Lepidopterist's Bulging Box of Yearly Ubiquity

(if you don't understand the title, look at the initials)  Last night was incredibly muggy, so I expected decent numbers in the garden trap.  Species were slightly down, but individual numbers were the largest of the year, mostly down to Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings!  The only species highlights were the second records of Birch Mocha, Tawny Speckled Pug, and Peach Blossom, and six of the seven species of Footman I've ever had in the garden.  Micro highlights included an Agriphila selasella and a Parornix species, probably anglicella.

13th August:
Macros:
87 LBBYU
18 Dunbar
15 Large Yellow Underwing
9 Riband Wave
9 Small Fan-footed Wave
7 Dark Arches
6 Willow Beauty
6 Common Rustic sp.
5 Common Carpet
5 Shuttle-shaped Dart
4 Buff Footman
3 Swallow Prominent
3 Dagger sp.
3 Common Footman
3 Pebble Hook-tip
3 Red Twin-spot Carpet
3 Uncertain
3 Rosy Footman
2 Peppered Moth
2 Fan-foot
2 Early Thorn
2 Brimstone
2 Lesser Swallow Prominent
2 Silver Y
1 Dingy Footman
1 Small Phoenix
1 Scarce Footman
1 Yellow-barred Brindle
1 Lesser Yellow Underwing NFY
1 Tawny Speckled Pug NFY
1 Purple Thorn
1 Orange Footman
1 Maiden's Blush
1 Straw Dot
1 Copper Underwing
1 Knot Grass NFY
1 Black Arches
1 Sallow Kitten
1 Flame Carpet
1 Peach Blossom
1 True Lover's Knot
1 Snout

Micros:
12 Mother of Pearl
7 Phycita roborella
5 Cydia splendana
4 Agriphila straminella
4 Agriphila geniculea
4 Agriphila tristella
3 Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix
2 Eudonia mercurella
2 Catoptria pinella
2 Bryotropha affinis
1 Crambus pascuella
1 Blastobasis adustella
1 Swammerdamia pyrella
1 Parornix anglicella*
1 Diamond-back Moth
1 Endotrichia flammealis
1 Hypsospygia glaucinalis
1 Acleris forsskaleana
1 Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix
1 Holly Tortrix
1 Brown House-moth
1 Bactra lancealana
1 Carcina quercana
1 Agriphila selasella*



Birch Mocha

Purple Thorn (second generation)



Sallow Kitten

Black Arches

Lesser Yellow Underwing

Knot Grass (or baldy!)

An array of Daggers



Parornix anglicella

Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix

Agriphila selasella

Swarmmadamia pyrella

A Kitten and a Mouse

Nice to see the sun back, and although I thought the most prolific mothing was behind me this year, this latest period of quality weather has done the business yet again in the garden.  Both species and individuals took another increase, the latter certainly being helped by the peak in Yellow Underwings being upon us.  On the down side, I did have the first problem with wasps this year, with a small contingent awaiting me around the light.  However, another garden tick was amongst the throng of moths in the trap, and just like a few days ago, it was a Footman.  My first garden Buff Footman was amongst a few other nice year ticks, including a Mouse Moth, and only my second garden record of Sallow Kitten.  Among the micros was the scarce Iceplant feeder, Yponomeuta sedella, and a Phyllonorycter rajella.

10th August:
Macros:
32 Large Yellow Underwing
22 LBBYU
13 Riband Wave
11 Common Rustic sp.
9 Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
8 Dunbar
6 Willow Beauty
6 Dark Arches
5 Red Twin-spot Carpet
4 Small Fan-footed Wave
4 Small Phoenix
3 Rosy Footman
3 Peppered Moth
3 Rosy Minor
3 Shuttle-shaped Dart
3 Uncertain
2 Scalloped Hook-tip
2 Dingy Footman
2 Svennson's Copper Underwing
2 Common Carpet
2 True Lover's Knot
2 Flame Shoulder
2 Square-spot Rustic NFY
2 Fan-foot
2 Lesser Swallow Prominent
1 Grey Pine Carpet
1 Mouse Moth NFY
1 Brimstone
1 September Thorn
1 Sallow Kitten NFY
1 Buff Footman NFG
1 Clouded Border
1 Nut-tree Tussock
1 Small Rivulet
1 Garden Carpet
1 Iron Prominent
1 Common White Wave
1 Purple Thorn
1 Ruby Tiger NFY
1 Rustic
1 Maiden's Blush
1 Straw Dot
1 Herald
1 Copper Underwing NFY
1 Buff Ermine
1 Dagger sp.
1 Ear Moth
1 Narrow-winged Pug
1 Black Arches NFY
1 Minor Shoulder-knot NFY

