Local Wildlife

Photographs on this Page are Copyright of Barry Pummell and were all taken in the village

Beautiful Hooktip Moth

Wingspan 18-30 mm.

The ‘hook-tip’ moths get their name from the  shape   of the tips of the forewings, and this species is one of the smaller members of the group.
Occurring in oak woodland and parkland, it is reasonably common in the southern half of Britain.

Mainly nocturnal in habits, it can be attracted to light.

As may be expected, oak (Quercus) is the larval foodplant.

Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing Moth

Showing marked sexual dimorphism, the males of this moth are generally shades of darker brown, the females orangey-buff.
Widespread and common.

Brimstone Butterfly

These bright yellow butterflies are often the first butterflies to be seen in spring.

Physical description
Male brimstone butterflies have sulphur-yellow forewings and hindwings with an orange central spot. The female’s fore- and hindwings are a delicate yellow or pale green with an orange central spot. Both butterflies have greenish veined underwings.

Caterpillars are bluish-green with a pale line low down on each side. The pupa looks like a curled leaf.

Brindled Green Moth

Common,    Flies  August to October.   Comes to light, sugar and over-ripe blackberries.

Broad leaved woodland, scrub, park and gardens.   Larva feeds on  Oak, mainly Pedunculate, sometimes Sessile.

Brown Spot Pinion

Wingspan 28-35 mm.

A fairly distinctive species, with a normally chestnut ground colour and several blackish marks on the leading edge of the forewing.
It frequents woodland, heathland and bushy suburban habitats, and is reasonably common over a large part of Britain, though not in Ireland.
Flying in September and October, it regularly can be attracted to light and sugar.
The spring-feeding larvae live on herbaceous plants when young, and later on the leaves of deciduous trees, such as oak (Quercus) and hawthorn (Crataegus).

Chocolate Tip Moth
Wingspan 27-35 mm.
Having a disjointed distribution, this moth can be found in the southern half of England, but elsewhere only in parts of Scotland.
The English population has two generations, with adults at large in April and May, and again in August and September. In Scotland the species is single-brooded, flying from June to July.
Inhabiting woodland areas, the larvae feed on poplar (Populus), especially aspen (P. tremula) as well as sallow (Salix).

Comma Caterpillar

RANGE: Europe

HABITAT: Woodland margins hedgerows gardens orchards

SIZE: 47mm

DIET: Caterpillar lives and feeds on nettles

CONSERVATION STATUS: Often abundant in preferred habitat

NOTES: Becoming more common in the north apparently benefitting from global warming because nettles so easily available for caterpillar.

Dark Spectacle Moth

Similar to Spectacle, but differs in having brownish-black ground colour, base of forewing dull straw colour and cross lines edged with red.

Heathland, fens, woodland, scrub and gardens.

More frequent in Norfolk of recent years.

December Moth

Wingspan 30-45 mm.

The flight time for this moth is, as the name suggests, late in the year. In fact it can be found from October until mid or late December.

It is a fairly common species over much of Britain.

The female is distinctly larger than the male, and the wings have a slightly translucent appearance, due to their thinly-scaled surface.

The larvae feed in spring on a variety of deciduous trees.

Elephant Hawk Moth

Wingspan 45-60 mm.

The English name of this moth is derived from the caterpillar’s fanciful resemblance to an elephant’s trunk.

The adults are attractively coloured pink and green affairs, with a streamlined appearance. They fly from May to July, visiting flowers such as honeysuckle (Lonicera) for nectar.

The larvae feed mainly on rosebay willowherb (Epilobium angustifolium), but also other plants as well, including bedstraw (Galium).

It is a common species in most of Britain, including Scotland, where it has increased its range in recent years.

Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar

The Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar is very large by usual standards here, at about 75mm long. As with nearly all Hawk-moth caterpillars there is a curved ‘horn’ or spine on the last segment. When behaving normally it has a narrower front segment which resembles a trunk giving it its name. They are usually found as they rest during the day in leaf and other debris.
When alarmed it retracts its head and ‘trunk’ which enlarges the bulge. This displays the two spots which resemble eyes to give the appearance of a snake and should deter any predators.

The adult moth has a wingspan of about 50 to 70mm and marked in shades of pink and light brown. It feeds in the evening on nectar from Honeysukles, Fuchsias and Petunias. The main food plants of the caterpillar are Great and Rosebay Willowherbs. So perhaps it should be with the FRIENDS of the garden as anything which reduces these detestable weeds can only be welcomed, although they may also attack Fuchsias.

Frosted Orange Moth

The Frosted orange moth (Gortyna flavago) is a widespread night-flying moth whose orange and brown speckled wings allow for perfect camouflage against autumn leaves. It is attracted to light and does not come to flowers, and its maggot-like caterpillars inhabit the root-stems of the species’ foodplants. Its wingspan ranges from 3 to 4.3cm, and it flies between August and October. Northern variants tend to be slightly darker in colour.

Gold Spot Moth

Wingspan 34-46 mm.

Damp places, such as fens, water-meadows and river banks are the favourite haunts of this colourful species.

It has two generations in the south, sometimes only one in the north, flying between June and September, and is reasonably common throughout the whole of Britain.

The larvae feed on a variety of plants, mainly associated with these damp habitats.

Green Silver-lines

Wingspan 30-35 mm.

Another of the very few British green moths, this species is fairly common in wooded areas over much of England and Wales, less common in Scotland and Ireland.

Flying mainly in June and July, it is often attracted to artificial light.

The short, plump caterpillar feeds in August, mostly on oak (Quercus) and birch (Betula), but also on other deciduous trees

Holly Blue Butterfly

Male holly blues have sky-blue upper wings with narrow, black borders, whereas females have broad, dull black borders. In both sexes the under wings are palest blue, almost white, with black spots.

It is relatively common in the south and Midlands, but more rare farther north: numbers fluctuate from year to year.

In spring females lay their eggs at the base of flower buds on holly bushes. Later in the year females use ivy bushes, as well as sometimes spindle, dogwood and heathers.

The caterpillars are usually green, but some may be camouflaged with pinky stripes. Caterpillars are often easy to find as they leave conspicuous holes where they have munched the flower buds. They probably pupate on or near the ground and are likely to be tended by ants. This species overwinters as a chrysalis, with adults emerging in April.

Latticed Heath Moth

Wingspan 20-25 mm.

Quite a variable species, with several named forms and subspecies, and the ground colour varying from yellowish to white.

It occurs in a range of open habitats, including moorland, grassland and waste ground, and is widely distributed through most of Britain.

There are usually two generations, especially in the south, flying in May and June, and August and September, and the species flies by day as well as at night.

The larvae feed on lucerne (Medicago sativa) and clover (Trifolium).

Merveille du Jour Moth

Wingspan 42-52 mm.

A distinctive moth that is unlikely to be confused with any other species flying in early autumn. Freshly emerged adults have pale green forewings, but the colour fades over time. There is a series of black spots across the central area of the forewing. The stigmata are paler than the base colour. The antemedian line and subterminal lines are white. The postmedian line is irregular. Hindwings are dark grey with a small discal spot.

Mullein Moth

The mullein moth can be found in gardens and open ground. This moth has one brood a year, and the seldom-seen adults fly in April to May. Their wings are dark brown and pointed, with scalloped edges. The much more prominent, brightly coloured caterpillars with black and yellow spotted markings, can be found feeding on mulleins from May to July.

Peacock Butterfly

Wingspan: about 60mm.

These butterflies get their name from the large and colourful eyespots on their wings, which resemble those on the tail of the peacock.

Pebble Hooktip Moth

Wingspan 27-35 mm.

The largest and commonest of the ‘hook-tips’, found over most of Britain in woodland and heaths.

