Brimstone, Ruby tiger and the Shuttle-shaped Dart.

Orchard moths reveal their colours.

Travellers along Lynsted Lane on the evening of 5th August may have noticed a eerie bluish glow among the cherry trees of the Community Orchard. Closer inspection would have revealed a group of enthralled enthusiasts encircling a ‘light-trap’, as moth expert Keith Palmer identified the multitude of moths that had been attracted by the light.

Keith, a well-known Kent-based amateur lepidopterist and writer on moths, had earlier given a fact-packed talk, illustrated with fine illustrations of British moths.  He had explained that there were forty times as many moth species in the UK as there were butterflies.  They had a ‘poor press’ because most moths flew at night, and passed unnoticed: veritable ‘strangers in the night’!  Many were just as colourful as their butterfly cousins, a fact demonstrated by Keith’s excellent  photographs - and reinforced when we examined some of them first-hand in the orchard.

It was past ten o’clock before people drifted away – well satisfied with their introduction to the Orchard’s nocturnal beauties.  In all, 36 species were identified at the session.   

The evening. organised by Lynsted with Kingsdown Parish Council’s  Park  Farm Cherry Orchard Group, was part of a project supported by the Local Heritage Initiative. Orchard owners Pip and Sue Neaves are thanked for their  continued cooperation.

Orchard Group Website link

Bob Baxter.