Migrants in the Garden

Gale force winds and a dying lawn have discouraged me from putting out the trap in the garden recently, but with a lazy night in and no plans, I figured I might as well attempt with the trap one last time in April.
It was more about quality rather than quantity when I collected the trap in at 1am, with a pretty low total of 8 moths of 7 species caught. Luckily though, the main highlights saved the day (or night?!), a Pearly Underwing, and a Light Brocade.

The Brocade is a pretty common species in the garden, but doesn't usually appear until mid to late May-warmer than average temperatures must have encouraged earlier emergence...

The Pearly Underwing was completely unexpected. Its a migrant from Europe, which reaches Britain in small numbers (with influxes now and then) mainly in the autumn, so must have blown here in the strong winds. The moth was pretty worn, but the large size, and outward shaping of the forewings towards the tip make it pretty distinctive, and considering the distance its travelled, I think we can let it off for looking a bit drab!

The only other moths of note was a Diamond-back Moth, another migrant moth from Europe, and...

Cochylis atricapitana...

Swammerdamia pyrella...