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

 

Two hundred not out!

As expected, in warm, but still clear conditions, I managed to get my two hundredth garden moth, alongside my two hundred and first, and two hundred and second! Numbers remain very constant with 46 moths of 25 species this morning, that included a Clouded Silver, which is completely new to me, a Poplar Grey, and a Barred Red. Also a few new for the year including Straw Dot, which is only my second record. Also only my second was a Marbled Brown, but that got eaten in the trap by a Burrying Beetle!

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22nd June:

17 Heart and Dart

2 May Highflyer

2 Spectacle

2 Ingrailed Clay

2 Dark Arches

2 Middle-barred Minor

1 Straw Dot NFY

1 Buff-tip

1 Clouded Silver NFG

1 Mottled Beauty

1 Light Emerald

1 Barred Red NFG

1 Green Pug NFY

1 Maiden's Blush

1 Common Marbled Carpet

1 Riband Wave NFY

1 Common Wave

1 Willow Beauty

1 Common White Wave NFY

1 Treble Lines

1 Scorched Wing

1 Marbled Brown

1 Heart and Club

1 Fan-foot NFY

1 Poplar Grey NFG

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Also, a pretty micro I identified as Phlyctaenia coronata

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Phlyctaenia coronata

The Fan-foot

Heart and Club

Green Pug

Barred Red

Clouded Silver

Poplar Grey