Micros:
21 Cydia splendana
10 Eudonia mercurella
8 Phycita roborella
7 Bryotropha affinis
5 Endotrichia flammealis
4 Brown House-moth
4 Agriphila tristella
3 Agriphila straminella
3 Mother of Pearl
2 Dioryctria abietella
2 Crambus pascuella
2 Blastobasis adustella
2 Agriphila geniculea*
1 Catoptria pinella
1 Bud Moth
1 Udea lutealis*
1 Eudonia pyralella
1 Honeysuckle Moth
1 Diamond-back Moth
1 Zieraphera isertana
1 Acleris forsskaleana
1 Holly Tortrix
1 Dipleurina lacustrata
1 Agapeta zoegana
1 Tinea trinotella
1 Light Brown Apple Moth
1 Brown Plume
1 Red-barred Tortrix
1 Yponomeuta sedella*
1 Phyllonorycter rajella*

Sallow Kitten

Buff Footman

Square-spot Rustic

Mouse Moth

Copper Underwing

Yponomeuta sedella

Phyllonorycter rajella

A litter of Kittens and more at Wisley Heath

Last nights event was at the heath of Wisley. We went there last year, but the weather was freezing and we got 35 species (micros and macros). Luckily, this time we were blessed with much better conditions, and we got more than double that. No lifers, but lots of top quality moths, including several Heath Rustics. In my trap I got five species of Prominent, including my first Swallow in Surrey (I've only ever seen Lesser), and in David's trap were five Kittens, which were split 3 - 2 Poplar to Sallow. The micro highlight came in the extraordinary shape of a very fresh Acleris emergana.

5th August, Wisley:

Yellow Shell

Double-striped Pug

Large Yellow Underwing

Dingy Footman

Ling Pug

Ruby Tiger

True Lover's Knot

Scarce Footman

Birch Mocha

Single-dotted Wave

Heath Rustic

Black Arches

Uncertain

Knot Grass

Flame Shoulder

Rosy Footman

Turnip

Sallow Kitten

Iron Prominent

Common Carpet

Setaceous Hebrew Character

Shuttle-shaped Dart

Red Twin-spot Carpet

Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Small Fan-footed Wave

Pebble Hook-tip

Poplar Lutestring

Smoky Wainscot

Sharp-angled Carpet

Poplar Kitten

Tawny-barred Angle

LBBYU

Narrow-winged Pug

Common Wainscot

Straw Dot

Dunbar

Brimstone

Cloaked Minor

Peacock

Small Rufous

Coxcomb Prominent

Pale Prominent

Lesser Swallow Prominent

Beautiful Yellow Underwing

Scalloped Oak

Clay

Common Wave

Large Emerald

Svensson's Copper Underwing

Swallow Prominent

White Point

Heath Rustic no.1

Heath Rustic no.2

Kittens (When I took this, I thought I had a Sallow on my finger, and a Poplar on the card, but now I'm not too sure!)

Swallow Prominent

Poplar Lutestring

Acleris emergana

23rd-28th July, NE Surrey

Caught in the garden 15W Actinic between 23rd and 28th...

A colourful Oak Hook-tip...

A very pretty Sallow Kitten...

My long awaited first Wainscot for the garden, a Smoky Wainscot...

The garden year list has now risen to 165, and a number of common species have been reaching record numbers, including Dark Arches, the example depicted showing extra large lower kidney marks...

This female Turnip Moth had me thinking it was something different for some time..

I'm starting to take more of interest in micros. Here are two new for years from 27th...

Clepsis consimilana...

Codling Moth..

I'm going to be taking a break from trapping for the next few weeks as I'm going on holiday, but I'm sure Sean and Ken will keep the blog up-to-date... they're doing a brilliant job, cheers guys!

Have a great summer,

Bill