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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 1d

Coleophora kuehnella (Cloaked Case-bearer) from back in June at a local site. ID confirmed thanks to a gen. det. by Tony Davis. It’s a rarely recorded species in Devon and one I’d not seen before this year - now seen the adult and the larval case at different sites. #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 2d

This was a bit of a surprise when turning over apple leaves looking for leaf miners - Pale Tussock moth caterpillar 🐛 #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 3d

Interesting- all but one of my garden records are from Oct/Nov, just a single one in July 2023

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 3d

I have no idea I’m afraid. It’s guesswork really, but their occurrences in Devon don’t always seem to particularly correspond to immigration, plus they are so regular now every year

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 3d

Blair’s Mocha emergence is starting. This lovely individual was in the garden trap this morning, a different one from yesterday. #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 3d

Me neither

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 6d

Amazed to see my first ever Dusky-lemon Sallow on a very cold evening in south Devon this week. A rare species in Devon with only a handful of records this century. #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 7d

Really looking forward to speaking in Wiltshire tomorrow about the impacts of climate change on UK butterflies & moths butterfly-conservation.org/events/wilts...

Wiltshire Members' Day - Chippenham

Wiltshire Branch of Butterfly Conservation invites everyone to join us at our Members’ Day on Saturday 4th October at Biddestone Village Hall near Chippenham. A friendly social event with some great ...

butterfly-conservation.org

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 9d

Yep! Set a challenge of trying to get 1000 moth species in the UK this year. Getting close now…

Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 9d

Finished September with lifer number 90 for the year with mines of Chrysoesthia drurella (Fiery Miner) at Dawlish Warren with Kevin Rylands. Seems to be a very scarce moth in Devon, though presumably it is also under-recorded. Brings me to 968 moth species for the year so far. #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 10d

Early mines of Ectoedemia erythrogenella (Coast Dot) on the east Devon coast on Sunday - a scarce species on bramble. The egg is clearly visible on the upper surface of the leaf. #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 11d

Surely chaps with those tasselled fringes?

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 11d

It had made a home for itself by folding over the edge of an Alder leaf. I just took the leaf home and kept in a container. Once it had finished feeding, the larva pupated on the side of the container and emerged successfully today. I’ll take it back to the original site tomorrow and release it

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 11d

Lifer today when this Caloptilia falconipennella (Dark Alder Stilt) emerged from a larva I found on Alder at Dawlish Warren earlier this month. #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 12d

I only know one reliable site for it in Devon

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 12d

It’s a lovely moth - not one I see very often

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 12d

Slow going adding NFY moths at the moment with cold nights every night. Thankfully Oak Lutestrings were out in force at our local hotspot for this species on Friday night. This perfect Flounced Chestnut was the only other NFY. #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 13d

This might be my best ever Vestal - from the garden moth-trap last night 😍 #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 14d

Another early stage lifer for me from Norfolk last week with James Symonds - Mompha terminella (Enchanter's Mompha) #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 14d

I guess because of the Channel. The species had to overcome that barrier and by the time it had, much of England was climatically suitable enabling a rapid range expansion? @mothyblackburn.bsky.social is the expert when it comes to colonisation

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UKBMS @ukbms.bsky.social · 17d

Its week 26, the final week of our 50th survey season! 🎺 🎉 🦋 🥳

A HUGE thank you to all the fantastic volunteers for walking transects, recording butterflies and entering data this year.

Your efforts greatly contribute to our understanding of butterfly populations and helps us conserve them ❤️

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 18d

For butterflies and moths the analysis matches what we’ve seen for a long time - a mixture of winners and losers in terms of distribution change

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 18d

A few Coleophora from Norfolk last week with James Symonds. First two are scarce and were lifers for me: C. albicans (Wormwood Case-bearer), C. deviella (Blite Case-bearer), C. peribenanderi (Thistle Case-bearer) & C. lineolea (Woundwort Case-bearer) #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 19d

Anomalous from a local heathland on Friday night - a strange looking moth (hence the name) that apparently used to be known as the False Footman. #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 21d

Same family of plants yes

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 21d

Cochylidia heydeniana (Blue Fleabane Straw) was a new species for me in the Brecks this week. The larvae mine the flowerheads of Blue Fleabane. #teammoth

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Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · 21d

Celebrating 50 years of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme! 🎉

Join us for a day of butterfly talks, workshops and a celebration of volunteer citizen science. Book your free place 👉 buff.ly/tsGqc4S

📸: Iain H Leach
#UKBMS50

White Admiral butterfly on bramble flowers

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 22d

Thought it might be too late in the year, so I was delighted to find a Scarce Pug larva on the Norfolk coast yesterday - a lifer for me and a Nationally Rare species #teammoth

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Richard Fox @richardfoxbc.bsky.social · 23d

A little bit of moth trapping in the Brecks last night added a few NFY including Autumnal Rustic & Lunar Yellow Underwing #teammoth

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Butterfly Conservation @savebutterflies.bsky.social · 28d

On average, #BigButterflyCount participants recorded 10.3 butterflies per 15-minute count 🦋

While a marked improvement on 2024’s record low of 7.2, it is only broadly average by modern standards, and has done little to reverse longer-term declines.

👉 butterfly-conservation.org/big-butterfl...

A line graph illustrating the average number of butterflies per count in Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count from 2016 - 2025. The graph shows years on the y-axis and the average number of butterflies on a scale of 0-20 on the x-axis. A dotted vertical line places the 10-year average at around 11 butterflies per count.

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