118 Moths; Is This 2012?

At last!  Just as others experienced last night, the weather here was almost perfect, and finally produced good numbers.  Although it does appear that this year I am only getting quality or quantity, never both!  Shouldn't complain though as I got 66 macros of 41 species, and another 24 micro species.  Amongst these macros were 13 year ticks, but most were expected, just a Lilac Beauty that wasn't,  which was my second record in the garden.

25th June:
8 Dark Arches
4 Light Emerald NFY
3 Peppered Moth
3 Heart and Dart
3 Orange Footman
2 Brimstone
2 Poplar Hawk-moth NFY
2 Lesser Swallow Prominent
2 Marbled White-spot
2 Fan-foot NFY
2 Lobster
2 Heart and Club NFY
2 Treble Lines
2 Minor sp.
1 Treble Brown-spot NFY
1 Common Marbled Carpet
1 Lilac Beauty NFY
1 Dusky Brocade NFY
1 Elephant Hawk-moth
1 Common Wave
1 Common White Wave
1 Flame Carpet
1 Straw Dot
1 Ingrailed Clay NFY
1 Foxglove Pug
1 Freyer's Pug NFY
1 Common Pug
1 Grey Pug
1 Swallow Prominent
1 Rosy Footman NFY
1 Brown Silver-line NFY
1 Flame Shoulder
1 Silver Y
1 Angle Shades
1 Large Yellow Underwing
1 Spectacle
1 Willow Beauty
1 Bird's Wing
1 Blotched Emerald NFY
1 Beautiful Hook-tip NFY
1 Double-striped Pug

Micros (* = new):
1 Common White Plume
2 Brown House Moth
1 Ananis (was Phlyctaenia) coronata
2 Variegated Golden Tortrix
3 Scoparia pyralella
1 Diamond-back Moth
3 Celypha lacunana
13 Dipleurina lacustrata
1 Celypha striana*
1 Notocelia rosaecolana*
4 Green Oak Tortrix
4 Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix
4 Light Brown Apple Moth
1 Small Magpie
1 Eudonia mercurella
1 Hawthorn Moth*
1 Bee Moth
1 Plum Tortrix*
1 Cherry Bark Tortrix
2 Chrysoteucia culmella
1 Udea olivalis
1 Ash Bud Moth*
1 Argyresthia bonnetella*
1 Ocnerostoma piniariella*

Lilac Beauty

Beautiful Hook-tip

Poplar Hawk-moth

Treble Brown-spot

Freyer's Pug

Ingrailed Clay

Dusky Brocade

Straw Dot

Heart and Club

Rosy Footman

Blotched Emerald

Ash Bud Moth

Cherry Bark Tortrix

Notocelia rosaecolana

Scoparia pyralella

Celypha striana

Yesterday, I came across this newly emerged Psyche casta on a window:

A Minor increase

The cloud cover finally came last night, although it was not a particularly warm day. None the less, the results were encouraging. Nothing new for the garden amongst 42 moths of 16 species, but a load of new for the years. Best was probably a Freyer's Pug, a worn Yellow-barred Brindle, and a couple of striking Minors. Interestingly, I got the same number of Heart and Darts as two days ago.

May 28th:
22 Heart and Dart
3 Treble Lines
2 Common Marbled Carpet NFY
2 Dark Arches NFY
2 Minor sp. NFY
1 Flame NFY
1 May Highflyer
1 Ingrailed Clay
1 Vine's Rustic NFY
1 Pale Tussock NFY
1 Pale Mottled Willow NFY
1 Brown Silver-line NFY
1 Turnip NFY
1 Yellow-barred Brindle NFY

1 Small Phoenix NFY

Minor sp. (perhaps good examples of Tawny Marbled and Marbled?)

Pale Tussock

Turnip

Brown Silver-line

Freyer's Pug

As an aside, the council have recently installed a load of new street lighting around the town, including down my road. All the lamps are strong white light, which I can't help but think will have an effect on local moth populations. I just don't know why they can't just have the usual yellow filters!

Thunder!!

Last night was a bit mad – my biggest catch of the year by a distance. No doubt thanks to the thundery conditions. I woke at 4.20 a.m. and it took me till about 10 a.m. to sort out my catch (with a pause for breakfast!). 48+ species.
I’ve still got a load of micros to sort out but this is my provisional list:

Large yellow underwing
Brown silver-lines x2 nfy
Willow beauty nfy
Straw dot x5 nfy
Orange footman x2
White ermine z9
Pale tussock x5
Green carpet x2
Heart & dart x2
Treble lines x4 nfy
Flame-shoulder x2
Celypha lacunana x6

Poplar hawk
Shoulder-striped wainscot
Agapate hamana x 4 nfy

Middle-barred minor x2 nfy
Flame nfy
Flame carpet x3
Bee moth nfy
May highflyer x3
Common marbled carpet x3
Clouded silver x 5
Buff-tip nfy

Alder kitten nfy

Sharp-angled carpet
Scorched wing x2 nfy

Epiphyas postvittana nfy
Broken-barred carpet 3
Blood-vein
Pale oak beauty x2 nfy

Snout nfy
Common swift x2 nfy


Oligia sp. nfy
Common wave 2
Peppered moth nfy
Green silver-lines nfy
Common rustic agg nfy
Psyche casta nfy

Light emerald x2 nfy
Brimstone x2
Dark sword-grass
Poplar lute-string nfy
Engrailed nfy
Ingrailed clay nfy
Small seraphim New species for me!

Small phoenix nfy
Maiden’s blush nfy.
Ingrailed clay nfy
Freyer’s pug nfy

Small seraphim nfy

Two Pugtastic nights

Despite the last two nights being completely clear, I have trapped, and I've been amazed at the variety I am getting, but I suppose the warm air is the key factor.

I have been getting a particuarly high numbers of pugs, which are of course as tricky as ever, but I think I'm getting to grips with them slowly.

Aggregate catch list for 23 and 24May (NFG new for garden):

7 Mottled Pug
5 Treble Lines NFG
3 Hebrew Character
3 Common Pug NFG
3 Shuttle-shaped Dart
3 Maiden's Blush
2 Garden Carpet
2 Buff-tip
2 Orange Footman NFG
2 Red Twin-spot Carpet
2 Spruce Carpet NFG
1 White Ermine NFG
1 Pale Tussock NFG
1 White-spotted Pug
1 Engrailed
1 Brindled Pug
1 Small Phoenix
1 Nut-tree Tussock
1 Clouded Drab
1 Pebble Prominent
1 Spectacle
1 Small Fan-foot
1 Foxglove Pug NFG
1 Pale Prominent
1 Great Prominent
1 Green Carpet
1 Waved Umber NFG
1 Iron Prominent
1 Muslin Moth NFG
1 Heart and Dart
1 Peppered Moth
1 Freyer's Pug NFG
1 Pebble Hook-tip
1 Brown Silver-line NFG
1 Oak-tree Pug NFG

Buff-tip

White-spotted Pug
White Ermine

Waved Umber

Treble Lines

Small Fan-foot

Shuttle-shaped Dart

Peppered Moth

Pebble Hook-tip

Pale Tussock

Pale Prominent

Orange Footman

Muslin Moth

Garden Carpet

Freyer's Pug

Foxglove Pug

Common Pug

Brown Silver-lines