This blog has largely focused on UK Birds, Butterflies & Dragonflies in recent months. So for a change a day flying Moth: Jersey Tiger. This is not an uncommon species to those who run Moth traps along the Dorset coast & I was surprised to not caught one when I brought my Moth trap out of retirement 3 years ago for the Summer. Despite their frequency locally, I have only run into a couple before & so was pleased when I saw one whilst out walking locally.
Jersey Tiger: A great moth to see
Its most likely confusion Moth is the similar sized Garden Tiger which is a common & widespread Moth across all of lowland UK.
Jersey Tiger: It was really happy to nectar on this Marjoram
It is local to Devon, Dorset, the Isle of Wight & part of the Kent coast. The excellent, Dorset Moth Group website, states it is a coastal species found from Abbotsbury to Portland & Weymouth and also around the Swanage area. There are a few scattered records elsewhere in Dorset. The first Dorset record was 1964, but it is only in the last 15 years or so, that it has become more regular in coastal Dorset. It is a large day flying Moth, which will also come to MV Moth traps.
Garden Tiger: Swanage (7 July 10). Note, the upper wing is brown with wavy white lines, rather than black with straight lines. Also there wing shape is far more rounded
Garden Tiger: Swanage (7 July 10)