Scorching Scarcities

Well, the April scorcher continues, and this seems to be encouraging a few goodies to show themselves in the garden. I took a little break from trapping for a few days, but that didn't stop the moths coming...

Whilst watering the borders a few days ago, a Buttoned Snout blasted out of the Ivy and luckily landed on the fence where I could pot it up. A garden first, and one of the rarer species I've caught here, although it does seem to have its Surrey stronghold in the gardens of the North-east of the county...

On the 20th, I caught a single Cydia strobilella flying in the afternoon sun. This is another Surrey notable, recorded from just 5 sites, but is probably under-recorded. There is also a Norway Spruce, its footplant, two doors down, which might explain its presence...

Back out with the 15w Actinic last night, and it was a good haul with 24 species. The highlights being...

Ochreous Pug...

Grey Dagger agg.

 Waved Umber...

Brimstone...

Caloptilia syringella...

Caloptilia populetorum...

... as well as a Small Dusty Wave and Swammerdarnia pyrella, both of which were a bit camera shy.

Not exactly a highlight, but we have been getting quite a few Twenty-plume Moths in the house when I haven't been trapping, and up until now I have never bothered to photograph them. Its easy to overlook them from a distance, but when you do look closely, the detail on each feather like plume is quite something...