Sunday 22nd June 2014

Today Chris and I headed out to Ballaghennie, hoping to be able to use our macro lenses on bugs. I managed to locate a Scarce Crimson and Gold (Pyrausta Sanguinalis) which is a tiny day flying moth that only occurs in one place on the island and two locations in Ireland. After getting a few pictures of it, I noticed it seemed to be struggling to fly. Chris moved the grass slightly to free it only for us to realise it had been caught by a Jumping Spider - the first one I've seen on the island.

We went briefly to the Point of Ayre but, didn't see anything apart from the usual

We decided to head back to Ballaghennie to see if we could get more/ better pictures of the Pyrausta. When we arrived however, we found something else - a Small Elephant Hawk Moth. Chris ran a moth trap out here a few years ago and caught 36 specimens (none harmed and released after counting) but had never seen one in daylight.

We phoned Bill but, he was busy at home so, a few more pictures and we decided to leave a sign for him

Just as we were about to Leave, Bill arrived so we found him a Pyrausta and showed him the Hawk Moth