A Fine Figure of Beauty

Still an absence of cloud in the sky at the moment (looks like that will be rectified in the next few days), but the warm temps continue to bring my fantastic new trap into its own.  Last night, I got the most species in the trap this year (30), which included another new moth to me, and yet another garden tick in addition.  Poplar feeders are quite a scarcity in my garden, so it was nice to get my first ever Figure of 80, alongside my first Pine Beauty for the garden, just a few days after seeing my first adult at Hagthorne. 

28th May:
6 Shuttle-shaped Dart
5 Common Marbled Carpet
5 Brimstone
3 Buff-tip
2 Scalloped Hazel
2 Orange Footman
2 Poplar Grey
2 Common Carpet NFY
1 Lobster Moth NFY
1 Treble Lines NFY
1 Pine Beauty NFG
1 Peppered Moth
1 Pale Prominent NFY
1 Grey Pine Carpet
1 Silver-ground Carpet
1 White Point NFY
1 Red Twin-spot Carpet
1 Pebble Hook-tip
1 Marbled White-spot NFY
1 Flame Shoulder
1 Small Seraphim
1 Vine's Rustic NFY
1 Common Pug
1 Figure of 80 NFM
1 Pebble Prominent
1 Red-green Carpet
1 White-pinion Spotted
1 Green Carpet
1 Angle Shades
1 Silver Y

Common Carpet

 Pebble Hook-tip

Figure of 80 (the mark which gives the moth its name is upside down)

Silver Y

Vine's Rustic

White Point

Pale Prominent

Treble Lines

Lobster Moth

Pine Beauty

Marbled White-spot

I'm sure some of you guys are trapping (Billy, Angela, and Ken!), lets hear how you're doing!

Green and Yellow

Another fantastic cloudy night attracted some real lookers to the trap come the morning.
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55 moths of 28 species was an excellent return, and included a first for the garden in the distinctive shape of a Green Silver-lines. I did wonder when I would get this one, after finding a caterpillar not so far away last year. Some year ticks were Lobster Moth and Swallow-tail Moth.
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29th June:
8 Heart and Dart
8 Riband Wave
3 Fan-foot
3 Double Square-spot
3 Flame
2 Lobster Moth NFY
2 Beautiful Hook-tip
2 Buff Arches
2 Coronet
2 Rustic
2 Willow Beauty
2 Uncertain
1 Blotched Emerald
1 Light Emerald
1 Green Pug
1 Marbled White Spot
1 Buff-tip
1 Heart and Club
1 Minor sp.
1 Green Silver-lines NFG
1 Swallow-tailed Moth NFY
1 Dark Arches
1 Ingrailed Clay
1 Buff Ermine
1 May Highflyer
1 Bird's Wing
1 Small Angle Shades
1 Large Yellow Underwing

Lobster Moth

Swallow-tailed Moth

Blotched Emerald

Green Silver-lines

Green Silver-lines

Brockham leaves me speachless

What an incredible night, I don't have any superlatives left. I went trapping at Brockham Quarry near Dorking last night with David Gardner, hoping to get some chalk specialists.

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I must admit I expected there to be a few moths, including lifers, at this honey-pot site on a warm night, but I was not prepared for the onslaught we experienced. To seasoned moth'ers, this was probably only an above-average night at best, but for me it was incredible, with 65 macros recorded by the end of the night.

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In the end, I managed to see seven new species, including some specialists such as Reddish Light Arches and Galium Carpet. Nice to get a visit from only my second Privet Hawk-moth too. Plenty of pretty micros were seen as well, such as Oncocera semirubella.

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By morning we got (* = lifer):

3 Brown Rustic

2 Common Carpet

6 Brimstone

5 Riband Wave

8 Mottled Beauty

10 Willow Beauty

3 Barred Yellow

3 Beautiful Hook-tip

2 Common Emerald

9 Light Emerald

4 Peach Blossom

1 Small Yellow Wave*

7 Coronet

2 Flame Shoulder

5 Common Marbled Carpet

5 Fern*

2 Marbled White Spot

4 Pretty Chalk Carpet

1 Mullein Wave

2 Large Yellow Underwing

1 Small Phoenix

1 Privet Hawk-moth

1 Clay

2 Buff Arches

3 Double Square-spot

2 Currant Pug (as well as a large amount of unidentified pugs!)

1 Setaceous Hebrew Character

1 Common Wainscot

2 Clouded Brindle*

1 Reddish Light Arches*

3 Treble Brown Spot

2 White Ermine

1 Lobster

2 Dark Arches

5 Heart and Dart

1 Swallow-tailed Moth

1 Middle-barred Minor

1 Light Feathered Rustic*

2 Green Carpet

4 Grey Arches

1 Lilac Beauty

1 Purple Clay

1 Uncertain

2 July Highflyer

1 Shears

1 Silver-ground Carpet

1 Barred Straw

1 Orange Footman

1 Treble Lines

1 Galium Carpet*

3 Peppered Moth

2 White-pinion Spotted

1 Short-cloaked Moth*

2 Mottled Rustic

3 Purple Bar

5 Common White Wave

2 Clouded Border

1 Clouded Silver

2 Scarce Footman

4 Common Wave

1 Heart and Club

1 Marbled Minor

1 Small Blood Vein

3 May Highflyer

1 Green Pug

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Small Yellow Wave

Short-cloaked Moth

Oncecera semirubella

Reddish Light Arches

Privet Hawk-moth

Peach Blossom
Mullein Wave
Lobster Moth
Light Feathered Rustic
July Highflyer
Galium Carpet
Fern
Common Emerald
Clouded Brindle