118 Moths; Is This 2012?

At last!  Just as others experienced last night, the weather here was almost perfect, and finally produced good numbers.  Although it does appear that this year I am only getting quality or quantity, never both!  Shouldn't complain though as I got 66 macros of 41 species, and another 24 micro species.  Amongst these macros were 13 year ticks, but most were expected, just a Lilac Beauty that wasn't,  which was my second record in the garden.

25th June:
8 Dark Arches
4 Light Emerald NFY
3 Peppered Moth
3 Heart and Dart
3 Orange Footman
2 Brimstone
2 Poplar Hawk-moth NFY
2 Lesser Swallow Prominent
2 Marbled White-spot
2 Fan-foot NFY
2 Lobster
2 Heart and Club NFY
2 Treble Lines
2 Minor sp.
1 Treble Brown-spot NFY
1 Common Marbled Carpet
1 Lilac Beauty NFY
1 Dusky Brocade NFY
1 Elephant Hawk-moth
1 Common Wave
1 Common White Wave
1 Flame Carpet
1 Straw Dot
1 Ingrailed Clay NFY
1 Foxglove Pug
1 Freyer's Pug NFY
1 Common Pug
1 Grey Pug
1 Swallow Prominent
1 Rosy Footman NFY
1 Brown Silver-line NFY
1 Flame Shoulder
1 Silver Y
1 Angle Shades
1 Large Yellow Underwing
1 Spectacle
1 Willow Beauty
1 Bird's Wing
1 Blotched Emerald NFY
1 Beautiful Hook-tip NFY
1 Double-striped Pug

Micros (* = new):
1 Common White Plume
2 Brown House Moth
1 Ananis (was Phlyctaenia) coronata
2 Variegated Golden Tortrix
3 Scoparia pyralella
1 Diamond-back Moth
3 Celypha lacunana
13 Dipleurina lacustrata
1 Celypha striana*
1 Notocelia rosaecolana*
4 Green Oak Tortrix
4 Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix
4 Light Brown Apple Moth
1 Small Magpie
1 Eudonia mercurella
1 Hawthorn Moth*
1 Bee Moth
1 Plum Tortrix*
1 Cherry Bark Tortrix
2 Chrysoteucia culmella
1 Udea olivalis
1 Ash Bud Moth*
1 Argyresthia bonnetella*
1 Ocnerostoma piniariella*

Lilac Beauty

Beautiful Hook-tip

Poplar Hawk-moth

Treble Brown-spot

Freyer's Pug

Ingrailed Clay

Dusky Brocade

Straw Dot

Heart and Club

Rosy Footman

Blotched Emerald

Ash Bud Moth

Cherry Bark Tortrix

Notocelia rosaecolana

Scoparia pyralella

Celypha striana

Yesterday, I came across this newly emerged Psyche casta on a window:

Cloaked in drizzle, but we Hook quality!

I went to Thursley Common last night for a mothing event with David Gardner. Bill was able to come, although it was a shame he had to leave early. Particularly as we had a great time, with only average conditions. In drizzly, cold weather, we got small numbers, but high quality from this top-notch site. I got three lifers, and a possible fourth. When the very first macro we saw was a Silver Hook, I knew we were going to do well! I managed to net this wet heathland specialist before dusk. During the night itself, we were also graced by the presence of a Cloaked Carpet, and a female Grass Wave amongst others. You can't beat mothing with a serenade of Nightjar churring (I got some great views too, as a male endeavoured to catch the moths before me)!

Thursley Common, 24th June (in order of appearance):

Silver Hook*

Treble Brown-spot

Double-striped Pug

Snout

Lilac Beauty

Grey Pine Carpet

Pine Hawk

True Lover's Knot

Marbled White Spot

Cloaked Carpet*

Heart and Club

Tawny-barred Angle

Mottled Beauty

Green Carpet

Middle-barred Minor

Brown Rustic

Smoky Wainscot

Beautiful Hook-tip

Lobster

Scalloped Hook-tip

Striped Wainscot

Barred Red

Riband Wave

Marbled Brown

Grass Wave*

Dunbar

Yellow Shell

Willow Beauty

Small Fan-footed Wave

Double Square-spot

Large Yellow Underwing

Small Seraphim

Possible Square Spot (it was much smaller than nearby Mottled Beauty)

(Forgotten the name of this micro!)

Beautiful Hook-tip

Striped Wainscot

Lilac Beauty and Barred Red

Scalloped Hook-tip

Grass Wave

Cloaked Carpet

Silver Hook

We Loop-the-loop at Oaken!

Another session out and about last night with David Gardner, and I was most excited by it, as it was at the Butterfly Conservation reserve at Oaken Wood. Initially however, it looked as if we might be scuppered by the weather, as it looked fairly clear, and a little windy. Luckily, it was not quite that bad, and the moths came, in thier hundreds! Although admittedly, about 80% of that number is made up of Green Oak Tortrix Tortrix viridana!

In the end, I managed to see 7 new species, as well as many stunning moths. The best record came from my trap (which is so much less powerful than David's!), as two Rannoch Looper turned up, suggesting they are breeding there. Also fantastic Four-dotted Footman and a gorgeous Map-winged Swift.

The final number up to 1:00 in David's and my traps, was 75 macros of 34 species, plus the hundreds of Tortrix viridana and a load of Scorparia ambigualis as well. The final list (* is a new species to me):

7 Willow Beauty
6 Four-dotted Footman *
6 Green Carpet
5 Buff Ermine
4 Brown Silver-line
4 Mottled Beauty
3 Common Marbled Carpet
3 Common White Wave
3 Barred Yellow *
2 Little Emerald *
2 Orange Moth *
2 Common Swift
2 Flame Shoulder
2 Blotched Emerald
2 Grey Arches
2 Rannoch Looper *
2 Light Emerald
2 Ingrailed Clay
1 Map-winged Swift *
1 Marbled Minor
1 Lobster Moth
1 Beautiful Golden Y *
1 Clouded-bordered Brindle
1 Grey Pug
1 Silver-ground Carpet
1 Common Wainscot
1 Treble Lines
1 Middle-barred Minor
1 Common Wave
1 Buff-tip
1 Clouded Border
1 Lilac Beauty
1 Small Square-spot
1 Green Silver-lines

Just as usual for these outings, I was not able to get particularly good shots.

Barred Yellow

Beautiful Golden Y

Blotched Emerald

Common Swift

Four-dotted Footman

One of many Grasshoppers around the trap!

Grey Arches

Lilac Beauty, Mottled Beauty, and Tortrix viridana

Little Emerald

Map-winged Swift

Orange Moth

The first Rannoch Looper

Both Rannoch Looper

The full trap!