An exciting Epping Forest micro from last week - a couple of Dichrorampha sylvicolana flushed from their Sneezewort foodplant in one of our damp grasslands. Last found in the forest, Essex and (seemingly) SE England by Maitland Emmet in the 70s, it's great to know it's still here.

Dystebenna stephensi was right at the top of my Epping Forest moth bucket list when I started working here, and so very pleased to have found lots of them on oak trunks in the last couple of weeks - rare, beautiful, and associated with fabulous old oaks. What's not to like! #TeamMoth

Thrilled to get acquainted with my first Epping Forest Purple Emperor the other week, found next to its empty pupal case in a UV-torch powered search after dark, which revealed three other (unhatched) pupae high in the Sallows, magical! #Butterflies @ukbutterflies.bsky.social

A couple of random wildlife highlights so far: Grapholita caecana - a surprise capture on an acid grassland, seems to be new to Essex, and a lovely Grass Snake on one of my reptile surveys.

Some work news - into my third month as the new(ish!) Assistant Conservation Officer in Epping Forest. Really excited to be working in such a fantastic, ancient mosaic of habitats, and enjoyed the first couple of months - mostly out in the field in beautiful spring weather, what's not to like...

It has been found over quite a large area of southern England, mostly to a range of pheromone lures in urban gardens, but also on wild Junipers on the Chilterns and Berks downs, where we found it. It is tiny and easy to overlook, so keep an eye out!

And then later in the summer, the distinctive discolouration of Juniper berries, which become papery and pale blue (with orange frass exuded from the base) when a larva is within. Check the larva though - other stuff feeds in Juniper berries (Blastobasis, Argyresthia)!

Look out for the (tiny!) adults which can be found flying low over the foodplant on warm afternoons from the end of May.

Previously only recorded once in the UK in 2018, records of Pammene juniperana have been increasing since 2022. Pleased to finally share this paper with @jamesehammond.bsky.social confirming that this lovely moth is breeding here, probably both on both wild and garden Junipers: shorturl.at/E2LrU

Despite often seeing Elachista rufocinerea as an adult, I've struggled to find its mines, so I was pleased to recently rear this one from a mine found on Holcus sp. in Bagley Woods (Oxfordshire) in December #TeamMoth #UKMoths

My first reared Elachistid of the spring emerged recently, and it was a beautiful shiny one - Elachista apicipunctella, from its subtle greenish mine on Cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) growing in Whitecross Green Wood (Bucks).

Great to be able to contribute a few photos to @vc28wildlife.bsky.social's excellent leaf mines site this winter. Includes these cases of the lovely and rare Coleophora niveicostella, feeding on Thyme at Aston Rowant NNR and eventually producing an adult last spring.

Thinking about sunnier days with a lot more butterflies and moths today, here are some of the former: Adonis Blues (Dorset), Chalkhill Blues (Dorset), Grizzled Skippers (Oxfordshire) and Silver-Washed Fritillaries (Runmaro, Sweden).

Really cool study from Germany showing the strong response of two rare calcareous grassland Fritillaries (Marsh Frit and Nickerl's Frit) to Wild Boar rooting. Creates warm micro habitats which they love, adds to work showing the benefits to Grizzled Skipper in NL: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Another nice moth from 2024 was this Cydia pactolana, reared from a larva found found in Bagley Woods (Oxon). This elusive species feeds in the trunks of young Norway Spruce trees (often where there is a wound, eg. at an axil) over the winter, producing distinctive frass piles - can be found now!

Getting towards the time of year when the mines of many grass-feeding Elachistids are most easily found. Here is a nice shiny one from last spring: Elachista gleichenella, reared from its mine on Glaucous Sedge (Carex flacca) at Aston Rowant NNR (Oxfordshire) #TeamMoth #MothsMatter

Another nice moth from June 2024: Grapholita caecana (Sainfoin Piercer) is a beautifully sleek tortrix that I've been wanting to see for a while, it was great to find several flying around their foodplant on White Horse Hill (Oxfordshire), a new site for this scarce species #UKMoths #MothsMatter

Following the twitter exodus onto blue sky with a new banner image showing a moth highlight from this summer - watching Goldenrod (P. calodactyla) and Plain Plumes (H. tephradactyla) dancing around their foodplant along a quiet Devon road verge on a warm June evening! #teammoth