Went hunting the rare Dark Bordered Beauty moth today. Didn't see any (sigh) but met 2 men who had, you know the ones, clip boards, cameras, sweep nets. In 2015 the high count had been 6!!! Butterfly Conservation launched an appeal and now there are dozens of exclosures where the larval food plant, Creeping Willow, can grow safely away from hungry sheep. Always precarious, the population had fallen because of over grazing, fire, flood, cold.
Today, those 2 men told us they had seen 31. Last year's peak was 26 and we are still very early in their brief season. There is hope for a wonderful year.
Although we didn't see what we wanted, we did find this cunningly concealed Silver Y
020718 FZ1000020718
Doggie mummy living in ancient York, Yorkshire, England.
Joined 1st Jan 2018
1st Jan 2024 have achieved 196%
I take photos, am not a photographer.
Interested in insects, primarily...
@koalagardens Confession time, I saw him go down or I probably wouldn't have seen him. He was very close to the base of the tree too..
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