We had a couple of very warm days on Sunday and Monday, so that's the time to leave on the outside lights to see what has been encouraged to emerge (or at least encouraged to fly!) by the hot weather.
The first of two new species is the rather handsome True Lover's Knot,
Lycophotia porphyrea:
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| True Lover's Knot |
True Lover's Knot is a heather feeder.
The second new species is the (surprisingly small, at 12 mm.) Marbled Beauty:
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| Marbled Beauty |
The Marbled Beauty is generally an eastern species in Ireland, and this is the furthest west specimen that has been recorded. The larvae feed on lichens, which are very plentiful near here, so perhaps this is another of those species which are moving west and north due to warming.
I have previously shown Plain Golden-Y:
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| Plain Golden-Y |
And Small Fan-footed Wave:
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| Small Fan-Footed Wave |
Unfortunately for the Small Fan-Footed Wave, a spider had spun its web near its resting place. When it took off......
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| Small Fan-Footed Wave caught by spider |
So, two more to my total.
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The spider may be Zygiella x-notata. Zygiella has an orb web with a missing sector, if you can remember that far back.
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