Fox Moth Macrothylacia rubi

Macrothylacia rubi, a member of the Lasiocampidae family and commonly known as the Fox Moth. It has a wide distribution across the UK and can be found in open woodland, moors, bogs, heaths and coastal dunes. The caterpillars feed primarily on bilburry, bramble and heather and can be seenon open ground near their coastal habitat prior to hibernatiopn in leaf litter over the winter. Adults are on the wing between May-July and display sexual dimorphism-females are slightly larger than the males and are not as brightly coloured, tending to be more grey/brown than red/brown.

Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea)

The Arctic Tern can be found breeding on Lindesfarne Island, off the coast of Northumberland, from May through to July. It nests on the ground, and the breeding pairs will sit on or near the eggs, ready to defend them with their lives against anyone who so much as walks past! Above, a placid looking tern guards its speckled egg. The below pic, however, shows what happens when someone walks past.

A loud clicking noise followed by a screech emits from the beak of the tern as it dive-bombs down to attack heads, before wheeling around and starting again. A sturdy hat is a must when in close proximity of terns!

Once the breeding season is complete, an Arctic tern will migrate to the Southern Hemisphere to winter there. A fledgling has in the past been recorded to make the journey from Lindisfarne to Melbourne, Australia in just three months. With a migratory round trip of approximately 44,000 miles, the Arctic tern is unrivalled in its annual mileage.

Common Cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha)

This Cockchafer was found on bracken on the Pembrokeshire coast near to Fishguard in July. At about three centimetres long, this is a large beetle that feeds on leaves. The wing case is coated in lovely looking white hairs, and the face hosts some interesting mouthparts! This beetle has a life cycle lasting three years, two of those spent underground as a larva munching on plant roots.

Drinker Moth (Euthrix potatoria)

The drinker is apparently so named due to the habit of the larvae sucking up water droplets after rainfall. This particular caterpillar was found amongst the grassy dunes near a beach in Northumberland. It pupates on grass stems in a yellowish cocoon (unfortunately didn't take a photo of one of these) that look similar to that of a Burnet moth. The imago (adult form) is pale brown in colour.

European Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

The European Robin is a small insectivorous songbird with a beautiful song. The birds are quite happy in the company of humans, and are believed to have a relationship with us going back thousands of years. This began when farmers first started tilling the land, turning the soil to reveal protein rich grubs for hungry and opportunistic birds. This specimen was spotted at Windemere Rail Station, Cumbria in April.

European Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis)

The European Shag nests every year in extremely large numbers on the Farne Islands. I couldn't resist putting two photos up for this bird. The first is of what seems a nice family unit on Inner Farne. The second, a beautiful profile taken on Lindisfarne.

The Lackey Moth (Malacosoma neustria)

This is the larvae of the Lackey Moth. I fell in love with these iridescent tent caterpillars, after seeing them on a warm May day near Marloe Sands in Pembrokeshire. They form vast silken tents for temperature regulation on hawthorn and blackthorn. The imago, by comparison is a dull brown colour.