Tag Archives: 6-spot Burnet Moth

Enchanting evening on the Little Orme

03 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by in Butterflies of Wales, Little Orme, moths, Nature of Wales, nature photography, Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve, The Wales Coast Path, Wildflowers of Wales

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Some days the intention of a walk is at the forefront of my mind, then ‘stuff’ crops up and before I know it the day is almost over and the momentum needed to get me out of the door is fading fast. This was almost one of those days, when at six thirty-something I was still preoccupied with getting things done in the house. Luckily I finally acknowledged the little nagging voice in the back of my mind that was insisting I got out for some fresh air. I almost ignored it, then gave in, grabbed my camera, put on walking shoes and headed out with no real idea where I was heading for.

At around seven I arrived at the Little Orme. I knew before I arrived that by this time in the evening most of the area on this most accessible side of the headland would be in the shadow of its bulk, as the late sun slips down and slides around it to set just about behind its tip. There were quite a few people about too; dog walkers of course, some holidaymakers dressed up for the evening, maybe taking an evening constitutional before dinner & a couple of groups of teenagers, one lot jumping, diving, shouting and laughing from a rocky ledge into the sea.  I quickly judged that this was not a scenario I would normally enter into if hoping to spot any wildlife and on that basis decided this outing would be for the purpose of exercise. So a brisk walk to the cliff edge, an about turn and a concerted effort to get to the top of Rabbit Hill with minimum stops to catch breath, back down again and home ought to do it.

A group of people with two dogs was heading toward me, so to avoid them momentarily I stepped off the main path onto a narrow track that leads around the cliff, skirting what is currently a large patch of long grass. It took less than a minute of being there to spot that a good number of Meadow Brown butterflies were flitting about amongst the grass stems and settling there. It took slightly longer to realise they were there to roost for the night.

Long grass on the clifftop of the Little Orme with view to Rhos-on-Sea & Colwyn Bay behind

Long grass on the clifftop of the Little Orme where the butterflies were roosting. Views to Rhos-on-Sea & Colwyn Bay beyond

I tried to approach several butterflies, treading slowly and carefully through the grass, but I couldn’t get close enough to them to photograph and hadn’t picked up my more powerful zoom lens when I left the house as I didn’t expect to need it. I continued to try until following one individual led me to discover a cluster of Six-spot Burnet Moths on a single grass-head.

Cluster of 6-spot Burnet Moths

Cluster of 6-spot Burnet Moths- Zygaena filipendulae

It was clear that the Moths were in differing conditions, with one n particular looking a bit battered and with most of the colour gone from its wings. I assumed that as with the Meadow Browns the Burnets were also seeking to roost for the night and turned my attention to a passing Small Skipper that settled obligingly on another nearby grass-head.

Small Skipper

Small Skipper- Thymelicus sylvestris

I was happy now, especially as in the cool of the evening the butterflies and moths were not as mobile as they are during the day and were allowing me to get quite close to them with the camera.

Another Small Skipper

Another Small Skipper

As I moved  through the grass and further towards the cliff edge I began seeing more Burnet moths. And more.

6-spot Burnet moths either side of a grasshead

6-spot Burnet moths either side of a grasshead

 

It slowly dawned upon me that although the butterflies were roosting, the moths were not. They were out intent on mating.

6-spot Burnet moths mating

6-spot Burnet moths mating

I could hardly believe the numbers of moths that were gathered here in this relatively small area of long grass. I have been to visit this reserve many times and felt lucky to see half a dozen individuals on a sunny afternoon, now I was surrounded by them. They were literally everywhere I looked. It still took a further while though to realise that even more amazingly, I had arrived at exactly the time the new moths were almost simultaneously emerging from their cocoons.

6-spot Burnet Moth emerging from its pupa

6-spot Burnet Moth emerging from its pupa

I had begun to spot the yellow cocoons with something black and alien-looking emerging from them, but couldn’t quite imagine it ending up as a moth at all, so at first thought they were something else. I don’t what, just something else.

A closer view of an emerging moth

A closer view of an emerging moth still doesn’t look like one

It was only when I spotted other Burnet moths perched on top of cocoons from which another was emerging that I was convinced that somehow these crumpled black forms would indeed eventually look just like them.

