Surrey Moths & Butterflies: A Peach of a Catch in the Garden

Saturday, 14 July 2012

A Peach of a Catch in the Garden

Conditions looked pretty good last night, with entire cloud cover and little rain forecast. It was slightly wrong in that it rained almost all night! But, with the rain guard in place, it caused little problems, and in fact I think proved that it is very much worth trapping in these conditions (as long as you can protect your equipment!). I got the biggest number of individuals, with 105, since Small Quaker-gate, and the second most diverse catch of the year with 40 species (140 of 55 if you include micros). Amongst these were 13 year ticks, which is unsurprising considering I haven't trapped in the garden for two and a half weeks for various reasons. I did get one garden tick too in the form of an overdue Peach Blossom. Also my second Four-dotted Footman.

13th July:
11 Heart and Dart
11 Large Yellow Underwing
10 Minor sp.
6 Riband Wave NFY
6 Dark Arches
6 Uncertain
4 Flame Shoulder
3 Buff Ermine
3 Light Emerald
3 Flame
3 Double Square-spot NFY
3 Heart and Club
3 Snout
2 Garden Carpet
2 Peppered Moth
2 Spectacle
2 Elephant Hawk-moth
2 Swallow-tailed Moth
2 Clay NFY
2 Light Arches NFY
2 Dot Moth NFY
1 Buff Arches
1 Four-dotted Footman
1 Peach Blossom NFG
1 Green Silver-lines NFY
1 Beautiful Golden Y
1 Rustic NFY
1 Burnished Brass NFY
1 Buff-tip
1 Small Angle Shades
1 Green Pug
1 Poplar Hawk-moth
1 Clouded Border
1 Scorched Wing NFY
1 Common Rustic sp.
1 July Highflyer NFY
1 Turnip NFY
1 Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing NFY

Micros (* = lifer):
13 Chrysoteuchia culmella
9 Dipleurina lacustrata
2 Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix
2 Crambus perlella
2 Bramble-shoot Moth
1 White-shouldered House Moth
1 Diamond-back Moth
1 Celypha lacunana
1 Batia lunaris
1 Acleris quercana
1 Crambus pascuella
1 Agriphila straminella
1 Argyresthia brockeella
1 Codling Moth * (incredible considering I have always put the trap under an Apple tree!)
1 Ypsolopha parenthesella *

Peach Blossom