Rye Harbour Moths (and the odd spider)
24th August 2009, MondayThis mornings catch was typical of this year really - a decent number of species (but nothing exceptional) with a few which are uncommon at Rye Harbour (but few real rarities), and several common migrants. The latter category this morning included quite a few Rush Veneer and the odd Diamond-back Moth (both micros), Dark Sword Grass and White-point (macros), while the ‘uncommons’ included Cypress Pug (below, a relatively recent arrival in Britain, with the first record in 1959) and Lesser Treble Bar. The only real rarity was a single Ethmia bipunctella (see here), and it doesn’t seem to have been a great year for this species.
Cypress Pug
While searching for stragglers from the moth trap around Lime Kiln, I came across this Bridge Spider in the last stages of moult. The top of the old cuticle has popped off from the thorax (you can just make this out at the end of the abdomen) and the spider is drawing out its legs. After this, the spider will remain hanging until the new cuticle has hardened and darkened.
Moulting Bridge Spider