The adults fly at night from May to June and have a second brood in August.

The larvae feed usually on birch (Betula), but sometimes on alder (Alnus glutinosa).

Puss Moth

The moth can be found Europe and North Africa. It has a wingspan of 58 to 75 mm. The moth survives the winter as a Pupa in a very solid, with wood reinforced cocoon attached to a tree or pole.

Sallow Kitten

Wingspan 27-35 mm.

The most widespread and common of the British ‘kittens’ (Furcula spp.), being distributed throughout in a range of habitats.

In the southern half of its range there are two generations, flying in May and June, then again in August. In the north it is single-brooded, flying in June and July.

The caterpillars, which resemble smaller versions of those of the Puss Moth (Cerura vinula), feed on sallow (Salix), aspen (Populus tremula) and other poplars (Populus spp.).

Sallow Moth

The Sallow Moth (Xanthia icteritia) is a moth of the family Noctuidae with a wing span of between 27 and 35 mm found in the deciduous-forest belt of the Palaearctic sub region, favouring damp localities rich in Sallow. A single generation is produced each year flying from August until October.

Blue Tit

At first glance the acrobatic and cheeky Blue Tit is a blue and yellow bird.

A closer inspection reveals bright blue wings, tail and crown, yellow underparts, greenish back and mantle, white cheeks, and black eye stripe, bib and collar. They also have a black streak down the middle of the belly, and a white wing bar (across the coverts). The bill is black and the legs are a blue-grey.

The sexes are similar, though the female is slightly paler.

The juvenile birds are duller than the adults and have greener crown, wings and tail, and yellow cheeks.

Collered Dove

The Collared Dove is small, slim dove with quite a long tail – it is much smaller than a Wood Pigeon.

The plumage of this elegant dove is mostly a pale brown-grey but the breast is a pinkish buff colour. Adults can be distinguished from juveniles by the narrow black and white band round the back of the neck (which juveniles lack).

In flight, the length of its tail in proportion to its body can make its silhouette look like that of a Sparrowhawk, and sometimes other birds make the same mistake, giving alarm calls and dashing for cover.

Grey Partridge

A medium-sized, plump gamebird with a distinctive orange face. Flies with whirring wings and occasional glides, showing a chestnut tail. It is strictly a ground bird, never likely to be found in pear trees! Groups of 6-15 (known as coveys) are most usually seen outside the breeding season. Once very common and widespread, it has undergone serious declines throughout most of its range and is a Red List species.

Song Thrush

A familiar and popular garden songbird whose numbers are declining seriously, especially on farmland making it a Red List species. Smaller and browner than a mistle thrush with smaller spotting. Its habit of repeating song phrases distinguish it from singing blackbirds. It likes to eat snails which it breaks into by smashing them against a stone with a flick of the head.

Sparrow Hawk

Adult males have a slate grey back and white underparts, closely barred with orange. Their grey tail has 4-5 dark bars. Females are larger, with brown upperparts, a white stripe over the eye and dark barring underneath. They look heavier than the males. Their broad, rounded wings and long tail are adapted for flying between trunks and branches enabling them to weave in and out of trees at high speed. They never hover like kestrels.

Tawny Owl

(Juvenile)

The tawny owl is an owl the size of a pigeon. It has a rounded body and head, with a ring of dark feathers around its face surrounding the dark eyes. It is mainly reddish brown above and paler underneath. It is a widespread breeding species in England, Wales and Scotland but not found in Ireland. Birds are mainly residents with established pairs probably never leaving their territories. Young birds disperse from breeding grounds in autumn.

Turtle Dove

The turtle dove is a dainty dove, smaller and darker than the collared dove and slightly larger than a blackbird. Its upperparts are distinctively mottled with chestnut and black and its black tail has a bright white edge. The gentle purr of the turtle dove is an evocative sound of summer, but has become increasingly rare following substantial population declines which make it a Red List species.

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