The Tipping Point

Four weeks to go in my current garden, and I hope it can go out on a high, and I'm hoping I can get to a macro year list of 200.  Last nights trapping brought the 2012 total to 190.  Nothing surprising amongst the macros, but a decent showing from the migrants, including a White Point (even though these are now resident in Surrey).  In with the micros were two specimens of the very pretty Caloptilia syringella, which is a lifer for me.  Wasps were again a problem, with at least 10 in and around the trap.

3rd September:
Macros:
25 Large Yellow Underwing
9 Brimstone
7 Lesser Yellow Underwing
4 LBBYU
4 Flounced Rustic
3 Green Carpet
3 Silver Y
3 Square-spot Rustic
2 Snout
2 Willow Beauty
1 Riband Wave
1 Light Emerald
1 Common Marbled Carpet
1 Flame Carpet
1 Angle Shades
1 Setaceous Hebrew Character NFY
1 Small Phoenix
1 Dark Sword-grass NFY
1 Flame Shoulder
1 Dark Arches
1 Maiden's Blush
1 Marbled Beauty
1 White Point
1 Common Rustic sp.
1 Feathered Gothic NFY

Micros:
5 Light Brown Apple Moth
3 Agriphila geniculea
3 Blastobasis adustella
3 Mother of Pearl
2 Cydia splendana
2 Caloptilia syringella*
1 Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix
1 Ypsolopha parenthesella
1 Holly Tortrix
1 Eudonia mercurella
1 Garden Rose Tortrix
1 Horse-chestnut Leaf-miner

Caloptilia syringella

Feathered Gothic

White Point

late post

I'm afraid I haven't been doing much mothing recently, partly due to strange work schedules but also feeling the effects of last year's health crisis. (It's ironic that I did far more mothing when I was on sick leave than since I went back to work full-time!) But I thought I'd stick a couple of photos on here for the record.

These photos have been taken over recent months... they are all common except for Argyresthia cupressella, which is the only photo ever taken of this species in Surrey (and I apologise that it's not that great - my camera is reaching the top end of its resolution on a moth that is only 6mm long). How do I know that it's the only photo? Because the moth has only been recorded four times in Surrey, and all the records were in my garden! Incidentally, look out for Smaller moths of Surrey - the ultimate guide to Surrey's micros, which should be out in 2012. I've seen some of the photo plates and they look good!

Speckled wood

common blue


six-striped rustic


oak lutestring


feathered gothic


Argyresthia cupressella

Feathered for success

The last couple of trappings have been pretty good for the time of year, but the main story is the trapping of my 250th garden macro! After a cloudy night I was delighted to find a Feathered Gothic in the trap this morning. Other than that, nothing that unusual, but Large Yellow Underwing numbers are now starting to increase steeply.

250 macros after two and a bit years of trapping, in my tiny suburban garden, with a low-powered trap - beyond expectations! I can only begin to wonder what will happen when I set the MV loose on it next year.

28th and 31st August aggregate list:
54 Large Yellow Underwing
14 LBBYU
7 Flounced Rustic
6 Svensson's Copper Underwing
5 Square-spot Rustic
5 Lesser Yellow Underwing
4 Common Rustic sp.
3 Copper Underwing
2 Shuttle-shaped Dart
1 Marbled Beauty
1 Rosy Footman
1 Maiden's Blush NFY
1 Brimstone
1 Green Carpet
1 Flame Carpet
1 Spectacle
1 Silver Y
1 Vine's Rustic
1 Feathered Gothic NFG
1 Light Emerald

Feathered Gothic

Lutes of Oaks at Farley

An evening at Farley Heath near Albury on the 27th August was a little clear to be ideal, but I still saw a new species. We had visits from many Oak Lutestrings by the end of the night, and the Feathered Gothics were only my second ever.
.
Farley Heath, 27th August:
Small Fan-footed Wave
Square-spot Rustic
Oak Lutestring*
Large Yellow Underwing
Riband Wave
Brimstone
Tawny-barred Angle
Scalloped Hook-tip
Green Carpet
Black Arches
Peacock
Feathered Gothic
Common Wave
Setaceous Hebrew Character
LBBYU
Turnip
Six-striped Rustic
Grey Pine Carpet
Coxcomb Prominent
Pine Carpet
Spruce Carpet
Copper Underwing
.
Feathered Gothic

Oak Lutestring