183/366 It’s a Burnet’s life

01 Wednesday Jul 2020

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5-spot Burnet, 6-spot Burnet, British moths, Burnet moth, Five-spot burnet, Six-spot burnet, Zygaena species

My new favourite field has a healthy population of Burnet moths, some of which are 6-spot Burnets (Zygaena filipendulae) and the others could either be 5-spot Burnets (Zygaena trifolii) or Narrow-bordered 5-spot Burnets (Zygaena lonicerae) – it’s almost impossible to tell these latter two species apart. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been lucky enough to see almost every part of their life cycle – only the eggs have eluded me.

A 5-spot above, a 6-spot below

6-spot Burnets mating

Today I spotted this larva, looking very close to pupating, and, nearby, a very fresh-looking cocoon.

A freshly emerged 6-spot Burnet moth

A pristine 5-spot Burnet moth

Death is always sad to see but, in this case, the moth will support the life cycle of other creatures.

219/365 High on Hemp agrimony

07 Wednesday Aug 2019

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

≈ 4 Comments

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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 footman 190807 gatekeeper 6-spot burnet 190807 painted lady 190807 red admiral 190807 ringlet 190807 speckled wood 190807 willow beauty maybe

169/365 Emergence

18 Tuesday Jun 2019

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

≈ 4 Comments

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#365DaysWild, Bird’s-foot trefoil, British moths, Common spotted orchid, moths, Pyramidal orchid, red clover, Six-spot burnet, wildflowers

Remember I said on Friday that they’d be ‘coming soon‘, well here they are. The Six-spot burnet moths have begun to emerge, buzzing around the wildflowers like little red-and-black bumblebees. Delightful!

190618 six-spot burnet (1) 190618 six-spot burnet (2) 190618 six-spot burnet (3) 190618 six-spot burnet (4) 190618 six-spot burnet (5) 190618 six-spot burnet (6)

165/365 Coming soon …

14 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

≈ 3 Comments

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#365DaysWild, British moths, Burnet moth, caterpillar to moth, Five-spot burnet, metamorphosis, Six-spot burnet, Zygaena filipendulae, Zygaena lonicerae

First, the caterpillar. Now I know this is a bit like the chicken and egg debate – which came first? – but my sequence is chronological for 2019. This is the caterpillar / larva of a Burnet moth, most likely a Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae), as they’re the species I’ve seen at this site in previous years. I only found out this week that they over-winter as caterpillars, and they’re now enjoying a final munch before beginning their transformation.

Second, the pupa. Some of the munchers have already begun their metamorphosis into moths. This week I’ve spotted quite a number of the papery cocoons they spin to house their pupae while they go through this process.

190614 Burnet moth cocoon

Third, the moth. In previous years, the Six-spots have begun to appear around the beginning of July but the weather conditions can have an effect on their emergence. So, eyes peeled for the appearance of these gorgeous creatures in a meadow near you very soon!

190614 Six-spot Burnet moth

p.s. And if, by some chance, it’s actually a Five spot Burnet (Zygaena lonicerae), then it will look like this – you just have to count the dots!

190614 Five-spot Burnet moth

Six-spots love Ragwort

10 Tuesday Jul 2018

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

≈ 4 Comments

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British moths, Burnet moths, moths on ragwort, Ragwort, Six-spot burnet

Self-evident, really. Nom, nom, nom!

180712 Six-spot burnet moths on ragwort(2)

180712 Six-spot burnet moths on ragwort(1)

180712 Six-spot burnet moths on ragwort(3)

180712 Six-spot burnet moths on ragwort(5)

180712 Six-spot burnet moths on ragwort(6)

180712 Six-spot burnet moths on ragwort(4)

Leptastic!

