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 Broader String to my Bow

The forecast of a nice cloudy night had me scrambling for the trap equipment yesterday evening.  It had probably been just a little too cool during the day for a 'big night', but my garden continued its incredible record of ticks from recent trappings.  Amongst 52 moths of 25 species was another new one to me, and another garden tick, as well as the usual list of year ticks.  The brand new one was a single Broad-barred White, a moth apparently of shingle beaches and waste ground in urban areas.  The garden tick was a Poplar Lutestring, but interestingly, I also got another Figure of 80 (I hate it when that happens, as it just devalues the first record!).  I also saw my first ever intermediate Peppered Moth between the normal and carbonaria forms.

31st May:
11 Common Marbled Carpet
5 Shuttle-shaped Dart
4 Peppered Moth
3 Flame Shoulder
3 Heart and Dart
3 Orange Footman
2 Light Brocade
2 Green Carpet
2 Vine's Rustic
2 Brimstone
1 Pale Tussock
1 Yellow-barred Brindle
1 Silver Y
1 Common Carpet
1 Clouded Silver NFY
1 Common White Wave NFY
1 Figure of 80
1 Small Phoenix NFY
1 Treble Lines
1 Common Pug
1 Spectacle NFY
1 Broad-barred White NFM
1 Garden Carpet
1 Poplar Lutestring NFG
1 Broken-barred Carpet NFY

Broad-barred White

Peppered Moth (intermediate)

Clouded Silver

Small Phoenix

Broken-barred Carpet

Poplar Lutestring

Spectacle

I have been seeing lots of these larval cases of Psyche casta about the place, but imagine my surprise when I found this one inside the lounge!:

Psyche casta

 

The Best Numbers Seem to Have Worn Out...

Numbers are going down, and down, which is not what should happen at this time of year! Luckily, quality is staying high, and I got several new for years last night including a Cabbage moth, and a Brown Rustic, but unfortunately, except the Cabbage, most the best moths were worn. Also, yet another probable Middle-barred Minor appeared.

11th June:
10 Heart and Dart
3 Ingrailed Clay
2 Brown Silver-line
2 Shears
2 May Highflyer
1 Green Carpet
1 Brimstone
1 Middle-barred Minor
1 Marbled White Spot NFY
1 Freyer's Pug
1 Cabbage moth NFY
1 Common Marbled Carpet
1 Brown Rustic NFY
1 Buff-tip
1 Minor sp.
1 Small Seraphim
1 pug yet to ID

Its amazing what you notice when you get into mothing. Before, I would in no way have detected this little jumble of twigs on my recycling box. Now, thanks to recent reports by Ken and others, I managed to distinguish it as the larval case of the micro Psyche casta.

Psyche casta



Green Carpet (or should that be white carpet!)

Marbled White Spot


probable Middle-barred Minor

Brown Rustic (it looked more convincing in the flesh, honest!)

Cabbage moth

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