A Monarch has been reported by I.A.Smith in his garden at Lee-on-the Solent,Gosport,Hampshire,which is very near to a garden where Monarchs are being bred in captivity,and so it is possible that it had just escaped,as one is known to have done in early June.It is also possible that this earlier escapee is responsible for some or all of the sightings in June on the Isle of Wight or at Gosport,Hampshire.

The Monarch first seen and photographed by Anne McCue on 17th June was seen & photographed again by her and others on 18th & 19th after roosting in an evergreen tree.It was last seen at about 1130 on 19th and so could have been the one seen at 1330 at Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight flying from the north-east,the direction of Gosport.The arrival of the Monarch coincided with the arrival of Clouded Yellows recorded on 18th in Hampshire(including Gosport),Somerset,Dorset & Sussex,so that the Monarch is likely to have been a wild migrant from southern Spain,Madeira,the Canary Islands,or even blown off course from northward migration in North America,rather than a deliberate or accidental release of one bred in captivity locally.

Humming-bird Hawk-moth egg-laying on Cleavers/Goose Grass on 30th June.

29/6/13 : Painted Lady Butterfly seen in our garden today.

Red-veined Darter at Spurn.

Night of 26 June: Purple Marbled trapped at Lydd-on-Sea

Night of 28 June, 1 Small Marbled, 1 Diamond Back

2 more Toadflax Brocades caught last night

Afternoon of 27/06

Longrock, near Penzance: single Clouded Yellow

Cudden Point, near Perranutnoe: 2 Painted Lady, 1Red Admiral

Toadflax Brocade in garden trap this morning.