A Butterfly feast at Abbot's Wood & some excellent Moths from the Boxes.

 

Saturday 4^th July 2026.

Geoff, Matt & Emma walking through Straits Enclosure.

It was going to be a bit of an ‘insect day’ this Saturday as not only there were two Moth Boxes to go through, but Geoff Farwell and I met up with both Matt & Emma Parkes at Abbot’s Wood, near Farnham, to enjoy a wealth of Butterfly species that included the infamous Purple Emperor. The weather was looking very good, though on arrival, it was overcast at first. As the morning wore on, the sun finally started to break through the clouds and therefore, in the style of Liam Gallagher, I eventually shouted out ‘soonshiiiiiiiiiiiinnnne!!!

 

My Moth Box:

It was cool and overcast here in Southsea at 5.15am and it was back to the Moth Box over a nice cup of coffee to check it anything of note was here again. Another ‘Lifer’ was among the 56 moths of 27 species and this time it was a micro moth, Clover Stilt (Parectopa ononidis), which is a tiny moth that is a member of the Gracillariidae family, which prefers coastland and chalk downland.

Above, another new species of Moth for my Life List, the CLOVER STILT. Below, my first Long-legged Tabby moth for the year.

My first Langmaid’s Yellow Underwing was perched on top of the Moth Box and after ‘potting it’, I soon concluded it was this species judging by the lower wing pattern. Another Moth that was new for the year was the micro moth, Long-legged Tabby (Synaphe punctalis), another coastal species that used to be very common in my Moth Box, but now I only get them in one’s or two’s each year.

My first Langmaid's Yellow Underwing for this year.

Other notable Moths included a Clay, Small Ranunculus and the micro moths Barred Yellowneck (Oecoconia deauratella) and Diamondback Moth (Plutella xylostella). The following Moths were recorded in my garden this morning:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Riband Wave x4	Garden Grey x1
Common Emerald x1	Diamondback Moth x1
Small Ranunculus x1	Common Masoner x2
Langmaid’s Yellow Underwing * x1	Large Pale Masoner 2
Lackey x3	Garden Grass-veneer x1
Double-striped Pug x3	Privet Tortrix x1
L-album Wainscot x1	Barred Yellowneck x1
Clay x1	Blushed Knot-horn x2
Single-dotted Wave x2	Bird-cherry Ermine x1
Bright-line Bright-eye x1	Golden-brown Tubic x1
	Rusty-dot Pearl
	Long-legged Tabby * x1
	Common Plume x1
	Apple Leaf Miner x10
	Ruddy Streak x2
	CLOVER STILT x1
	Rosy Tabby x4

 

Other insects within the Moth Box this morning included a Buff-tailed Bumblebee which I carefully placed in one of the Moth Pots and deposited it in the nearby Lavender. While making my notes over another cup of coffee, I was drawn to the sound of screaming Swifts overhead and in the sky, I counted a large flock of 22 Swifts, which was easily the most I have seen here over Southsea this year.

 

Geoff Farwell’s Moth Box, Cowplain Marsh (Andy’s garden):

Another excellent Moth in Andy's garden, the Pale Prominent.

There was another reasonable haul of Moths at Cowplain Marsh this morning with another four more Moths new for the year. These included the macro moths Pale Prominent, Smoky Wainscot and a Scalloped Oak; three species that are so attractive to look at. The tiny micro moth, Water Veneer (Acentria ephermerella), was also new for the year; a species I rarely get in my Moth Box back in Southsea.

This Smoky Wainscot moth was also new for the year.

Other notable Moths included 2 Least Carpets, Knot-grass, Black Arches and the micro moth, Copper-fringed Drab (Swammerdamia pyrella). Most of the Moths were in the outside egg trays and on the walls of Andy’s outside porch, though there were some nice moths within the Moth Box and the egg boxes within it.

This Scalloped Oak moth was also new for the year.

Other insects found with the Moths included a Harvestman and also two Southern Oak-bush Crickets, though both were young individuals and not yet into full adulthood. Nevertheless, they were our first of the year.

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Least Carpet x2	Rosy Tabby x9
Common Footman x1	Garden Grass-veneer x3
Heart & Dart x2	Barred Marble x1
Scalloped Oak * x1	Diamondback Moth x1
Buff Ermine x1	Water Veneer * x1
Elephant Hawk-moth x1	Copper-fringed Drab x1
Dun-bar x1	Common Plume x2
Smoky Wainscot * x1
L-album Wainscot x1
Black Arches x1
Dark Arches x1
Single-dotted Wave x1
Bright-line Brown-eye x1
Uncertain x4
Knot-grass x1
Pale Prominent * x1
Willow Beauty x1

                

                      

This Harvestman was perched on the wall near the Moth Box.

While recording my sightings here over another cup of coffee, a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over after calling from nearby trees. An adult Nuthatch was picking off Caterpillars high up in the nearest tree by Andy’s garden and then flew off over the houses. Later today, we would all be watching the Damselflies and Butterflies by Andy’s Pond to round our day off.

 

Abbot’s Wood & Straits Enclosure, nr Farnham:

Arguably, the king of the UK Butterflies, the Purple Emperor.

