A Dwarf Catch

I thought the warmer temps would increase the numbers of moths immediately.  Wrong!  Presumably they need a little time to hatch out - I'll certainly be trapping later on in the week.  The total of 12 moths was pretty disasterous, but perhaps the 20 odd Cockchafers in the trap didn't help (they don't eat moths, but they fly around the trap constantly disturbing them, increasing the chances of them escaping)!  Four year ticks included a pristine Shears and two Dwarf Pug.

21th May:

2 Dwarf Pug NFY 

2 Brimstone

2 Shuttle-shaped Dart

1 Pebble Prominent NFY

1 Mottled Pug

1 Nut-tree Tussock

1 Shears NFY

1 Garden Carpet NFY

1 Green Carpet

 

Dwarf Pug

Pebble Prominent

Shears

Sorry it has nothing to do with moths, but I just have to post this photo somewhere (the mainstream birding websites do not allow shots of nests), which was taken by my Mum the other week.





A Moorhen Mother

Shears!

Last night was lovely and cloudy, and it was a pleasant surprise not to see any of the wet stuff. Variety was oddly down on yesterday, but numbers were up, as Heart and Darts soared to new heights! Best were a Shears, and a Pine Hawk, although its a shame the latter was such a sorry looking specimen!

4th June:

64 Heart and Dart

22 Dark Arches

7 Minor sp.

1 Flame

1 Shuttle-shaped Dart

1 Heart and Club

1 Buff-tip

1 Treble Brown Spot

1 Marbled White Spot NFY

1 Shears NFY

1 Peppered Moth NFY

1 Red-green Carpet NFY

1 Pine Hawk NFY

Red-green Carpet

Marbled White Spot

Pine Hawk

Shears

Trapping the Light fantastic

Two nights ago I was discouraged when I opened the trap to just ten moths (although one of them was a Poplar Hawk-moth). But last night made up for that as cloudy skies yielded three brand new species to me, including a stunning Light Brocade. The others being Shears and Yellow-barred Brindle. What next?!

Aggregate catch for 25 and 26 May (NFG = new for garden, NFY = new for year):

Treble Lines 5
Common Pug 3
Heart and Dart 3
Mottled Pug 2
Garden Carpet 2
Oak-tree Pug 2
Poplar Hawk-moth 1 NFY
Flame Shoulder 1 NFY
Pale Tussock 1
Great Prominent 1
Buff-tip 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart 1
Orange Footman 1
Common Wave 1 NFY
Maiden's Blush 1
Light Brocade 1 NFG
Yellow-barred Brindle 1 NFG
Shears 1 NFG

Poplar Hawk-moth

A well marked Common Pug

And an unusual angle of the same

Common Wave

Yellow-barred Brindle

Shears

Light Brocade