The Whole Hog

An entirely cloudy night meant it was a good idea to trap in the garden, but with a fairly cool day, it was never going to break any records.  Having said that, I got the second best catch of the year in terms of species and individuals.  I thought there were no particular macro highlights at first, but I've just discovered to my great surprise, that Dingy Footman is in fact a garden tick!  Otherwise, just some nice micros.  As I was releasing the moths out of the lounge window as I usually do, a rustling in the bushes below the window caught my attention.  What appeared was a very tame half-grown Hedgehog, hoovering up some of the docile moths!  Cheeky thing.

7th August:
Macros:
19 LBBYU
8 Riband Wave
8 Small Fan-footed Wave
6 Large Yellow Underwing
5 Yellow-barred Brindle
4 Dot Moth
4 Uncertain
4 Common Rustic sp.
3 Willow Beauty
3 Dingy Footman NFG
3 Red Twin-spot Carpet
3 Silver Y
2 Dagger sp.
2 Bright-line Brown-eye
2 Coronet NFY
2 Dark Arches
2 Maiden's Blush
2 Ear Moth
2 True Lover's Knot
2 Scarce Footman
2 Rustic
2 Clay
2 Snout
1 Lesser Swallow Prominent
1 Iron Prominent
1 Garden Carpet
1 Svennson's Copper Underwing NFY
1 Engrailed
1 Yellow-tail NFY
1 Barred Red NFY
1 July Highflyer
1 Common Carpet
1 Early Thorn
1 Small Rivulet
1 Scalloped Oak
1 Pebble Hook-tip
1 Heart and Dart
1 Beautiful Hook-tip
1 Dunbar
1 Mottled Beauty
1 Common Footman
1 Slender Brindle
1 Pale Prominent
1 Bird's Wing

Micros:
12 Eudonia mercurella
4 Cydia splendana
3 Agriphila straminella
3 Phycita roborella
2 Agriphila tristella
2 Endotrichia flammealis
2 Blastobasis adustella
2 Phlyctaenia coronata
2 Acleris aspersana
1 Bryotropha terrella
1 Chrysoteuchia culmella
1 Dipleurina lacustrata
1 Coleophora sp.
1 Small Magpie
1 Orchard Ermine*
1 Carcina quercana
1 Bryotropha affinis
1 Catoptria pinella
1 Udea prunalis
1 Caloptilia elongella
1 Agapeta hamana
1 Hypsospygia glaucinalis
1 Caloptilia robustella*
1 Eudemis profundana

Hedgehog

Maiden's Blush

Common and Dingy Footman

Coronet

Pale Prominent

Barred Red

A very striking Scoparid, I think its a Eudonia mercurella

Orchard Ermine

Agriphila tristella

Caloptilia robustella

Eudemis profundana

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!

Conditions are getting better

Wed night was much milder and my increased catch reflected this:

brimstone moth (nfy) 2
flame shoulder (nfy) 2
poplar hawk (nfy) 2


Hebrew character 2
small phoenix (nfy)
early grey
muslin moth
E. monodactyla
orange footman (nfy)

puss moth (nfy)

sharp-angled carpet (a rather deceptive one, which I first thought to be a water carpet!)


garden pebble (nfy)

white ermine (nfy)

swallow prominent (nfy)
lesser swallow prominent (nfy) 2
pale prominent (nfy)

coxcomb prominent (nfy)
white-spotted pug (nfy)


oak hook-tip (nfy)
scalloped hook-tip (nfy)
Oak nycteoline (nfy)

Epiblema cynosbatella (nfy)


Pale tussock (nfy)
several unidentified pugs!
(nfy = new for year)