Thursday 16 June 2011

Kirkstall Hill sightings


Earlier this evening I discovered Five-Spot Burnet moths (Zygaena trifolii) in the short grasses near the top of Kirkstall Hill. I counted eight in total, dotted around on flower heads of Ribwort Plantain and Red Clover. Its a distinctive day flying moth with metallic looking black forewings coloured with red dots and black clubbed antennae.


The larvae feed on Bird's Foot Trefoils, located nearby. I've yet to develop the knack of spotting butterfly and moth eggs and chrysalis, so I was happy enough with my discovery of a Five-Spot chrysalis, the moth still inside the semi opaque papery yellow casing.


Also on the hill, this well worn Small Tortoiseshell soaking up some early evening rays. Altogether a pretty good bounty for such a brief stroll-io-lio.



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