A 6-spot Burnet moth on top of an as-yet unbroken pupa

A 6-spot Burnet moth on top of an as-yet unbroken pupa

I began to wonder then why the moths were sitting on top of the pupae. I’m afraid the only theory I could come up with was that they were male moths staking a claim on emerging females to mate with them as soon as they became viable. Not pretty, but probably not far off the mark. (more about 6-spot Burnet Moth)

Two Burnet moths on top of a pupa from which another is emerging

Two Burnet moths on top of a pupa from which another is emerging

I tried watching an emergence for a while, but it seemed like a lengthy process, so still marvelling at my luck in witnessing this epic event, I left the moths to their nuptials and moved on. I would have been happy to have taken my previously outlined walk now and returned home, but it turned out there were still a few things to see in the gathering dusk.

A sleepy bumblebee curled around a blackberry

A sleepy bumblebee curled around a blackberry

Ragwort is in full vibrant bloom now and I just had to look for black and yellow striped caterpillars of the Cinnabar moth. I was not disappointed, there were plenty in sizes varying from very tiny to very large.

Small Cinnabar moth caterpillar on ragwort flower buds

Small Cinnabar moth caterpillar on ragwort flower buds

A large plump Cinnabar moth caterpillar snaked around a ragwort bud

A large plump Cinnabar moth caterpillar snaked around a ragwort bud while eating it

I was also fortunate to spot a prettily marked moth : this is an Antler moth, so called because of the distinctive antler-shaped markings on its forewings. One of the species that flies in daylight.

An attractive little Antler moth on ragwort flowers

Antler moth- Cerapteryx graminis

Long grass with cliff wall of the Little Orme behind

Long grass with cliff wall of the Little Orme behind

On the cliff above Angel Bay is another patch of long grass, but here it is mixed with wildflowers such as hogweed, ragwort and a sprinkling of knapweed, all important nectar plants for insects. This evening there were still a few to be found out dining including bumblebees and one little Sulphur beetle.

Sulphur beetle- Cteniopus sulphureus

Sulphur beetle- Cteniopus sulphureus

I left for home happily and exercised – I made it up to the top of Rabbit Hill, admittedly pausing a couple of times, but why wouldn’t you when the view is so spectacular and the sun is setting so beautifully over the sea?

Seeing red and black

18 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by in Nature, Nature of Wales, nature photography, Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve

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Aposematism (from apo- away, and semantic sign/meaning), is the word used to describe a family of anti-predator adaptations where a warning signal is associated with the unprofitability of a prey item to potential predators. Aposematic signals are beneficial for both the predator and prey, both of which avoid potential harm.

Walking on the Little Orme a few evenings ago I caught sight of a black and red moth flying across my path that landed on a fern frond. I have photographed similarly-coloured, but more spotted 6-Spot Burnet Moths within this site on many occasions, but this one was a Cinnabar Moth, which I have always kept an eye out for but never managed to see until now. This is the moth that lays its eggs on Ragwort that hatch into the black and yellow striped larva that will soon be munching on the leaves of that plant in large numbers.

Cinnabar Moth – Tyria jacobaea 

Flying : May – August. UK Distribution: England, Wales, Scotland & Ireland. Common and well distributed throughout most of England, Wales and Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.  More confined to predominantly coastal habitats in northern England and Scotland. Habitat: Frequent in open grassy habitats including waste ground, railway banks, gardens and woodland rides but perhaps most frequent on well drained rabbit-grazed grassland, mature sand-dunes and heathland.

Cinnabar moth resting on fern

Cinnabar moth resting on fern

Description: Medium-sized black moth, red markings on the forewing, hindwings mostly red. Often found near common ragwort, although sometimes on other ragworts and groundsels.

This species is so named due to the colour of the hindwings and the markings on the forewings which make it unmistakeable.  On rare occasions the pinkish markings are replaced with yellow, or the forewing is red with a black border or the wings are completely black. Easily disturbed by day and flies in sunshine. Also flies after dark.

The distinctive larva of the Cinnabar Moth

The distinctive larva of the Cinnabar Moth (enlarged !)

The Cinnabar larvae consumes ragwort from which it absorbs alkaloids and which it retains as an adult, making it unpalatable to predators in both forms.

6- spot Burnet Moth – Zygaenea filipendula

Flying: June-August. UK distribution: Throughout Britain, mainly coastal in Scotland. Habitat: Frequents flowery grassland, woodland rides and sandhills.

6-Spot Burnet Moth

6-Spot Burnet Moth

Description:  Medium-sized black moth with six red, occasionally yellow, spots.

