Frantic Garden Moths

Chaos, is all I can say about going through the trap today (which took all afternoon).  The hottest day of the year proceeded the night, so I should have expected a difficult time come the rumage.  I didn't have enough pots for everything!  I smashed my previous record in the garden of 42 macro species, with a total of 54.  Then there were the 55 micro species in addition!  No garden ticks among the macros but there were the second records of Broad-barred White and Vapourer, alongside just 10 year ticks.  Micro highlights included Blastodacna hellerella and the scarce Caloptilia cuculipennella.  Its interesting to note all the pine and heath species in the list, perhaps suggesting that the direction of the wind/air flow during the night was from Marley Common (including 13 True Lover's Knot - only had about 5 in total before!)

25th July:
Macros:
15 Riband Wave
13 True Lover's Knot
8 Uncertain
8 Large Yellow Underwing
6 Dunbar
6 Small Fan-footed Wave
5 Small Rivulet NFY
4 Snout
4 Buff Ermine
4 Willow Beauty
4 Rosy Footman
3 Rustic
3 Dot Moth
3 Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
3 Dark Arches
2 Clouded Border
2 Scarce Footman
2 Minor sp.
2 Peppered Moth
2 Herald NFY
2 September Thorn
2 Brimstone
2 Common White Wave
2 Fan-foot
2 Buff Arches
2 Clay
2 Iron Prominent
1 Poplar Hawk-moth
1 Swallow-tailed Moth
1 Early Thorn
1 Vapourer NFY
1 Silver Y
1 Rosy Minor NFY
1 Common Wave
1 Miller
1 Red Twin-spot Carpet
1 Dagger sp.
1 Tawny-barred Angle
1 Broad-barred White
1 Common Footman
1 Burnished Brass
1 Small Fan-foot NFY
1 Horse Chestnut NFY
1 Pine Hawk-moth NFY
1 Garden Carpet
1 Heart and Dart
1 Smoky Wainscot NFY
1 Green Pug
1 Bright-line Brown-eye
1 July Highflyer
1 Scalloped Oak
1 Double-square-spot
1 Purple Clay NFY
1 Scalloped Hook-tip NFY

Micros:
39 Chrysoteuchia culmella
24 Dipleurina lacustrata
24 Agriphila straminella
13 Phycita roborella
10 Cydia splendana
7 Eudonia mercurella
5 Clepsis consimilana
5 Mother of Pearl
5 Coleophora sp.
4 Bryotropha terrella
4 Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix
3 Carcina quercana
3 Bud Moth
3 Variegated Golden Tortrix
3 Crambus pascuella
3 Catoptria pinella
3 Bryotropha affinis*
2 Cnephasia sp.
2 Cydia fagiglandana
2 Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix
2 Ash Bud Moth
2 Bird-cherry Ermine
2 Acleris forsskaleana
2 Hawthorn Moth
2 Codling Moth
2 Dioryctria abietella
2 Hypsopygia glaucinalis
2 Light Brown Apple Moth
2 Caloptilia elongella
1 Plum Tortrix
1 Crassa unitella
1 Rhyaconia pinicolana
1 Bee Moth
1 Blastodacna hellerella*
1 Caloptilia cuculipennella*
1 Garden Rose Tortrix*
1 Scoparia ambigualis
1 Borkhausenia fuscescens*
1 Zeiraphera isertana
1 Holly Tortrix
1 Diamond-back Moth
1 Bramble Shoot Moth
1 Agriphila inquinitella
1 Argyresthia bonnetella
1 Endotrichia flammealis
1 Red-barred Tortrix
1 Cherry Bark Moth
1 Emmelina monodactyla
1 Argyresthia brockeela
1 Pammene fasciana
1 Celypha striana
1 Brown China-mark
1 Common White Plume
1 Acrobasis rependana
1 Eucosma hohenwartiana
1 Blastobasis adustella
1 Neofriseria singula 

A ridiculous 349 moths in total!

Vapourer

Herald

Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Horse Chestnut

Small Rivulet

Scalloped Hook-tip

Blastodacna hellerella

Caloptilia cuculipennella

Garden Rose Tortrix

Rhyaconia pinicolana

Caloptilia elongella

Eucosma hohenwartiana

Neofriseria singula

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

Coppers, Horses, and Pines

The night of the 8th was not particularly good in the garden, so I had to put it into the same post as last nights, although that really deserves its own!

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5 nights ago, the only thing of any note in a catch of 70 moths of 23 species was the first Copper Underwing of the year. Looking at the features that once identified them, it looked like a Svennson's.

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8th July:

10 Flame

9 Heart and Dart

9 Riband Wave

6 Dot Moth

6 Buff Arches

6 Dunbar

4 Uncertain

3 Dark Arches

2 Rustic

2 Coronet

2 Double Square-spot

2 Willow Beauty

1 Buff-tip

1 Scorched Wing

1 Elephant Hawk-moth

1 Beautiful Hook-tip

1 Clay

1 Foxglove Pug

1 Common White Wave

1 Clouded Border

1 Sycamore

1 Common Emerald

1 Svennson's Copper Underwing NFY

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Clouded Border

Svensson's Copper Underwing

Last night however, was miles better, with the second highest numbers of individuals ever (92) and good variety too (36 species), thanks to cloudy conditions, and a heavy shower. The only garden tick was a Pine Hawk-moth, but unfortunately, the rain had got to it and was worse for wear. Two new for the year were Rosy Footman, and a Horse Chestnut - the only officially notable species on my garden list. I have also started to notice micros a little more, and there were some nice ones in the trap, including the migrant Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella, but it got away before I could get a shot.

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12th July:

19 Flame

9 Dark Arches

8 Riband Wave

5 Uncertain

5 Dunbar

4 Heart and Dart

3 Coronet

3 Rustic

2 Double Square-spot

2 Peppered Moth

2 Green Pug

2 Mottled Beauty

2 Dot Moth

2 Large Yellow Underwing

2 Dagger sp.

2 V-Pug

1 Willow Beauty

1 Minor sp.

1 Buff Arches

1 Flame Shoulder

1 Small Seraphim

1 Light Emerald

1 Elephant Hawk-moth

1 Common Lutestring

1 Pine Hawk-moth NFG

1 Beautiful Hook-tip

1 Barred Red

1 Rosy Footman NFY

1 Clay

1 Double-striped Pug

1 Horse Chestnut NFY

1 Minor Shoulder-knot

1 Pebble Hook-tip

1 Lobster Moth

1 Poplar Grey

1 Miller

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Garden Year List: 150

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Argyresthia brockeella (Thanks to Ken for the ID)

Acleris forsskaleana

Hedya salicella

Horse Chestnut
Rosy Footman
Pine Hawk-moth (view 1)
Pine Hawk-moth (view 2)