The red twins....

A decent night for weather, and the trap was reasonably busy with 25 moths. I had a couple of Chestnut which gave me the first oppurtunity to use this very good article ( http://213.253.6.41/webzine/article.asp?a=3135 ), unfortunately, despite a promising initial look, they were both normal Chestnut (I've still not seen Dark). Best things in the trap was only my second Red Chestnut, and a year-tick of some Twin-spot Quaker.

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9th March:

12 Small Quaker

5 Common Quaker

3 Twin-spot Quaker NFY

2 Chestnut

1 Small Brindled Beauty

1 Clouded Drab

1 Red Chestnut NFY

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Chestnut

Small Brindled Beauty

Twin-spot Quaker

Red Chestnut

And a few more....

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Having only started mothing last August, I still have the joy and expectation of finding a moth in my trap that I've not come across before, and this morning did not disappoint.

Amongst the Pale Brindled Beauty, Small Brindled Beauty, Spring Usher and Chestnuts I found a beautiful Dotted Chestnut.  A new find does give such a thrill!

March Round-off

A few more odds and ends from March in the garden.

Emmelina monodactyla, caught on the 22nd. An almost prehistoric looking micro moth...

Double striped Pugs fly throughout most of the year in mild weather, but it is the first generation, emerging during March and April, that are the smartest looking (sorry for the horrible camera focusing, they are not easy to photograph!). Caught this individual on 22nd March...

On a field trip to the bathroom on 14th, this Mompha subbistrigella decided to fly in through an open window. Its the smallest moth I've ever seen- only 4mm in length- and new for the garden. Provided a real challenge for the macro lens...

Probably the most stunning moth I've caught yet this year, I caught my first Oak Beauty on the 11th, and since then small numbers have been turning up to lit windows now and then- always a pleasure to see...

Not easily told apart from Dark Chestnut (which is coming to the end of its flight period), I caught this typical looking Chestnut on the 11th. Told apart from Dark Chestnut by the more curved edge to the forewing, as opposed the more straight edged and sharp 'apex' of the Dark Chestnut...

Mild weather brought this worn Oak Nycteoline out of hiberation slightly earlier than usual on the 10th March. Like the Double-striped Pug, it can be seen throughout most of the year...

Odds and Ends

I haven't got round to trapping yet in March, and with the lawn due to be re-seeded, it looks like I will have to trap on the patio for the next month or so, which will probably lower the moth totals. At the moment though, I'm still catching up with a few moths from February...

I caught this micro in the garden on the 24th, and it was confirmed by the CR and John Langmaid as Agonopterix scopariella. It is a local species in Britain, and very scarce in Surrey, with this making the 11th modern record. The paler overall colour rules out heracliana, and subpropinquella and atomella do not show 2 white spots on each wing like this individual does...

This Chestnut was an added bonus when sorting out egg boxes, and must have got trapped in between them when I packed them away, resulting in a damaged hindwing. A belated garden first...

Another garden first, this Clouded Drab saved me from a night in with just the Hebrews and Quakers on the 25th! ...

Mild nights at last!

At last the conditions for trapping have improved a bit... and I have caught a few late autumn species over the last couple of nights. There was a pristine Merveille du jour (already well photographed by others on this blog) plus a few others:

red-green carpet


figure of eight

deep-brown dart

brick

yellow-line quaker

chestnut

A Mega Autumn Haul!

I hope my esteemed colleauges are taking advantage of the current weather, cause I don't think it could be better for mothing in October! I will have to take back what I said yesterday about it not getting any better, because it has! Depsite the night starting off clear, the cloud rolled in, and I got an incredibly large haul of 33 moths of 20 species! These included a brand new species, as well as a couple of other year ticks, and several species that are very late(maybe something to do with the poor September weather?).

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8th October:

5 Common Marbled Carpet (including one very fresh individual)

4 Black Rustic

3 Large Yellow Underwing

2 Yellow-line Quaker

2 Brindled Green NFY

2 Chestnut

1 Green Carpet

1 Grey Pine Carpet

1 Silver Y

1 Red-line Quaker

1 Barred Sallow

1 Sallow NFY

1 Lesser Yellow Underwing

1 Light Emerald

1 Grey Shoulder-knot

1 Willow Beauty

1 Large Ranunculus

1 Spruce Carpet

1 Blair's Shoulder-knot NFG

Brindled Green (grey form)

Sallow

Blair's Shoulder-knot
A dark Chestnut
The same with a normal Chestnut

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