A Kent Birthday.

 It has almost become a tradition now, for me to spend my birthday in the delights of Denge woods in Kent. I think this is either the 3rd or 4th time I have been over there on my birthday.

Apart from the usual delights of the impressive Lady Orchids, and the woodland setting for the lovely Duke of Burgundy, it's actually the delightful Anania funebris that pulls me back year after year. This is certainly one of my favourite micro moths, which is also very difficult to get really good photos of, as they are extremely flighty, and they have a habit of hiding under various leaves.

As Chris had invited me and Lisa over to his place for dinner that evening, my time was a bit more limited than I wanted, but, having said that, there is nothing like a fabulous day out in one of my favourite places, followed by a really good curry and wine with the family!!

As ever, the day started off with one of the large and impressive Lady Orchids, that are found in and around the site.

Lady Orchid.

It was then, after entering the site, walking really slowly, that I was hoping to find my main target of the day, the Anania funebris. This moth, also known as the White-spotted Sable, is probably now extinct in Sussex. Myself and Mike Mullis were the last people to record this moth in Sussex, back in 2018, in a private woodland that we both survey. Every year we hope to encounter the moth again in Sussex, but alas it still hasn't happened, but we still haven't given up.

 In this Kent woodland though, conservation efforts have been very successful in helping the moth increase its numbers, and it is a regular sight here. In fact I saw my first one within 10 minutes of entering the woodland, and I had only seen one Duke of Burgundy at that point. It was still quite cool when the tiny moth flew up in front of me, and with it being so cool, the moth landed on top of a leaf and seemed to fall asleep. I have never had it so easy with this species before!!

Anania funebris.

After a couple of minutes, it did walk a couple of centimetres to the edge of the leaf.

It was certainly  'fill the boots' time. Eventually it did move a little further, but it still performed extremely well.

It then flew a very short distance, but still it continued to show well.

After this birthday treat I thought it couldn't get any better, but after searching for more of them, and seeing several that kept hiding, another one eventually showed well enough to photograph. This one was more like the usual encounters, with several landings on the undersides of leaves, but one very brief chance, this time with its wings spread further than the earlier moth.

Anania funebris.

There is another micro moth found here that is probably extinct in Sussex. This is the Eucosma aspidiscana. Like the Anania funebris, the larval foodplant is Goldenrod, so the conservation efforts to help the Anania funebris, actually also helps the Eucosma aspidiscana. It too is found in reasonable numbers in the wood.

Eucosma aspidiscana.

Of course, the Duke of Burgundy, is the species most people go to this woodland for, and after some time the temptation to photograph one got too much, I found a half decent male to photograph.

Male Duke of Burgundy.

In the cooler conditions earlier in the day, I had also found a sleepy Orange-tailed Mining Bee, that I felt warranted a photograph.

Orange-tailed Mining Bee.

As the day wore on, I was thinking that I really ought to head home, as I had to get back to Seaford to pick Lisa up, before then heading over to Chris's. It's never an easy or fast drive back from Kent. I started to head back to the entrance, when I suddenly spotted a freshly emerged female Duke of Burgundy. This is the 3rd time that this has happened in this wood, that a very fresh female Duke has appeared. This one also performed extremely well for me, as it posed on Dogwood and Hazel leaves. It was so fresh, I think I possibly witnessed its maiden flight, and it certainly didn't want to fly far at all, so I spent around 20 minutes with her. I also managed to put other enthusiasts onto the butterfly, so they too hopefully got some great shots of her.

 

The beautiful female Duke of Burgundy.

It was certainly a fabulous and fitting finale to a perfect birthday!!