeze was picking up somewhat, probably the first hint of a weather front that is supposed to be bringing in a band of rain overnight and which will lead to cooler temperatures for the next couple of days.

Bye for now.

Neil.

Monday 31st March.

After a bit of a mixed weekend with a dull overcast on Saturday afternoon and a cold wind yesterday (Sunday) that kept temperatures down somewhat, a return to more settled conditions today made it feel a lot more pleasant.

A wander around my local spot by Wagon Lane between 12.30 and 2.00pm produced 14 butterflies, these being Comma (4), Peacock (8) and Brimstone (2). It will be seen by this that Comma numbers are dropping whereas Peacocks are on the up. This is the normal sequence of event here where it is usually a tossup between Comma and Small Tortoiseshell as to which I will see first with Peacock usually being the last of these three.
No Small Tortoiseshells today, despite a few being seen so far, they are proving to be a bit thin on the ground here this spring.

With Orange-tip, Holly Blue and Speckled Wood now appearing further afield around the midlands, perhaps the good weather forecast for this week will see them showing up here soon…fingers crossed.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Exactly the same around here, Neil, Comma numbers dwindling, but Peacocks on the up.
No Small Torts for me yet. Very much enjoyed your Comma on blossom shots.