348 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
Butterflies and Moths
at North Fambridge in 1955
Notes from My Diary
BY JACK T. FRIEDLEIN
M
arch 21st. The first Peacock out from hibernation.
April 5th. A Brimstone at Battlesbridge. Two Small Tortoiseshells

and a Peacock at home. 7th-llth. A Comma, several Brimstones, Peacocks
and Small Tortoiseshells. 19th. Small Whites and Tortoiseshells. 26th.
A Common Blue and some Brimstones.
May 7th. Numerous Orange Tips, Whites, Blues and a few Peacocks.
15th. A Wall butterfly today. 23rd. Numbers of Orange Tips and Whites.
27th. The first Silver-Y tonight. 29th. The first Red Admiral in the gar-
den. 30th. A male Emperor moth.
June 5th. A Cinnabar moth came to light at midnight. 13th. The first
Humming-bird Hawk-moth at Valerian flowers. 28th. A Humming-Bird
Hawk-moth, several Small Tortoiseshells and one Red Admiral during the
day and an Elephant Hawk-moth at flowers at night. 29th. Meadow Browns
on the wing.
July 1st. Two Elephant Hawk-moths feeding at Valerian this evening.
7th. Lovely weather but butterflies are scarce. 8th. Five White-letter
Hairstreaks on the usual bramble bush on the farm. 10th. A Humming-
Bird Hawk-moth at flowers. 13th. Gatekeepers, Small Tortoiseshells;
Meadow Browns and Common Blues in flight. 16th. Seven White-letter
Hairstreaks and two Commas on the same bush. 17th. I looked up the
local woods. In one, several White Admirals, Commas and Ringlets were
seen. In another, a nice number of Silver-washed Fritillaries and several
White Admirals and Commas. 21st. Three Garden Tiger moths came to
lamp light. 22nd. 12 White-letter Hairstreaks on the same bush. This is
a self-contained colony on the farm. I know of no others within two miles
or so.
August 1st. Oak Eggars were assembling around a bramble bush. I
searched and eventually found the female, mated, under a mass of dead
leaves quite hidden from sight. 8th to 15th. Several Peacocks and Red
Admirals on Buddleia flowen. 16th. Large Whites and Magpie moths in
abundance. 20th. Peacock butterflies already hibernating in the sheds.
23rd. The first Humming-Bird Hawk-moth for some weeks feeding at
Honeysuckle. Numerous moths, including several Old Ladies and one Bed
Underwing feeding on damaged plums at night. 27th. Small and Large
Whites, some Blues, Meadow Browns, Gatekeepers and scores of Small
Tortoiseshells on Lucerne flowers. Red Admirals abundant on Buddleia
flowers.
September 6th. Small Tortoiseshells plentiful, but the Peacocks have all
hibernated. I saw the first and only Clouded Yellow of the year. 8th.
Silver-Y moths feeding in daylight on flowers of Lucerne and Honeysuckle.
Newly-emerged Commas on the wing. 12th to 17th. Only Bed Admirals
—they are still numerous. I have not seen a Small Copper all the summer
here. 19th. All the Red Admirals have gone. They were in perfect con-
dition and the weather is perfect, so I presume that they have flown south-
ward. 27th. One Red Admiral, two Commas and one Small Tortoiseshell.