25 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, British butterflies, British moths, butterflies, Common blue, Large skipper, Meadow Brown, moths, Pyrausta purpuralis, Ringlet, Six-spot burnet, Small skipper, Small white, Speckled wood

Day 25 of #30DaysWild was hot – the hottest day of the year so far in Wales! I’m not a huge fan of the heat or the burning sun – one of the reasons I moved to Britain was to escape them, but the climate is a’changing. The only good thing about sunshine is that it brings out the Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths, though even they looked a bit frantic, as if the heat was making them crazy. Still, on my Penarth – Lavernock – Cosmeston – Penarth circuit, I did manage to see my first Small skipper for the year and a host of other fantastic Leps as well.

Six-spot burnet moth

Common blue

Large skipper

Meadow brown

Pyrausta purpuralis moth

Ringlet

Small skipper

Small white

Speckled wood

Fritillaries!

22 Friday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, British butterflies, British moths, Dark Green Fritillary, Large skipper, Six-spot burnet, Small heath butterfly, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

I had never seen any Fritillary butterflies until today, so, on day 22 of #30DaysWild, I’ve had a very exciting afternoon seeing my very first High Browns, Dark Greens and Small Pearl-bordereds. These butterflies were very fast fliers and didn’t settle long so I didn’t get many shots, and didn’t manage any of the High Browns. Below are three different Dark Green Fritillaries and one Small Pearl-bordered … plus a few other butterflies we saw.

180622 fritillary (1) 180622 fritillary (2) 180622 fritillary (3)

Small pearl-bordered fritillary

I did manage to get reasonable images of some of the many lovely little Small heath butterflies, the one Six-spot burnet moth we saw, and, my favourite, this cute Large skipper. ‘Twas a grand day!

180622 Small heath 180622 6-spot burnet 180622 Large skipper

Lively Lavernock

12 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, Blue-tailed damselfly, Broad-bodied Chaser, Common blue butterfly, Emperor dragonfly, Large Red damselfly, Large skipper, Lavernock Nature Reserve, Six-spot burnet, Small copper, Speckled wood

Day 12 of my #30DaysWild was spent wandering around the nature reserve at Lavernock. Though it’s not yet the riot of colour it will be in another month or so, many wildflowers are already blooming, including the Common spotted and Pyramidal orchids, and plenty of critters were feasting on nectar and pollen.

180612 Pyramidal & Common spotted orchids

Today’s highlights included my first Six-spot burnet moth of the year, which was dazzling in the bright sunlight, and my second Small copper butterfly, a rather tatty looking specimen but still lovely to see. The Large skippers, Common blues and Speckled woods were abundant, and I also saw whites, a Brimstone and several Meadow brown butterflies.

180612 1 small copper

The pond was alive with dragon- and damselfly action, with both a female Emperor and a female Broad-bodied chaser ovipositing. There were three male Broad-bodied chasers constantly squabbling over territory and a Four-spotted chaser trying to avoid them all. Damselflies included Large reds, Common blues, Azures and Blue-tailed. ’Twas a very lively place today!

180612 Broad-bodied chaser male 180612 Broad-bodied chaser emale

What’s on the scabious?

16 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

≈ 6 Comments

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bumblebee, Comma, Devil's-bit scabious, hoverflies, insects on scabious, scabious, Six-spot burnet, Small tortoiseshell, Small white

Perhaps it would be easier to ask ‘What’s not on the scabious?’ because it seems that almost every type of fly, bee, butterfly and beetle loves this plant, though that may also be because the Devil’s-bit scabious flowers in late summer – early autumn, when most wildflowers have finished flowering, and so it provides a last delicious taste of summer’s sweetness.

What’s on the teasel, 2

30 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by sconzani in flowers, insects, nature, wildflowers

≈ 1 Comment

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6-spot Burnet moth, bees, British wildflowers, bumblebees, Six-spot burnet, Teasel

The pretty lilac of teasel flower is beginning to fade now but the mini beasts have certainly been enjoying its nectar. In my local parks and reserves it’s a favourite with the 6-spot Burnet moths and with bees of all species. And not long after those pretty little flowers fade away, the seeds will begin to form and grow, and provide food for the birds, particular the dapper little goldfinch, during the winter months. I’ll try to catch photos of them on the teasels in a couple of months’ time.