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If you look carefully as you walk around you will see some rather large caterpillars along the paths, especially in the Northern Trail section. These are the young of Drinker moths. If you were a Cuckoo they would be the most appealing thing in the world! 8-6-13

Another autumnal hairy, spiky caterpillar to add to the list! This one is a Knot Grass (which is one of its many food plants). Over the years we have seen quite a few of them in the autumn although never an adult moth to the best of my knowledge! Another great shot by Roger Kelly 3-10-12

If you wander the trails at the moment you will find many pretty, stripy caterpillars in the phragmites and on the boardwalk. These are the offspring of the scarce Reed Dagger moth which is in fact very dull and not exactly inspiring to look at! However there are in important food source to migrant...

These colourful little moths can be found on any of the Mint family and so they love our herb bed with its Spearmint, Lemon balm and Black peppermint while the wild Water Mint is equally attractive. They fly at during the day or night and we seem to have two common but very similar species of Mint Moth...

In my garden Elephant Hawkmoth cats love my fushias but we do not have any so they have to revert to their natural food which is bedstraws and willowherbs both of whoch proliferate on the reserve. This fabulous cat was found by Basil Thornton as it made its way across the path. Keep your eyes open! ...

As the sun (yes, we do see it occasionally) goes down it becomes the turn of the night shift out on the marsh. Tonight we hold our first Bat Walk of the year....but it is not just bats that come out to feed. A walk around the wildlife garden the other evening revealed many moths nectaring on the remaining...

I am pretty sure that we willed this beast into existance this morning. Only last week did we miss out on the chance of getting to see a Puss Moth Caterpillar in Kent so we were delighted this morning when a radio message came through about a large green caterpiller with two tails, a dark saddle and...

With the pump running through the night it left Purfleet Scrape looking very inviting this morning and almost immediately there were waders on view with three Whimbrel, Dunlin , ten Lapwing , Snipe and three Green Sandpipers on view along with several Little Egrets and Grey Herons . Great stuff! Eight...

Jim Archer found our first fully grown Emperor moth caterpillar of the year today resplendent in its green and yellow glory. Hopefully a few more will be seen in the next few days as they head off to pupate. 26-7-12

Was very pleased to find this superb Puss Moth disguised on one of our white umbrellas today. A real treat. Their caterpillars are very spectacular and are fond of willows and poplars so let us know if you find any! by me! ... and Rocking Robin has kindly sent me a shot of an immature caterpillar...

Lots of caterpillars out on the trails now with many large Drinker and Oak Eggar cats on the move and as mentioned the other day look our for the ever growing Emperor cats in the brambles. They are still black and orange at the moment but it will not be long before they shed into glorious green and pink...

They have a long way to go in the world of 'growing up' but these Emperor Moth caterpillars are already being seen on bramble clumps around the reserve. It will take a lot of munching and several changes of skin before they resemble the huge, impressive green sausages with pink orangey-pink spots...

Lots of our moths and butterflies have got caterpillars with very groovy hairstyles. The Vapourer is one of the gaudiest with a collection of fluffy tufts like a Sid Vicious yellow Mohican and massive false eyelashes! And who in their right mind would want to eat that! Thanks to Lawrence...

Now, most people associate moths with the night and those in the know have perhaps heard about day flying species such as Tiger, Burnet and Cinnabar Moths but we also have several species of beautiful day flying long horn moths, so named for their incredibly long antennae. All are tiny and have a metallic...

With humid conditions yesterday morning, it proved to be a very good invertebrate day and Mark Hart got some good shots of three species of day flying moths along the river wall... Cream Spot Tiger Cinnabar Burnet Companion

Another great evening was had by all. It was warm and sultry with lots of flying critters and as such more bat encounters than you could throw the proverbial stick at although being in the centre meant that I had to be content with hearing everyone else having a good time over the radios with a plethera...

Last friday saw our first Bat & Moth Night of September and it was up to its usual high standards with lots of contact and some sightings of Common and Soprano Pipistrelle, Leisler's, Serotine, Noctule and Daubenton's! There are still places available on the walks on the next three Fridays...

Our Moth Night of Friday evening was a great success despite a drizzly start but it was warm and overcast and we attracted a good selection of species including: 2 Jersey Tigers, 4 Webb's Wainscot, Bullrush Wainscot, Pale Tussock, Willow Beauty, Least yellow Underwing, BBY Underwing, 5 LBBY...