Burnet moth caterpillars absorb Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) from the glucosides in their food plants: bird’s-foot trefoil and vetches. They can also synthesise HCN themselves, storing it in body cavities and excreting it as chemical weaponry.

Also out and about in some numbers were Soldier Beetles.

Red Soldier Beetle – Rhagonycha fulva

Family:  Cantharidae

Can be seen: June-August

The red and black colouration reminded people of the red coats of British soldiers, hence the common name. It is also known as the ‘Bloodsucker’ for its striking red appearance, but it is harmless to humans. There are about 40 species of soldier beetle in the UK, displaying various colour combinations of black, red and orange.

Description: A medium-sized, narrow beetle commonly found on open-structured flowers, such as daises, Cow Parsley and Hogweed, during the summer. There are about 40 species of soldier beetle in the UK, displaying various colour combinations of black, red and orange. Habitat: It can be spotted flying in grassland, woodland, along hedgerows and in parks and gardens. Food: The adults are especially important predators of aphids. They supplement their diet with nectar and pollen and can be minor pollinators. Larvae prey on ground-dwelling invertebrates, such as slugs and snails, and live at the base of long grasses.

130712TGINCT- Soldier beetle on thistle-Little Orme

Common Red Soldier Beetle

Behaviour: The adults spend much of their short, summer lives mating and can often be seen in pairs.

130712TGINCTS-Soldier beetles mating on hogweed flower-Little Orme

Soldier beetles mating on hogweed flower-Little Orme

Then there were ladybirds, more than I’ve seen for a long time in one place and I was reminded that there was a ladybird plague in England one very hot summer. I looked it up and it in 1976, prompted as a response to a marked increase in aphid populations. There were many reports of people being bitten as the supply of aphids dwindled. That could happen again this year if the hot dry weather continues; I’ve already seen a lot of aphids….

7-Spot Ladybird-  Coccinella septempunctata

Family: Coccinellidae

The seven-spot is easily one of Britain’s most common and easily recognised beetles.

Etymology

The beetle’s common name “ladybird” originated in Britain where the insects became known as ‘Our Lady’s bird or the Lady beetle. Mary (Our Lady) was often depicted wearing a red cloak in early paintings, and the spots of the seven-spot ladybird (the most common in Europe) were said to symbolise her seven joys and seven sorrows. In the United States, the name was adapted to “ladybug”.

Coccinelid is derived from the Latin word coccineus meaning “scarlet”.

Another insect that employs the colour combination of red and black to advertise to predators that they taste horrible: if they are attacked, (or picked up),  they exude an unpleasant yellow substance (reflex blood) from their leg joints which is rich in toxic alkaloids. A threatened ladybird may both play dead and secrete the unappetizing substance to protect itself.

The most common ladybird in the UK

One of the most common ladybirds in the UK

Ladybirds lay hundreds of eggs in the colonies of aphids and other plant-eating pests. When they hatch, the ladybird larvae immediately begin to feed. Seven-spot ladybirds are avid and very active aphid predators, devouring more than 5,000 during their year-long life.

Only here for the blackfly

Only here for the aphids

A threat to our native ladybirds

There are 46 species of ladybird resident in Britain and the recent arrival of the harlequin ladybird has the potential to jeopardise many of these.

The atlas Ladybirds (Coccinellidae) of Britain and Ireland published in 2011 showed a decline of more than 20% in native species due to environmental changes and competition from foreign invaders. The distribution maps, compiled over a 20-year period with help from thousands of volunteers, showed a decline in the numbers of the common 10-spot and 14-spot ladybirds and a number of other species, including the 11-spot, 22-spot, cream-spot, water and hieroglyphic ladybirds, Coccidula rufa, Rhyzobius litura and Nephus redtenbacheri. Conversely, increases were seen in the numbers of harlequin, orange, pine, and 24-spot ladybirds, as well as Rhyzobius chrysomeloides.

Cultural associations with ladybirds

The ladybird was familiar to me as a child, first from the nursery rhyme Ladybird, Ladybird (this is the version I know, it may not be the exact original.)

Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home
Your house is on fire and your children are gone
Except for one, and her name’s Anne
And she hid under the frying pan.

As I got older I acquired a collection of ‘Ladybird’ brand books, which are still produced today. And I seem to remember there was a Ladybird children’s clothing range too.

