Sussex Emerald
19th July 2010, MondayThis male Sussex Emerald was in my moth trap yesteday morning, but as it is quite rare I held off mentioning it until I could have the id confirmed by an expert (my thanks to Colin Pratt the Sussex county recorder for moths) First found in Britain at Beachy Head in Sussex in 1902 (hence the name), these days it is confined as a breeding species to Dungeness (though apparently it occasionally turns up as a migrant), the larvae feeding on Wild Carrot, Yarrow and other low-growing plants. It is very similar to Common Emerald, but can be told from this species by the presence of two lobes on the hind-wing (just visble at the extreme left of the left hand wing in the picture below) rather than just one.
Sussex Emerald