Backyard Moths and Cemetery Butterflies

The recent hot and sunny weather has meant some very sticky days at work and also some very sticky sleepless nights but by the time I was able to get the moth box out in the back yard for the first time this year on the night of June 21st the weather had turned with an  overnight temperature of 15c and not the 23c experienced the previous night. I was still expecting a decent haul of moths in the trap on the morning of June 22nd but was a little disappointed with the highlights being a dark arches, a grey arches, a large yellow underwing, a bee moth, a heart and dart, a riband wave( form aversata), a Pseudargyrotoza conwagana, an uncertain and a worn dot moth.

 Dark Arches

 Grey Arches

 Bee Moth

Herring Gull with 1 Chick on my Chimney Stack

It was overcast and breezey but still warm and humid and after pottering around the house doing chores I had a walk over to Ford Park Cemetery for a look around. As I was walking up the road to the cemetery entrance a marbled white was flitting around in a garden and on entering the cemetery gates more marbled whites were seen along with ringlets, a single red admiral, a few large skippers and a few meadow browns.

 Marbled White

 Marbled White

 Marbled White

 Marbled White - recently emerged

 Meadow Brown

 Ringlet

 Ringlet

Large Skipper

A cinnabar moth was on the wing with some small caterpillars seen feeding on ragwort and there were a few 6 spot burnet on the wing along with burnet companion moths.

 Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars

Bee Sp.

A buzzard flew over being mobbed by herring gulls, a ring necked parakeet was heard screeching, 3 noisy raven fledglings were flying around amongst the head stones and a chiffchaff and blackcap were heard singing.

I had a quick look around the elm trees in nearby Central Park in the area where white letter hairstreaks were seen last year but with no luck before heading home to carry on with the chores and just missing seeing the new Great Western Railway train leave Plymouth railway station - not a bad way though to spend a couple of hours out of the house.