An incredible 18 species of Butterfly were recorded today from both Abbot’s Wood and Straits Enclosure of which 6 were my first of the year. We pulled into the Car Park at the same time as Emma and Matt and after the initial greetings, we grabbed our camera’s and binoculars and made our way through the delightful footpaths through Abbot’s Wood. Though it was overcast at first, the Butterflies were abundant and kicked off superbly with a Silver-washed Fritillary flapping lazily down the footpath. It didn’t take too long to find our first Ringlet butterflies of the year, a species that was very abundant here and another specialty, the White Admiral, was also in very good numbers. There has been a few aberrant butterflies of this species recorded here over the past few weeks and a guy we bumped into found an aberrant Comma that looked simply black and red!

Above, one of several Beautiful Demoiselle damselflies here in Abbot's Wood. Below, good numbers of Silver-washed Fritillaries were also here.

Above, one of the footpaths that was alive with Butterflies and below, a Purple Hairstreak nectaring on a Bramble flower.

Other more common Butterflies recorded included Meadow Brown, both Large and Small White, Red Admiral, Peacock, Holly Blue and Small Skipper, but as we carried on walking through the woods up to where we found the Purple Emperor last year, we came across more Butterflies that were new for the year included Green-veined Whites, Large Skippers  and Gatekeepers, all of which were abundant along the pathway.

Above, the male Purple Emperor showing well high up in its usual clearing and below, a Wasp Plumehorn nectaring on a Upright Hedge Parsley plant.

Above, we found at least two Holly Blue's within the woodland and below, this Southern Hawker dragonfly was seen on our way out of Straits Enclosure.

Some of the larger Bramble bushes of which were flowering, were swarming with Butterflies and both Emma and I were snapping away and getting some excellent photos. Even a Hummingbird Hawk-moth flew into one of the Brambles, though it would not settle and flew off into the woods. As we approached the large clearing where we saw the Purple Emperor last year, Matt gave the shout that he had seen one gliding and flapping high overhead by the trees. This beautiful butterfly then eventually landed on an Oak branch and though we could only see its underside, it still was a magnificent sight as I managed to grab some nice photos of the insect. We had some lunch and a well-earned drink for around 15 minutes before we carried on our walk, leaving behind the Purple Emperor perched up in the tree.

Above, one of many White Admiral butterflies within the woodland and below, another superb Silver-washed Fritillary.

Above, another Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly showing well along the path and below, a Large Skipper sunning itself by the footpath.

Other notable insects seen included at least two or more Emperor Dragonflies passing close to the Bramble Bushes or passing overhead, though none would settle to grab a photo. We were lucky enough to see our first Brown Hawker also flying along the edge of the footpath, but it did not linger unlike the Beautiful Demoiselle damselflies that were in good numbers and showing nicely on some of the tree branches.

Above, my first Green-veined White butterfly of the year and quickly followed (below) by a Ringlet.

Above, a few Brimstone butterflies were also found and below, a pair of Comma's sunning themselves.

There was a good variety of plants on show of which Geoff kindly identified many of them for us. The pick of the plants were the flowering Broad-leaved Helloborine’s which we found two clumps growing by the edge of the footpaths and other plants included the very tall Marsh Thistles, Common Ragwort and Upright Hedge Parsley that grew also along the edge of the footpaths.

Above, a Small Skipper and a Meadow Brown close together.

Above, a few Grasshoppers were heard including my first Roesel's Bush-cricket; this is a Common Field Grasshopper. Below, Emma found the striking feather belonging to a Jay.

There were a lot of Garden Grass-veneer Moths present, especially in the taller grass and both Vapourer Moth (new for the year) and a Common White Wave Moth were also found.

Above, a Peacock butterfly nectaring on the Bramble flowers. Below, this Marsh Thistle was over 6 feet tall!

Above, Fleabane plants were abundant along the footpaths.

As expected, the birds were a bit quiet, but our trip here kicked off with a singing Firecrest deep within the woodland. Overhead, Common Buzzards were sailing low over the treetops and a Red Kite was heard calling in nearby trees within the Car Park. Other raptors seen here today was a Kestrel and a female Sparrowhawk flying over the woods. Marsh Tits seemed to be abundant here and both Nuthatch and Treecreeper were heard in various locations within the woodland. Last year, we had a sighting of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, but there was no sight or sound of any today.

Above, thanks to a passer-by who pointed out this Broad-leaved Helloborine plant. Below, we found good numbers of Purple Hairstreak butterflies in Straits Enclosure.

Above, a few moths were seen through our walk in the woodland. This was a Purple and Gold moth.

We eventually then made our way back to the Car Park and drove down to nearby Straits Enclosure where it was supposedly very good for Purple Hairstreak and Purple Emperors. However, it was only the former that was seen here and in good numbers too. Though most were in the high treetops, a few flew down to ground level and we managed to get some half decent images of these beautiful insects. Both Painted Lady and Speckled Wood was added to our burgeoning total as we made our way back to the main road and to our respective cars. Just before we got to the main road, a Southern Hawker Dragonfly was found by the footpath and luckily for us, it landed on the lowest branches of a tree to round off an excellent trip to this lovely part of Hampshire.

Above, the UK's most favourite butterfly, the Peacock. Below, the king of the woods, the male Purple Emperor.

Cowplain Marsh (Andy’s garden).

Dropping off Geoff, we then grabbed a coffee and joined Andy by the Pond to watch both the Damselflies and Butterflies around his Pond. So while enjoying another cup of coffee, the insects came in and included Peacocks, Comma’s, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood and a few Holly Blue butterflies and both Large Red Damselfly and Blue-tailed Damselfly was present by the Pond. A most enjoyable day with excellent company once again.