JERSEY TIGER MOTH in ENFIELD (AGAIN) - EUPALGIA QUADRIPUNCTARIA

Well the weather has been crap and currently I am fighting off an attempt to make me homeless, despite the fact I have four things that make me homeless. Fibromyalgia (memory, feet pain and many others), damaged right knee and collapsed discs in y back are just a few of the long list I have. In fact around 5% of what I have, if that.

Trust me it is a drag like you would not believe.

So what with that, the housing situation and the dreadful weather we have been having I ave been somewhat ... preoccupied. Also my legs kind of ... just sort of switched off three times. This was due to the attack on me causing anxiety attacks so bad that they switch off your legs, which can even become permanent. Something else to worry about, ,great.

But I have seen and got something that is kind of interesting as it has occurred both in my garden and 100 yards from my house, more sightings of Jersey Tiger Moths.

I find it amusing that I have never seen the more common Garden Tiger Moths but have now seen several Jersey Tiger Moths over two or three consecutive years. Cannot quite recall if it was last year I first saw them or the year before?

I have now seen three of these over the course of just a couple of days. First one in my garden that look a little tatty and then one about 100 yards away I filmed and then as I walked away another one flew past me.

I have also had a local friend about 2 miles south of me and who knows his animals, comment on one of these posts in Facebook and tell me that he has seen them in Bush Hill Park. So unusually they seem to be fairly abundant in Enfield.

I apologise for the quality of some of the pictures and a video but then they was done on a phone,, a Moto X Style. So ... kind of not bad. Lol.

CATERPILLAR of LIME HAWK MOTH - MIMAS TILAE

Young girl brought this into my friends pet store after finding it outside my beloved Barclays Bank in the Town Centre.

We recognised it immediately as a Hawk Moth due to the tail and thanks to a discussion with my brothers I now know this to be a Lime Hawk Moth and I provided it with Lime leaves along with some Willow and by this morning it had munched a large section of the Lime.

Lime Hawk Moths are apparently easy to distinguish due to the yellow ummm backside, or vent, and is the only Hawk Moth caterpillar that has this.

VIDEO of SILVER-Y MOTH - AUTOGRAPHA GAMMA

VIDEO of SALLOW KITTEN MOTH CATERPILLAR - Furcula furcula

Quite how Ryan spotted this I do not know. Obvious once you know it is there but it was extremely small!

We had hunted for Puss Moth caterpillars and this came awfully close and my brother was almost convinced he had found them but the diminutive size made it tricky.

We can't know everything yah knoww?! LOL!

The site is also home to White Admirals and Purple Emperors might be present too as they are also at a nearby site?! I am hoping to find out if I can get a train to somewhere nearby and get there on my bike?!

Would have to be under 24 Degrees Celsius for me to do that though?!

VIDEO of PEBBLE PROMINENT MOTH CATERPILLAR - Notodonta ziczac

Up at this picturesque site we also saw this unusual looking caterpillar.

VIDEO of BUFF TIP MOTH CATERPILLARS - Phalera bucephala

Me and my brother Ryan out for a hunt. These ones will almost always produce something as he has an ability to spot many things I have trouble with.

The site has had White Admiral Butterflies along with Purple Emperors some Orchids I have yet to see in the wild and many other things too.

SALLOW KITTEN MOTH CATERPILLAR - FURCULA FURCULA

We had gone in search of Puss Moth caterpillars but ended up with Sallow Kitten Moth Caterpillars so ... almost but not quite, lol.

AN interesting species nevertheless and similar caterpillars too. I find it odd the genus names are diferent due to the similarities of both Moth and the Larvae?! In fact the Puss Moth Caterpillar at the exact same instar stage is absolutely identical in shape but lacks those light blotches and has tips at the end of the two tails that are bright red. Also there are some red markings along the flanks of the Puss Moth caterpillar too.

This caterpillar was VERY tiny.

SWALLOW TAILED MOTH - OURAPTERYX SAMBUCARIA

EDIT: Apologies as I misidentified this as a shell moth, will I did say I was rubbish at this?! Lol. Anyway I hate things up that sure strongly named do I've changed it. I'm also not and I mean NOT USING THE INTERNET any more to identify further types I now possess a book asks s number of great but probably crap pictures and videos of butterflies I've not had before! When I got to my friends Pet Store he had a surprise for me as he knows I have been working on this blog for British Wildlife. Sitting on the wall of the shop behind his plant stands was this rather large and rather lemon moth. It was larger than those I normally see and the wingspan was a little over double that of a pound coin, which I have used in one of the photos! I then did a quick search and first thought it was a Brimstone Moth and then realised it was in fact a Yellow Shell Moth, though this ones SHELL is a little broken. Once I got enough photos I then moved him to the safety of a rather large bush and took a couple more pictures before he disappeared into the thickets. I then walked back into the shop and then realised I did not get a damned video of him. I went back to have a look but I could not find him. I must say I have never seen one of these before and despite my brother informing me they are fairly common I was mightily impressed with him and his absolutely SPLENDID, as Steve would say, colour!!