Magnificent Moth.

Privet Hawk Moth.   Click to enlarge.  Photo. John Elliott.

In the moth trap last night a Privet Hawk Moth,  Sphinx ligustri. There are half a dozen egg boxes in the bottom of the moth trap, and most of the moths attracted by the ultra violet light settle under the boxes and can be identified and counted next morning, but the larger moths, like the Privet Hawk Moth, have to settle on the outside like this one.

Damselflies

My small garden pond is still producing numerous Azure Damselflies. which appear on warmer days.

Azure Damselfly.  Click to enlarge.   Photo. John Elliott.

Very similar to the other species of blue damselflies, the Azure is distinguished by the much narrower blue stripes on the thorax, just behind the head, and by the black markings on the last segment of the tail. The females are mostly black with only a few blue markings.
A walk down the Weymouth road this afternoon, the first for several weeks, revealed only a single Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly which didn't linger long enough for a photo. Walkng back along the permissive path a Little Egret appeared making its way down the valley, occasionally dipping down into the stream, and a thin scattering of butterflies included Comma,  Large Skipper. Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Small Heath and Ringlet. All were very active in the warm sunshine, so no photos.

First Dragonfly.

The first dragonfly of the year, a Broad Bodied Chaser, has turned up in the garden. This may or may not have emerged from my garden pond, as this species is known to wander. The larvae can take between one and three years to emerge. Their food consists of insects, small fish and tadpoles. Is that where all my tadpoles went? There isn't one to be seen now.

Broad Bodied Chaser. Click to enlarge. Photo. John Elliott  

 

 

My family are keeping me well supplied with wildlife photos to lighten the darkness of lockdown. From Hampshire comes a most unusual photo of a Hawfinch visiting my daughter's garden. These birds usually inhabit the tops of woodland trees and I wonder if its usual food supplies are scarce, so making it visit village gardens.

Hawfinch Click to enlarge.  Photo. Ryan Bundy.

Magnificent Moths.

The moth trap has been yielding very low numbers recently, with perhaps two or three specimens of a couple of species., Heart and Dart and Hebrew Character being the most common. Things picked up a bit last night when two hawk moths were captured.

Private Hawkmoth and Small Elephant Hawkmoth.   Click to enlarge.  Phot. John Elliott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Privat Hawkmoth has a 10cm. wingspan and must be a magnifent sight in flight, but is rarely seen in daylight. As well as both wild and garden Privat the larvae eat Ash leaves and many garden shrubs. The Privat they have to share with twnty three other species of moths.
The Small Elephant Hawkmoth is unmistakeable, being the only small pink and yellowish hawkmoth found in the British Isles. The bedstraws are its favourite foodplants.