October 2006

Greetings to those of you who were regular readers of my column in the Essex County Standard. Glad to be back via cyberspace and I would like to express my thanks to those who took the trouble to write to the editor of the newspaper expressing their regret, and in some cases, anger at the decision to axe what was generally accepted as a popular and informative feature not only for naturalists, but also for all with an interest in the countryside and our local flora and fauna. Anyway it’s great to be back and each month I’ll bring you the latest sightings and happenings in the natural world hereabouts.

The most notable wildlife events of recent months have been the immigrants from the Continent of moths and butterflies. In June there was a large scale invasion of painted ladies from southern Europe and North Africa and in some Colchester gardens in June as many as 20 could be seen nectaring on buddleia blooms. This movement of butterflies coincided with the arrival of hundreds of hummingbird hawkmoths and many people were reporting these dashing little long-distance travellers hovering in front of garden flowers, including those in hanging baskets, their long proboscis (feeding tubes) probing for nectar.

In July and early August there were hundreds of immigrant silver-Y moths in north Essex fields and gardens. In fact the numbers over the area were in their thousands rather than hundreds. In my own garden we counted 40 buzzing around the buddleia blooms and there must have been 100 throughout the garden. It remains to be seen how many of the offspring resulting from this large invasion survive into autumn.

More excitement was to come on the moths front. On July 23 Philip Smith had a Ni moth in his garden moth trap at West Bergholt. This is a rare vagrant from the continent and only the fourth record for Essex. Then on August 14 two Great Brocades, also an uncommon immigrant species, arrived at Hugh Owen’s moth traps at Langenhoe and Ian Rose had another at Mistley on August 5. Also on August 5 Doughal Urquhart recorded a scarce silver-Y, a very rare immigrant, at Cudmore Grove, East Mersea and earlier he had recorded great brocades.

August and September saw more record arrivals. Stephen Dewick who runs what is probably the world’s largest custom-built moth trap at Curry Farm, Bradwell-on-Sea recorded phenomenal numbers of immigrant moths: 714 Scarce Bordered Straws; 21 Great Brocades; 57 Small Mottled Willows; 1039 White Points; 18 Delicates; 21 Convolvulus Hawkmoths; a Passenger on September 20 and 28; 2 Four-Spotted Footmen on September 14 and 3 more on September 16. Ian Rose has recorded an Eastern Bordered Straw at Lawford and on the same night in September a Delicate and a Small Mottled Willow. Convolvulus Hawks have been reported by Doughal Urquhart at East Mersea and Reg Fry at Lawford.

August also saw the arrival of a sizeable number of Camberwell Beauty butterflies. Sightings were at Bradwell-on-Sea (2); Old Hall RSPB Reserve; Boxted; West Bergholt and Layer-de-la-Haye. In neighbouring Suffolk and Norfolk they were present in double figures. The Camberwell Beauty gets its English name from the fact that it was first noticed in Camberwell, then a village, in 1748. Periodically we get an invasion of this big beauty from Scandinavia or from the Baltic and the last large-scale immigration was in 1976 when we had records (some photographed) at Parsons Heath, Colchester (August 21); Alresford (August 22) and Wix (August 23). There was a much photographed Camberwell Beauty in a garden at Maldon for several days in August, 1995.

Clouded yellow butterflies from southern Europe arrived in July and August and there were a dozen more records from north Essex including East Mersea, Walton, Maldon, Inworth and Fordham. Stephen Dewick of Curry Farm, Bradwell-on-Sea reported “several” flying in Lucerne fields adjoining his family nature reserve.

From the archives

Thirty years ago also saw an influx of Camberwell Beauties as featured in Watching Wildlife from August 1976. Click on the article below to read all about it.

A rare Ni moth found by Philip Smith

Scarce silver-Y recorded by Doughal Urquhart

Camberwell beauty butterfly found in good numbers this summer

A male clouded yellow. These have arrived from southern Europe.

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