Sheets puts on a Show

Conditions are fantastic just now, so perhaps I should expect large hauls, particularly from visits into the field.  Last evening, there was an event at Sheets Heath which is a young heathland and woodland site near Woking, next to Bisley shooting range.  Our last visit last year was excellent with some heathland specials.  In keeping with that, this nights trapping was brilliant with two lifers amongst other top species.  We had four traps going, but both of my highlights were in my trap, as first a single Hoary Footman appeared, and then a Scarce Silver-lines.

24th July, Sheets Heath:
6 Scalloped Hook-tip
3 Oak Hook-tip
2 Pebble Hook-tip
3 Buff Arches
3 Grass Emerald (including a specimen of the red form)
2 Large Emerald
3 Common Emerald
1 Maiden's Blush
1 Least Carpet
3 Dotted Border Wave
12 Small Fan-footed Wave
1 Single-dotted Wave
3 Riband Wave
3 Plain Wave
2 Common Carpet
3 Yellow Shell
1 Small Phoenix
1 Blue-bordered Carpet
4 July Highflyer
1 May Highflyer
3 Small Rivulet
1 Ling Pug
6 Narrow-winged Pug
1 Double-striped Pug
2 Small Seraphim
1 Clouded Border
3 Horse Chestnut
2 Brimstone
1 September Thorn
1 Early Thorn
1 Purple Thorn
1 Scalloped Oak
8 Peppered Moth (including examples of all three forms [normal, carbonaria, and intermediate])
3 Mottled Beauty
2 Engrailed
1 Common White Wave
2 Pine Hawk-moth
1 Poplar Hawk-moth
3 Elephant Hawk-moth
2 Iron Prominent
1 Pale Prominent
2 Yellow-tail
2 Black Arches
6 Rosy Footman
3 Dingy Footman
1 Hoary Footman
8 Scarce Footman
3 Buff Footman
2 Common Footman
1 White Ermine
3 Buff Ermine
1 Ruby Tiger
1 Flame Shoulder
2 Large Yellow Underwing
1 Lesser Yellow Underwing
1 LBBYU
8 True Lover's Knot
1 Double Square-spot
5 Beautiful Yellow Underwing
1 Clay
1 Minor Shoulder-knot
1 Miller
4 Suspected
2 Dunbar
3 Uncertain
1 Marbled White-spot
1 Scarce Silver-lines
1 Nut-tree Tussock
2 Spectacle
1 Beautiful Hook-tip
2 Snout
1 Small Fan-foot

Total: 72
Also, a bewildering array of micros!

Hoary Footman

Scarce Silver-lines

the red form of Grass Emerald

Beautiful Yellow Underwing

A Beautiful Range of moths

An impromptu trapping session on the edge of the Pirbright Ranges near West End last night gave me an early oppurtunity to run my new trap. In what was probably the best night of the year in terms of conditions, we ran four traps, and managed a string of quality moths, and great numbers too. The only thing missing was a lifer! Several species were my second ever sightings, but the best was probably several Ling Pugs. This is not a true lifer, as it is considered just a form of Wormwood Pug. We also got several Beautiful Yellow Underwings, which is my first proper sighting (I got a glimpse of one in a trap last year at Dawney's Hill, but it presumably escaped).

26th July, Pirbright Ranges:

Yellow Shell

Dunbar

Small Fan-footed Wave

Pine Hawk

Beautiful Yellow Underwing

Ling Pug

Flame Shoulder

Scarce Footman

True Lover's Knot

Single-dotted Wave

Narrow-winged Pug

Ruby Tiger

Least Yellow Underwing

Slender Brindle

Clouded Border

Rustic

Common Emerald

Common White Wave

Drinker

Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Common Carpet

Willow Beauty

Striped Wainscot

Sharp-angled Carpet

Scalloped Hook-tip

Uncertain

Plain Wave

Snout

Antler Moth

Black Arches

Smoky Wainscot

Riband Wave

Kent Black Arches

Light Emerald

Common Footman

Buff Footman

Cloaked Minor

Small Scallop

Large Yellow Underwing

Rosy Footman

Dark Arches

Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Shuttle-shaped Dart

Common Rustic

July Highflyer

Peppered Moth

Mottled Beauty

Least Carpet

Lesser Cream Wave

Clay

Dotted Border Wave

Large Emerald

September Thorn

Maiden's Blush

Engrailed

Small Purple-barred

Iron Prominent

Double Kidney

Sharp-angled Peacock

Total: 59

My trap in action

Small Scallop

Small Purple-barred

Sharp-angled Peacock

Sharp-angled Carpet

Ling Pug

Least Carpet

Horse Chestnut (with Clouded Border)

Double Kidney

Beautiful Yellow Underwing (certainly lives up to its name!)

Antler Moth