Manic Monday . . .

A very good moth night last night, the trap was heaving. A new moth was a handsome Black Arches, a cracking moth! Other good moths included Maple Prominent and several Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing's pictured below. The last two moths below are as yet unidentified micros! We also caught a couple more 'local' Rosy Footman.

Sunday Shots . . . 

An interesting rove beetle made a brief appearance in the garden this morning, although there are hundreds of rove beetle species in the UK (1000 in Europe) this one seems most like Staphylinus caesareus. Moth trapping last night saw us catch one of my favourite moths, the Herald. Also a Dunbar. A relaxing walk on a local heath produced several large Emperor Moth caterpillars . . .

Saturday in Norfolk

A few images from a wonderful day out in Norfolk. The day started ominously with rain clouds & a flat battery, but after jump starting the car I was on my way to what turned out to be a rain free, great day out with lots of macro photography. Here we have a mating pair of Blue-tailed Damselflies & an attractive Ringlet butterfly.

July has seen more Moth trapping in the garden though the break in the mediterranean weather last week with impressive storms & heavy rain has meant a few moth-less nights. Pictured from top to bottom: Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar, Marbled Beauty, Knot Grass, Chinese Character, Spectacle & Buff Arches.

Seeing the Light 'Finch by Finch'

Solo Cast Glass Sculpture Exhibition by Tolly Nason

Zoology Museum - Cambridge

After many months of intense work by Tolly & a week of help from family & friends before the deadline, this superbly unique exhibition opened with private views on Wednesday & Thursday evening at the Zoology Museum in Cambridge & has been hailed a huge success! The exhibition centre-piece consists of 14 solid, large-scale, red cast glass polished Finch beaks on wooden plinths, all individually lit from behind. These fine specimens show the evolution of species with the development of 14 different beak shapes from one species, adapted & evolved over time to utilize the food sources available to the Finches on different isolated Islands within the Galapagos. The sculptures are exact enlarged replicas (20x) of the beaks, taken from Darwin's Finch collection brought back to the UK on the 'Beagle' voyage. This exhibition is in conjunction with the Darwin Festival & is open now until September - so if you are in Cambridge, be sure to pop into the Museum & take a look. More on these & other works by Tolly can be viewed at:

The Bower House Gallery & www.tollysark.com

In between helping with the exhibition, moth trapping has still been underway in the Woodbridge garden. The first images on this posting are of a scarce immigrant to the east coast - a Red-necked Footman. I had only seen them previously on the Isles of Scillly. The other images are of a White Satin Moth, Orange Moth, Scalloped Shell, Rosy Footman & last but not least, the Wood Mouse (again!).