Moth news - recent searches for some of our rare species have turned up two new sites for Drab Looper on private woodland in the project area, very encouraging as this species is only normally recorded from one or two sites in Kent each year. Anania funebris is also on the wing, please let us know if you see any!

The tiny Epichnopterix plumella moth (small, black, easy to identify) has cropped up on a couple of sites in the project area, whilst this is not as rare as some of our other moths in East Kent, it is a new record for the project area.

Duke of Burgundy have been having a good season in Kent in 2010, with their success recorded by our committed band of 'Duke Guardian' volunteers.

Numbers at their stronghold at Denge were higher than they have been for manyyears, and a number of sightings have been made of Dukes using the newly created wide ride. Grizzled Skipper also made a reappearance at Denge, a welcome site not having been recorded here since 2006.

At another site over 100 individuals were recorded in just one day and two new sites have been colonised, taking the total number of sites with Duke of Burgundy to 9 (in 2007 we were thought to be down to just 2)! Excellent news!

Our search with Natural England volunteers for Duke of Burgundy at Wye NNR on 18th May almost ended with a negtive result, until Ernest piped up in the late afternoon with "I've not seen this one before" finding a single male holding territory at the base of the Devil's Kneading Trough. A hopeful sign that others might also be present!

Excellent turn out for our "Creatures of the Night" (National Moth Night) and Butterfly Walk at Godmersham Park on 15/16 May. Thanks to John Puckett for a wonderful talk and walk sharing his bat knowledge, and to Greg Ellis for showing us around the estate and gardens!

24th April 2010 - 18 volunteers attended the "Duke Guardian" Workshop. The aim of the day was to co-ordinate survey of current, past, or potential sites for Duke of Burgundy. With the sun shining, and temperatures up to over 20 oC, Alan's persistent searching turned up the 1st record of Duke of Burgundy at Denge, finishing the day off perfectly!

8th April 2010 - Nigel & Julian went moth trapping in Denge Woods. Over 100 moths and 15 species recorded, including Water Carpet.

5th December 2009 - Butterfly Conservation volunteers put on their boots and braved the cold to remove conifer and create islands of scrub at Bonsai Bank, Denge Woods - the aim? creating more habitat for the rare Duke of Burgundy butterfly...