During the winter the only butterflies seen in the garden have been the occasional Red Admiral. With recent warmer temperatures things at last seem to be stirring. A Comma was seen amongst primroses at Glendurgan gardens on the Helford Estuary. … Read More
This pre overwintering Oak Eggar caterpillar, Lasiocampa quercus, was found in our Cornish garden in early October. A good example of a moth species with larvae that radically alter their appearance as they moult skins and grow. Unrecognisable from the … Read More
Numbers of migrant Clouded Yellow butterflies in south west Cornwall have been low this year. Certainly not a Clouded Yellow Year compared to 2014 when we were lucky to witness the spectacular sight of hundreds in a single field by … Read More
This American Painted Lady butterfly, Vanessa virginiensis, a very rare butterfly for the UK, was recorded and photographed by Rowena Castillo-Nicholls and husband Rob at Nare Head on the Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall on the 20th September. Rowena is a … Read More
In the South West of Cornwall the larvae of the Vapourer Moth that inhabit the moorland regions have yellow setae and pale yellow or pale orange markings. The one featured with unusual bold, rusty orange dorsum markings was recorded by … Read More
Good to see Jersey Tigers again in our garden in South West Cornwall. This will be the third successive breeding year of this spectacular species since they first arrived in the garden as migrants in August 2019. This year the … Read More
Unexpectedly high numbers of Painted Lady butterflies were seen yesterday on a coastal site on the Lizard Peninsula, in South Cornwall. Since the southerly winds that had brought the large numbers of migrant Striped Hawkmoths had been replaced for over … Read More
This time of year the Cornish coastline is looking its best. Rugged cliffs and blue seas providing as stunning backdrop to a rich diversity of colouful plants. Not surprisingly these plants support a wide diversity of common and rare insects. … Read More
The last week has seen a large number of magnificent Striped Hawkmoths, Hyles livornica, arrive in the Uk. Assisted by favourable southerly winds blowing in from the continent these fabulous moths first arrived along the south coast and are now … Read More
This pair of Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterflies, Bolaria euphrosyne, were photographed at Fellover Brake, Tuckingmill, Cornwall during the week. Several others were seen flying low over the bracken when ever the sun broke through the clouds. This is the earliest flying … Read More
Male and female Jersey Mochas have emerged from the overwintered pupae of caterpillars reared last year. The eggs had been laid by a migrant Jersey Mocha attracted to light on the Lizard Peninsular by John Foster. Records of this species … Read More
Red Admiral caterpillars have been busy over the last few weeks constructing their nettle tents in our Cornish garden. Several are fully grown now and it was fascinating to watch a pale form of the caterpillar construct its final nettle … Read More