More Than Micro Interest at Farnham

After several weeks of appaling weather, I took my first proper outing with my loaned generator yesterday evening.  It was a bit windy, and the sky was rather clear by the end, but I was pretty happy with a total of 45 species, in what was my first real attempt at IDing all micros too (thanks to the new micro book of course!).  I trapped on a small water meadow next to the River Wey, on the RSPB reserve at Farnham Heath.  Best macros were only my second ever Sandy Carpet and Slender Pug.  I was delighted with how many micros I was able to successfully ID (I hope!), including the Reed feeder Elachista maculicerusella.

15th June, Farnham Heath:

7 Straw Dot

6 Celypha lacunana

5 Scorparia ambigualis

4 Agapeta hamana

4 Marbled Brown

3 Small Rivulet

3 Common Carpet

3 Common Marbled Carpet

2 Scorparia pyralella

2 Yellow Shell

2 Sandy Carpet

2 Brown Silver-line

2 May Highflyer

2 Common White Wave

2 Snout

2 Green Carpet

2 Peppered Moth

1 Cnephasia sp.

1 Coleophora sp.

1 Nemophora degreella (before dusk)

1 Elachista maculicerusella

1 Argyresthia retinella

1 Caloptilia alchimiella

1 Triaxomera parasitella

1 Fox Moth

1 Rivulet

1 Argyresthia brockeela

1 Silver-ground Carpet

1 Water Ermine

1 Grey Pug

1 Small Elephant Hawk

1 Heart and Dart

1 Udea olivalis

1 Clouded Border

1 Mottled Beauty

1 Grey Pine Carpet

1 Waved Umber

1 Buff Ermine

1 Bordered White

1 Pale Oak Beauty

1 Orange Footman

1 Iron Prominent

1 Middle-barred Minor

1 Bird's Wing

1 Slender Pug
1 Blastobasis laticolella

Total: 46

Elachista maculicerusella

Bordered White

Caloptilia alchimiella

Triaxomera parasitella

Sandy Carpet

Argyresthia retinella

Small Elephant Hawk-moth

I found this in the house the other day - the Case-bearing Clothes Moth (Tinea pellionella) sitting by its case:

Quite recently, I worked out my pan-species British list (i.e. the list of ALL species of everything plants, birds, insects etc.).  These latest micros brought that list to 1999.  I'm hoping to twitch the Little Bittern in Hertfordshire tomorrow, as that would be a rather fitting 2000th (compared to a tiny dull micro moth for instance anyway!).