Today I went outside with my girl's camera (she was out and therefore couldn't stop me, muahaha!)
We don't have a Macro lens, so I chucked a long-ish distance zoom lens that she uses for sports photography (Roller Derby) on the camera, got the tripod, and went into our garden. Turns out a long-distance zoom was the best idea as the Butterflies tend to bugger off if I get too close.
Anyway, We planted a garden specifically to attract Bees and Butterflies, and generally make it a haven for pollinators and other desirable wildlife. I was hoping to attract Butterflies, but my main mission was to attract Garden Tiger Moths, because they are some of the most beautiful creatures we get in the UK, in my opinion.
So I saw a couple on our Buddleja, and I was chuffed to bits! Took some pics of them, posted them on Facebook.
One of my very knowledgeable friends posted this under one of my pics:
" Dude, you are very privileged, because this is not a garden tiger moth. It is the extremely rare Jersey Tiger Moth. However, it breeds in 2 locations in the UK (outside of the Channel Islands, hence the name) and they both happen to be within spitting distance of Exeter. When I lived there,, I saw several each year, but have never seen them further away from Exeter than Lympstone or Dunsford."
Needless to say, I'm over the moon!
