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Tag Archives: Hemp agrimony

221/365 Jersey tiger, at last

09 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

British moths, Hemp agrimony, Jersey tiger, Lavernock Nature Reserve, tiger moths

Finally yesterday I found what I’ve walked many miles, worn out a pair of shoes, sweated buckets to find …my first Jersey tiger moth of the year. And it was worth every ache in my poor old feet!

190809 jersey tiger (1)

Though the text books and web sites haven’t yet acknowledged it, we locals are positive we have a colony now established along our piece of the south Wales coast, and the records logged in Aderyn, the Wales biodiversity database, confirm it. These tigers have been recorded every year for over ten years at local sites, including Lavernock Nature Reserve and in gardens in the neighbouring towns of Sully and, latterly, Barry.

190809 jersey tiger (2)

Jersey tigers are beautiful moths: triangular shaped, stunningly patterned with black-and-beige stripes, with vibrant orange underwings only usually seen when they’re flying, and a pale apricot body.

190809 jersey tiger (3)

They’re currently only seen, as their name suggests, on the Channel Islands, in certain spots along England’s south coast and in London, and in our little area in Wales.

p.s. A Butterfly Conservation staffer from south Wales has since told me that this moth’s establishment in our area is not disputed and that it probably became established around 2012-13 but that it just takes time for websites to update their records.

190809 jersey tiger (4)

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219/365 High on Hemp agrimony

07 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British wildflowers, Dingy footman, Gatekeeper, Hemp agrimony, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Ringlet, Six-spot burnet, Speckled wood, Willow beauty moth

I’ve been spending a lot of time over the past couple of weeks staring at Hemp agrimony flowers. I’ve not yet found what I’ve been searching for – you’ll be the first to know when/if I do – but, in the meantime, here are just a few of the lovely creatures I’ve spotted nectaring on these pretty flowers: a Dingy footman moth, a Six-spot burnet moth and a Gatekeeper, a Painted lady, a Red admiral, a Ringlet, a Speckled wood and what might be a Willow beauty moth, but the jury’s still out on that one.

190807 dingy footman190807 gatekeeper 6-spot burnet190807 painted lady190807 red admiral190807 ringlet190807 speckled wood190807 willow beauty maybe

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Bumble- or humble-bee?

24 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

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Tags

bumblebee, bumblebee on flowers, Hemp agrimony, humblebee, knapweed, scabious

180824 bumblebee (1)

Bumble: verb; move or act in an awkward or confused manner (Oxford Dictionary).
Personally, I think it’s a bit sad that the beautiful bumblebee is associated with confusion and awkwardness of movement, though I admit they can seem rather stupid when they fly in the open windows of my apartment and then bump repeatedly against the glass trying to get out again. Most other insects seem able to work out where the open window is.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

When it comes to finding nourishment though, they seem perfectly able to home directly in on the next delicious flower. And I’ve recently discovered that the bumblebee wasn’t always so named – it was originally the humblebee, not because it was considered modest or lowly but rather because of the humming sound it makes as it flies along.

180824 bumblebee (3)
180824 bumblebee (4)
180824 bumblebee (5)
180824 bumblebee (6)
180824 bumblebee (7)
180824 bumblebee (8)

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Wildflowers at Barry Docks

21 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by sconzani in autumn, flowers, nature, wildflowers

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Barry Docks, British wildflowers, Common toadflax, Daisy, Hemp agrimony, Hoary mustard, Ragwort, Red valerian, scabious, Wild parsnip, wildflowers, Yellow-wort

I caught the train to Barry Docks last Friday, hoping to get a good look at an uncommon bird (a Great northern diver) that had been making itself at home there for the previous week or so.

171121 Barry Docks

Unfortunately, the bird spent most of the two hours I was there happily swimming and diving several hundred yards away on the other side of the dock, but it was a gloriously sunny day and I did find lots of lovely wildflowers still in bloom around the edge of the docks so I was happy.

171121 Hemp agrimony
171121 Sow-thistle sp
171121 Bindweed sp
171121 Yellow-wort
171121 Daisy
171121 Common toadflax
171121 Ragwort sp
171121 Wild parsnip
171121 Scabious sp
171121 Red valerian
171121 Hoary mustard
171121 Cow parsley

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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