Small Ranunculus adult

24th May

Chepstow- New and old acquaintances

A cool overnight period was forecast for today with clear spells but I vowed I would put the light-trap out anyway to see what it anything would turn up.

Pysche Casta larval-case in mortar joint

By day, I decided to have a look around the garden at flowers and shrubs to how things were developing. It was when I returned from the pond that an odd shape caught my eye on the retaining wall. I went investigate and then found the construction of the Pysche Casta (Common Bagworm) moth which makes it's case out of grass stems or rush. I've only seen it 3 times now, twice in woods on leaves, and now attached to the wall. I 've always been amazed with the structure that this moth creates every time I see it.

Maiden's Blush

For the light-trap, not many moths did turn up due to a cool night.
The best was Buff-tip, a Maiden's Blush which I had not seen for quite a while, and the best of all was a Small Ranunculus. This adult moth was only the 2nd one I had seen on site (although arguably I have not been trapping at home on a regular basis) after the first in August 2013. It's the first time that I'd seen it in the town in May, normally it's the months of July and August.

Small Ranunculus

There are quite a few mini sites around Chepstow that I know of via the larval form through searching the last few years but I don't get to see the adult too often. It appears sporadically, unexpectedly, in the town despite my searches. Given the amount of caterpillars I've registered over the years I would expect more adults to arrive. My site would be central to it's known range so adults would fly in from most directions.