Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina)

Zeuzera pyrina, a member of the Cossidae family and commonly known as the Leopard Moth. It has a wide distribution over the woodlands, gardens and orchids of Southern England and Wales. They are known for having a particularly veracious and therefore destructive larval stage, eating the heartwood of a variety of deciduous trees especially apples, pears and plums.

This one was spotted in the garden of a pub in Chelmsford on a very warm evening between 22.00 - 23.00 attracted to the bare bulb above our table.

Least Carpet (Idaea rusticata)

This small moth was found last night (well, early hours of this morning) on the well-lit stairwell of the block of flats I am currently resident of. It has a wingspan of less than 2cm. I found it easy to identify thanks to many prominent markings; the dots on the perimeter of the wings, the relatively central dots on each hind- and forewing, and of course the big blotch of colour spreading across a great deal of the forewing.

Common Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)

This was taken on the Isle of Arran. I think it was November 2008. Camping on Arran I saw plenty of these pretty birds stalking around.

Elephant Hawkmoth (Deilephila elpenor)

I will start with a personal favourite! This beautiful caterpillar was spotted on the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path in between Amroth and Tenby in September 2009. It measures perhaps 6cm in length, and above and slightly back from the small head are some 'eyes'. These false eyes are for fooling would-be predators, who may think that their prey is actually a snake. When threatened the caterpillar will retract its head back into the body and the new 'eyes' will be at the front of the creature, hopefully scaring off hungry birds!

After pupating, the caterpillar turns into an even more striking large hawkmoth, with a green and pink furry body. I've been lucky enough to see an adult twice, but as yet don't have a photograph.

Welcome to Species Bank

This is an idea that I've had brewing for a long time. Not sure if the blog format is the best for it, but I don't own a domain that would let me thrash it out the way I want it. This will do for now.

For many months I have wanted to create a bank of pictures I have taken myself of different species I have come across in the British Isles. I aim to have one picture per species (with the exception of creatures that have larval stages or sufficient variation between sexes or distribution). Also, if I know anything about it, I would perhaps like to make a few notes on behaviour and habitat, but only observations I've made myself (I'd like to add at this moment that it's possible, nay probable that my girlfriend will have taken some of the photos and noted some of the behaviour).

At first I aim to include all of the animals I've seen, and then perhaps add some plants also, my knowledge is not so good there, though.

So I'll sign this one off by getting the boring entry out of the way: the human; homo sapiens. You don't need a picture!