LEPIDOPTERA UPDATE

Although it has not been as spectacular as last year, 2014 has been a good year for British butterflies. On our way up to Norfolk for the birth of Olivia's baby I realised another minor lifetime ambition when I saw a brown hairstreak at the Michael Wood services on the M5. This last few days has seen a number of sightings of Monarch butterflies in Cornwall and the Scilly Isles. This iconic butterfly is native to North America but has colonised eastern Australiasia, New Zealand and bits of southern Asia, as well as the Atlantic islands of Madeira, Azores and the Canary Islands, and small portions of southern Spain. This is the second lot of records for the UK this year, with a string of sightings in Kent back in July.

The Blue Underwing (Catocala fraxini), also known as Clifden Nonpareil is another iconiuc speciues, and one of Britain's rarest moths. As Dave Brown writes on UK Butterflies: "This year in Kent it has been the magnificent Clifden Nonpareil, also nicknamed the Blue Underwing, that has stood out. It is mainly a immigrant species with annually less than 10 records for the whole of Britain. We ourselves had only seen 3 up to this year, but remarkably have seen 4 so far in September. We are aware of a minimum of 23 records this September so far spread over East and Mid Kent. Photographs indicate that most, if not all, are different specimens. This is based on plumage wear and condition, with a few having nicks out of them."

There is speculation that this gorgeous moth may be breeding in the UK at last.