The Clay on Chalk

The mothing is just relentless at the moment, and I don't really care that the tiredness is catching up with me!  Its worth it.  Last night the destination was the fantastic chalk site of Norbury Park for an event with David Gardner.  The warmest day of the year proceeded it, so we knew we'd get good numbers in our two traps, but quality was yet again better than expected.  One of the first moths to appear was a lifer, a lovely fresh Square-spotted Clay.  The quality macros didn't end there, with things like Mocha, and only my second Cypress Pug.  The quality amongst the micros was never-ending, with things like the stunning Parectopa ononidis, Eucalybites auroguttella, Batrachedra praeangusta, the tiny Hemp-agrimony Plume (aptly named microdactyla), and best of all, the migrant Cydia amplana.

18th August, Norbury Park:
Macros:
8 Dingy Footman
6 Orange Swift
5 Brimstone
10 Pretty Chalk Carpet
8 Green Carpet
3 Lesser-spotted Pinion
1 Square-spotted Clay
15 Barred Hook-tip
3 LBBYU
1 Nut-tree Tussock
12 Large Yellow Underwing
1 Small Rivulet
4 Flame Shoulder
4 Flounced Rustic
4 Iron Prominent
50 Buff Footman
3 Small Fan-footed Wave
4 Ruby Tiger
5 Copper Underwing
5 Common Carpet
6 Coronet
5 Dunbar
1 Snout
5 Straw Dot
2 Lesser Swallow Prominent
2 Riband Wave
2 Orange Footman
2 Yellow-barred Brindle
5 Black Arches
1 Small Phoenix
3 Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
5 Square-spot Rustic
2 Rosy Footman
1 Mocha
3 Willow Beauty
1 Common Wave
1 Silver Y
1 Small Waved Umber
2 Maiden's Blush
2 Setaceous Hebrew Character
1 Satin Beauty
1 Shuttle-shaped Dart
2 Peach Blossom
3 Dark Arches
1 Cypress Pug
1 Scalloped Oak
1 Pebble Hook-tip
5 Straw Underwing
4 Cloaked Minor
1 Small Square-spot
2 White Point
1 Lime-speck Pug
1 Red Twin-spot Carpet
1 Ear Moth
1 Dagger sp.

Micros (* = lifer):
15 Agriphila tristella
1 Red-barred Tortrix
25 Blastobasis adustella
1 Brown House-moth
3 Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix
4 Mother of Pearl
1 Bramle Shoot Moth
3 Eudonia mercurella
1 Small China-mark
2 Trachycera advenella
2 Pyrausta aurata
4 Phycita roborella
1 Parectopa ononidis*
3 Cydia splendana
1 Aryresthia goedartella
3 Euzophera pinguis
2 Epinotia nisella
5 Carcina quercana
1 Eucalybites auroguttella*
1 Bactra lancealana
2 Monopsis weaverella
2 Holly Tortrix
2 Gold Triangle
1 Hemp-agrimony Plume*
2 Ash Bud Moth
4 Agapeta hamana
2 Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix
5 Agriphila straminella
2 Diamond-back Moth
1 Caloptilia alchimiella
1 Caloptilia rufipennella*
2 Batia unitella
1 Skin Moth
1 Light Brown Apple Moth
2 Scrobipalpa costella
2 Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner
1 Rush Veneer
1 Phlyctaenia coronata
1 Cydia amplana*
1 Cryptoblades bistriga*
1 Batrachedra praeangusta*
3 Celypha lacunana
1 Endothenia marginana
2 Cochylis atricapitana
1 Caloptilia semifascia*

Total: 100

Square-spotted Clay

Lesser-spotted Pinion

Cypress Pug

Mocha

Hemp-agrimony Plume

Cydia amplana

Chafers don't Hog precedings at Norbury Park

I just had to be away for the week when it started to warm up didn't I! As a result I have not trapped in my garden for ages (I'll hopefully rectify that this evening), but I managed to get a fix from the mothing drug last night, and what a dramatic one it was.

I went to Norbury Park and trapped til 1am with David Gardner. The main surprise of the night was the shear number of Cockchafers. I think we got to about 50 come the end! They really were quite an inconvenience to say the least. Halfway through the night we also had a visit from a Hedgehog, and we were willing it over to help us clear the trap of Beetles!

Onto the moths, and we got 37 macros in the end, including a few surprises. I managed to get eight brand new species during the course of the night too. An interesting haul of Great Prominent also.

The final list (* is new to me):

Mocha

Coronet (a dark form)

Treble Lines*

Small White Wave* x 5

Mottled Pug

Brindled Pug x 3

Pebble Hook-tip x 2

Common Carpet x 2

Pale Tussock x 3

Purple Bar x 2

Clay Triple-lines x 2

Nut-tree Tussock x 4

Brown Silver-lines* x 2

Red-green Carpet

Small Waved Umber x 2

Water Carpet

Scalloped Hazel x 2

Currant Pug*

Treble-bar

Marbled Brown* x 6

Common White Wave

Coxcomb Prominent x 2

Silver-ground Carpet*

White Ermine
Pale Prominent

Flame Shoulder x 2

Oak Nycteoline

Scorched Carpet x 2

Least Black Arches x 2

Flame Carpet x 2

Brimestone x 5

Red Twin-spot Carpet x 4

Great Prominent x 10

Green Carpet x 16

Pretty Chalk Carpet

Waved Umber* x 2
White-pinion Spotted* x 7

Apologies for the poor shots, they were very much done on the spur of the moment.

Our late night visitor...

Waved Umber

Small White Wave

Pretty Chalk Carpet

White-pinion Spotted

Pebble Hook-tip

Pale Tussock

Oak Nycteoline

The Mocha

Marbled Brown

Great Prominent

Green Carpet

Coxcomb Prominent

Clay Triple-lines

Cockchafers

The full trap!