Late summer wildflowers and insects of the Little Orme

11 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by in butterflies, coastal habitat, coastal walks, Little Orme, Nature, nature photography, Rhiwledyn Nature Reserve, wildflowers

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The weather took its toll on the cliff-top flora and fauna of the Little Orme   too, although I think perhaps it’s not so much that the insects were not there, more that they were less able to be  mobile,  so were not as visible as they are in warmer, drier conditions. I took the following pictures on a warmish, sunny but fairly windy day just past the middle of August when everywhere was still damp from rain.

Ragwort is blooming strongly and every plant is supporting a colony of cinnabar moth caterpillars.

The Cinnabar moth larvae are growing fat on ragwort

The flowers of the ragwort are much in demand too, particularly by hungry hoverflies.

Eristalis interruptus (f) on ragwort

2 drone flies, Eristalis pertinax on ragwort

A smaller eristalis species – Eristalis arbustorum

Mating pair of soldier beetles

I was still on the lookout for soldier beetles and did eventually manage to find one pair; there were dozens of them this time last year. I didn’t even manage a very good photograph as the wind was blowing the ragwort stem they were on.

I walked towards the cliff edge above Angel Bay, drawn by a large patch of sunny yellow birds-foot trefoil mixed in amongst long grasses.

Flowery clifftop, most birds-foot trefoil mixed in amongst long grass

Long grass and birds-foot trefoil

As I had hoped, this flowery area turned out to be quite productive in terms of insects. I first spotted a Common Blue butterfly very low down on a grass stem, then followed a Small Skipper until it too came to rest on a flower.

Small Skipper –

That was followed by a first sighting of a Burnet Moth fluttering across the grass and flowers, and once I had ‘got my eye in’, I soon realised there were a good few more.

6-spot Burnet moth –

The Burnet moths were mostly attracted to the thistle flowers growing at the side of the pathway; at one point I found four of them all on the same plant.

3 of 4 Burnet moths that were all nectaring on a single thistle flowerhead

Stopping to photograph the single moth I was distracted by the chirping ‘song’ of a grasshopper, which I found on a grass stem just behind me. I am not great at identifying grasshoppers, but I think this was most likely a Meadow Grasshopper – Chorthippus brunneus.

Little grasshopper chirping from a grass stem

Walking along a narrow track through the long grass I saw an insect I did not immediately recognise on a thistle flower. It took little notice of me taking photographs of it, just carried on working its way around the flowerhead. To identify it I searched my favourite website for insect identification http://www.naturespot.org.uk, which is a Leicestershire site but usually comes up trumps for me. From that I believe my mystery insect may be of the Sawfly species, Tenthredo notha – but as always I am more than happy to be corrected.

Sawfly- Tenthredo notha

At the bottom of the steep grassy track that takes you higher up on the cliff, a decent number of butterflies were dancing around the bramble flowers. There is red valerian growing there too which is also a favourite nectar plant of butterflies and more ragwort attracting hoverflies. Butterflies included Large, Small and Green-veined Whites, Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and a Tortoishell.

Green-veined White (m) on a valerian flower

I stopped half-way up the incline to draw breath and to take a  photograph of the view.

The view from the Little Orme across Rhos Point, then the headland of Abergele beyond which are Rhyl & Prestatyn and the coastline of the Wirral (click to enlarge)

At the top there is a flat grassy area, popular with Jackdaws that nest on the cliffs and grazed by sheep, where the remains of some sort of winding mechanism still stands as a memorial to the quarrying that is responsible for the shape of the Little Orme.

Sheep grazing and resting in the sun around old winding gear

Back down at the bottom and a quick scout around before heading home produced more flowering plants:

Eyebright – Euphrasia nemorosa

Toadflax- Linaria vulgaris

Vervain-Veronica officinalis

Lesser Burdock-Arctium minus

Another grasshopper, which I think is a Mottled one as it has curved antennae, but if not then its a Field one.

A mottled, or maybe a field grasshopper

Then finally, as testament to all the recent rainfall, a big fat slug…

Although this slug is black, it is a Large Red Slug-Arion ater, which has a range of colour forms.

A close-up on insects of the Little Orme

27 Saturday Aug 2011

Posted by in Little Orme, moths, Nature

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A late afternoon walk around the Little Orme did have some purpose today, I was hoping to see a Burnet Moth and to find some insects to photograph in close-up. I was lucky on both counts: Burnet Moths were flying around visiting the wildflowers growing near the edge of the clifftop in some numbers and I found a few models willing to allow me to get close them.

