White Stripes

On the morning of 2 September 2006 I turned over the final egg box in the garden MV trap (here in Banstead, Surrey) to be surprised and delighted by a Striped Hawk-moth, a decent migrant record especially for a site so far inland. A once in a lifetime back garden capture - or so I thought. Fast forward to the morning of 2 June 2026, same site, same MV trap, with the same result - only this time a Striped Hawk-moth was the first species to be seen, hanging onto the cone of the trap. There are plenty of grizzled old moth trappers who will not record this in their gardens (even coastal ones) so I am understanding of my good fortune. They are smart, as can be seen from the images above and below. I had switched on the trap with a vague (oh alright, strong) hankering after an Eastern Bordered Straw, a species that has been almost invasive during late May and early June (I'd seen three at Dungeness recently). I still live in hope that the odd one may still be floating around.


In the same trap was this Puss Moth, much commoner nationally than the Striped Hawk-moth but not in my garden, as this, too, was just the second Banstead record.

Since returning from Dungeness on May 31st the weather has been unpleasant, with much rain, cloud and wind, the temperature not getting much above 15C. This may have something to do with my lack of time in the field and will admit to finding it hard to keep motivated locally after spending so much time in a biodiversity hot-spot. However, Surrey is a great place for invertebrates and boasts a diverse flora, so I just need to wipe clean the lenses on my binoculars and get back out there! This morning found me staying local, taking in the meadows of Nork Park, refreshed by recent rain and starting to break out in mass flower. The suite of species will change over the coming weeks, with today's colour choice being white courtesy of mostly Ox-eye Daisy and Hedge Bedstraw. My grass identification could do with a good kick up the backside, but my lack of naming them did not take away from the visual pleasure to be gained via a sea of nodding dried grass-heads in the sun. In previous years I've had three-figure counts of Bee Orchids in the area, but could just find the one this morning (pictured above).

 

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