Saturday 21st April was a beautiful day and I was at last able to walk the full Ffos Las circuit of footpaths albeit minus the dog who is now too creaky in her front legs to manage the distance. The skylarks were singing and the butterflies were on the wing for the first time apart from a couple of small tortoiseshells and peacock seen on odd occasions over the past 2-3 weeks. My tally for the afternoon was: 13 male orange tips, 2 male brimstones, 2 small tortoiseshells, a speckled wood and this pair of green-veined whites.
Last year Ian asked me to keep an eye out for Adela cuprella on the Ffos Las willows, but despite my best efforts, I haven't seen this elusive moth yet but I shall keep looking all the time the pussy willows are in flower.
It appears that spring is now over and we are back to winter again but here's hoping for more bright days soon and balmy nights for all you moth trappers.
Lovely to read your Ffos Las reports again! Great GVW picture too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rosemary. What a difference 3 days make. I've just got home from doing exactly the same walk although it was about 10 degrees colder and windy so my total butterfly count was only 3 male orange tips. The skylarks weren't singing but the first swallows were skimming over the ponds so summer can't be too far away!
ReplyDeleteHello. I saw a male Adela cuprella today near Cynwyl Elfed. I'd never seen one before so I've just looked it up and learned about it! We have an area of woodland with lots of willow although I saw it on some rosebay willowherb. - Sally Rimmer
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