27/7/11-Six-spot Burnet moth

 

6-Spot Burnet – Zygaena filipendulae

Wingspan: 30-38mm

Flight period-Mid-June to September

The commonest of Britain’s day-flying moths, the 6-Spot Burnet is found throughout Europe in habitats such as unimproved meadows, woodland clearings and sea cliffs.

27/7/11-Close-up of 7-spot Ladybird-Little Orme, N Wales

Seven-spot Ladybird– Coccinella 7-punctata

This is the most familiar of ladybirds and the one generally thought of as the typical ladybird. Common & widespread throughout most of Britain & Europe.

27/7/11-Common Greenbottle Fly

Common Greenbottle Fly (Lucilia sericata)  A common blow-fly found in most areas of the world, and the most well-known of the numerous green bottle fly species. It is 10–14 mm long, slightly larger than a housefly, and has brilliant, metallic, blue-green or golden coloration with black markings. It has black bristle-like hair and three cross-grooves on the thorax. The wings are clear with light brown veins, and the legs and antennae are black. The maggots (larvae) of the fly are used for maggot therapy. (Wikipedia)

27/7/11-Garden Bumblebee-Bombus hortorum on scotch thistle flower
27/7/11-Caterpillar of the Cinnabar Moth

At the bottom of the steep path leading up to the top of the cliffs I spotted a beautiful Common Blue male butterfly pursuing a female. He caught up with her a couple of times but she finally eluded him and he settled midway down a long grass stem.

27/7/11-Common Blue-Polyommats icarus (male)
27/7/11-Underside of the Common Blue male

There were Small Skippers flitting amongst the long grass stems too and I had a lovely front view of one of a face and furry body.

27/7/11-Front view of a Small Skipper on a red clover head

I had a brief sighting of a Small Copper butterfly here too, but it was gone before I could get to it. I walked slowly up the track, partly because it’s very steep and I probably couldn’t have gone any quicker, and partly because I was watching out for gulls that were gathering on the cliffs and flying about noisily and very low over my head. They may well have been gathering together for the night, but making quite a performance of it.

27/7/11-Herring Gull juvenile
27/7/11-Black-headed Gull, looking a bit shabby

I made it to the top of the hill and discovered it to have been well worth the effort for the views you have from up there.

27/7/11-The view from the top of the path of Penrhyn Bay & Rhos-on-Sea 

At the top I watched a white butterfly flying rather awkwardly, which  I realised was hardly surprising, as looking more closely it was actually a pair coupled together.

27/7/11-Small White butterflies mating 

On the way down I caught sight of a Whitethroat flying about the tops of the bracken and stopped hoping for better views of it. It disappeared into the depths of a bramble though and I only had brief glimpses as it worked its way through the tangle of stems. A flash of an orange butterfly caught my eye though as it came to settle on the track in front of me, wings outstretched and flattened against the bare earth – a gorgeous Comma, unfortunately not in the greatest position to photograph well, but at least I’ve recorded it now.

27/7/11-Comma – Polygonia c-album

Back at the bottom of the hill a bramble, in various stages of flowering and fruiting was attracting a lot of attention from what I’m pretty sure were Honeybees – I have seen so few since I’ve been here I was taken by surprise to see so many in one place; maybe someone has a hive locally.

27/7/11-Honeybee-Apis mellifera

Cormorants were flying in for the night too, some individuals, some in twos and threes and more in larger numbers , one behind the other.

27/7/11-Cormorants flying in for the night

Before leaving I wanted to get an image of the view from the Little Orme across to Bryn Euryn as I’ve taken the picture several times the other way round.

27/7/11-View to Bryn Euryn

Close to this spot there was a wild clematis plant covered with pretty greenish-cream flowers.

27/7/11-Wild Clematis flowers

My last interesting spot was of a Grayling butterfly; it was flying low over an area of large stone chippings upon which it came to rest. It soon moved on and I watched it go down amongst the stones, but even though I thought I’d kept my eye on it, it took me several minutes to locate it. It was perfectly camouflaged, squeezed down tightly, its wings firmly shut and it was leaning to one side, pressed against a stone. Very safe and snug, drawing heat from the sun-warmed rock, unless it rained I would guess.

27/7/11-Grayling butterfly pressed amongst stone chippings