Chocolate surprise

Last night I went on the first field trapping session of the year, which was at Hagthorne on the edge of the Ash Ranges. The temperature was ideal (so the mossies were out in force!), so we knew we were in for a busy night, and at close of play at around 1, we had had 49 macro species in four traps - not bad considering we are still in May. No lifers amongst these, but I did see the adults of Fox Moth and Pine Beauty for the first time, having only seen thier caterpillars before. We also got some notable scarcities, including a Small Chocolate-tip. Bizzarely, I have now seen two of these, but not yet encountered normal Chocolate-tip (except in a pot on a table at Dungeness visitor centre, which doesn't really count)!

24th May - Hagthorne, Ash Ranges:

21 Green Carpet

5 Sharp-angled Carpet

6 Brown Silver-line

2 Common White Wave

2 Poplar Lutestring

2 Oak Hook-tip

2 Sharp-angled Peacock

2 Mottled Pug

4 Brimstone

1 Narrow-winged Pug

9 Small Seraphim

3 Flame Shoulder

5 Fox Moth

2 Iron Prominent

2 Grey Pine Carpet

1 Ruby Tiger

3 Grey Birch (my 2nd, having seen my first just a few hours earlier, in my garden trap)

5 Pale Tussock

1 Small Chocolate-tip

1 Silver-ground Carpet

1 Least Black Arches

1 Common Swift

1 Spectacle sp. (see photos)

3 Pebble Hook-tip

1 Pine Hawk-moth

2 May Highflyer

3 Scalloped Hook-tip

2 Small Yellow Wave

1 Peacock

1 Tawny-barred Angle

1 Treble Lines

1 Pale Prominent

1 Lesser Swallow Prominent

1 Red-green Carpet

1 Common Carpet

1 Silver Y

2 Dingy Shell

1 Poplar Grey

1 Pine Beauty

1 Marbled Brown

1 White Ermine

2 Horse Chestnut

2 Peppered Moth

1 Common Lutestring

2 Great Prominent

3 Cinnabar

1 Pebble Prominent

1 Orange Footman

1 True Lover's Knot

Poplar Lutestring

Fox Moth

Small Chocolate-tip

Grey Birch

Pale Tussock

Least Black Arches

We debated whether this was a Dark Spectacle for ages, but we are still undecided.  Any opinions? (sorry for the unhelpful shot - the ground colour was sandy brown)

Sharp-angled Peacock

Small Yellow Wave

Dingy Shell

Pine Beauty

An Ear against the wall brings more than a Dingy Turnip!

Sorry for the surreal title, but I'm running out of clever puns (were they ever clever?)! What I'm really trying to do is keep it interesting, but in truth, there is no need to as the moths continue to speak for themselves.

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Last night was brilliant, with 80 moths of 36 species including amongst them four new for the year, one new for the garden, and two brand new species to me. Two Suspected were new for the garden, although both were worn, the photographed individual being the fresher! The two brand new species were a Gothic, and a Dingy Shell, although these also had seen better days. Interestingly, both these species are moths of wet woodland (nearest to me about a half mile away).

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23th July:

16 Dunbar

9 Riband Wave

4 July Highflyer

4 Large Yellow Underwing

4 Common Rustic sp.

3 Scalloped Oak NFY

3 Dark Arches

3 Willow Beauty

3 Rustic

3 Double Square-spot

2 Uncertain

2 Suspected NFG

2 Heart and Dart

2 Slender Brindle NFY

1 Common Wave

1 Common Footman

1 Ruby Tiger

1 Small Rivulet

1 Bird's Wing

1 Poplar Grey

1 Ear Moth NFY

1 Gothic NFG

1 Svensson's Copper Underwing

1 Buff Ermine

1 Single-dotted Wave

1 Small Fan-footed Wave

1 Bright-line Brown-eye

1 Copper Underwing

1 V Pug

1 Flame

1 Common White Wave

1 Marbled Beauty

1 Dusky Sallow NFY

1 Dingy Shell NFG

1 Turnip

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Garden Macro Year List: 170

Garden Macro List: 221

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Below is a Silver Y I caught in the garden a day or so ago. I left it in the pot a little too long, and it laid eggs!

Turnip

Suspected

Slender Brindle

Scalloped Oak

Riband Wave

Gothic

Ear Moth

Dusky Sallow

Bright-line Brown-eye (a fresher individual than last time)

Dingy Shell