The Lyons Share

Last night, despite the wind, I moth trapped at Benfield on the edge of Brighton for the second time in three years. Last time we had over 100 species of moth. This time we only managed around 20 but to be honest, I was surprised at that. Highlights included Elephant and Small Elephant Hawkmoth, Pretty Chalk Carpet and Galium Carpet. The scarcest invertebrate of the night was perhaps the soldier beetle Rhagonycha lutea but the highlight for me was the above leaf beetle Chrysolina hyperici which was a tick for me. This leaf beetle, as the name suggests, feeds on St Johnsworts and is distinctive in the strange paired punctures on the elytra. Like a very small and OCD vampire has systematically worked its way around the beetle.