O for the Wing of a Swallow

Conditions continue to be appalingly cold, but a load of cloud cover last night prompted me to try and trap, but needless to say the rain guard was an essential piece of equipment.  Numbers still ridiculously low for the time of year, but at least I now have something to submit for National Moth Night.  Just like the last trapping, only expected year ticks were achieved.

23rd June:
5 Heart and Dart
4 Peppered Moth (including one near carbonaria)
2 Lobster Moth
2 Green Pug NFY
2 Flame NFY
2 Minor sp.
1 Willow Beauty NFY
1 Pale Prominent
1 Bird's Wing NFY
1 Marbled White-spot
1 Common Marbled Carpet
1 Small Angle Shades
1 Swallow-tailed Moth NFY
1 Snout NFY
1 Large Yellow Underwing
1 Uncertain NFY
1 Buff-tip
1 Buff Ermine

Micros:
1 Small Magpie
1 Celypha lacunana
1 Chrysoteucia culmella
1 Orthotaenia undulana (I'd appreciate a confirmation or otherwise)

Bird's Wing  (one of my favourite moths)



Swallow-tailed Moth

Flame

Green Pug

Willow Beauty

Snout

Orthotaenia undulana (I think)



ID Help Please!

Apologies for recent radio silence but a combination of travelling halfway around the UK and back again, plus the dreadful weather, has resulted in not very much in my mothtrap.  At least, nothing any different to what is already being logged here.

However, this week has turned up a couple.  A Great Oak Beauty - not that rare I know but uncommon enough to be an appearance of note. No photo yet as he doesn't want to pose for the camera.

The second is one I would appreciate some help with.  I know what I think it is, and I know what my partner thinks it is, and we agree.  But without putting any ideas in your minds, I'd be really interested to know what you think it is!  I have passed the photo to Graham Collins for his opinion as well. 

Moth for ID

Clearwings

Since the beginning of June, I've been eagerly awaiting an appropriate weather window to string up some Clearwing pheromones in the garden, to see if I can repeat last year's success with them.

The opportunity finally arose yesterday morning, with warm temperatures, intermediate sunshine and a noticable wind to carry the pheromones across the adjacent gardens. I put up the 'VES' lure in a small apple tree, with surrounding cultivated 'decorative' plants, and within 15 minutes, 4 Orange-tailed Clearwings were fighting for top spot on the washing bag containing the pheromones. I caught a single individual last year, and assumed it to be a wanderer from distant chalk downland, but its pretty clear that there is now a healthy colony in the area.

The lure went out again later in the evening, and it was nice to catch up with Yellow-legged Clearwing, the other species that this particular pheromone is designed to attract, and usually quite common here in mid-summer. A few more Orange-tailed Clearwings passed through, but didn't stay long.

The undoubted highlight was a surprise visit from a Red-tipped Clearwing, which I only just noticed out the corner of my eye, as it hovered over some flowers a little way from the lure. A new one for the garden, and the third species caught here.

Red-tipped Clearwing...

Yellow-legged Clearwing (left) and Orange-tailed Clearwing (right)

Certainly makes up for the complete lack of night time activity around the trap.

All's Rosy, as I find the Red-neck of the Grove

I thought it might be worth popping up the road yesterday evening to a small woodland called Holmen's Grove, as its a previously (as far as I know) unsurveyed site.  According to the forecast, there would only be a small window of oppurtunity between the clear skies and the heavy rain, but I thought I may as well give it a go for an hour or two, as the habitat looked really nice (Nightingale and Woodcock present for instance).

The cloud cover was there as forecast, but incredibly, I got to 12:30 with no rain.  This leant itself to a quality night for moths, and boy was it.   I had to pack up early, as I had work the next day, but I would have stayed longer if I could.  As it was, I was woken up at around 4:00 by the rain lashing down outside!

There was a constant stream of moths towards the end of the session after a slow start.  I managed three macro lifers, including a stonking Red-necked Footman!  The others were a very worn moth that I am pretty confident is a Brindled White-spot, and three Rosy Marbled.  I was delighted I was able to pick out the latter without first taking a skim through the micro book!

A few micro ticks were got too including Brown China-mark, Dipleurina (was Eudonia) lacustrana and Ptocheuusa paupella.

20th June, Holmen's Grove (* = lifer):
2 Grey Pine Carpet
6 Common Swift
11 Scorparia ambigualis
5 Straw Dot
3 Brown Silver-line
3 Celypha lacunana
1 Emmetia marginea*
4 Green Oak Tortrix
1 Willow Beauty
2 Brown China-mark*
4 Mottled Beauty
2 Udea olivalis
2 Green Carpet
1 Nematopogon metaxella*
2 Tinea semifulvella
1 Large Fruit-tree Tortrix*
1 Ptocheuusa paupella*
1 Beautiful Hook-tip
2 Small Seraphim
1 Bramble Shoot Moth
4 Light Emerald
3 Common Carpet
1 Middle-barred Minor
1 Beautiful Golden Y (pristine specimen!)
2 Orange Footman
2 Common White Wave
1 Scalloped Hook-tip
2 Spruce Carpet
1 Scorched Wing
1 Common Marbled Carpet
1 Blood Vein
1 Red-necked Footman *
1 Epinotia demarniana*
1 Brimstone
1 Poplar Grey
1 Agapeta hamana
2 Purple Clay
1 Peach Blossom
1 Red-barred Tortrix*
1 Setaceous Hebrew Character
1 Maiden's Blush
1 Fan-foot
1 Blotched Emerald
1 Peppered Moth
2 Small Angle Shades
1 Marbled White-spot
1 Dwarf Pug
1 Foxglove Pug
3 Rosy Marbled*
1 Brindled White-spot*
1 Dipleurina lacustrana*
1 Carpatolechia proximella*
1 Lobster Moth
1 Satin Lutestring
1 Flame
1 Barred Yellow
1 Ingrailed Clay
1 White Ermine
1 Holly Tortrix
1 Dusky Brocade
Total: 59

Red-necked Footman

Rosy Marbled

Brindled White-spot (it was more confincing in the flesh, honest!)

Brown China-mark

Blood Vein

Purple Clay no. 1

Purple Clay no. 2 (decent shout for Square-spotted Clay?)

Peach Blossom

Oak-tree Pug (it was tiny!)

Dipleurina lacustrana

Thats what mothing is all about!!

The Pink Elephant

A completely clear night last night, but I was hoping the warm day temperature would encourage a bit of a hatch.  As it was, it was only just a little better than two days ago in numbers, but no garden ticks (is my trap loosing its mojoo?!).  Eight year ticks were all rather expected, although a Straw Dot was only my second garden record, and an Elephant Hawk-moth always puts a smile on my face.

19th June:
5 Heart and Dart
3 Minor sp.
2 Dark Arches
1 Clouded Border NFY
1 Buff-tip
1 Foxglove Pug NFY
1 Dagger sp.
1 Lesser Swallow Prominent
1 Common Rustic sp. NFY
1 Common Wave
1 Grey Pug NFY
1 Common White Wave
1 Peppered Moth
1 Elephant Hawk-moth NFY
1 Beautiful Golden Y
1 Mottled Beauty NFY
1 Straw Dot NFY
1 Flame Carpet NFY


Micros:
1 Celypha lacunana
1 Small Magpie
2 Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix
1 Scorparia ambigualis
1 Lozotaenia forsterana
1 Chrysoteuchia culmella
2 Light Brown Apple Moth
1 Cherry Bark Moth

Elephant Hawk-moth

Dagger sp.

Foxglove Pug

Clouded Border

Beauty is Golden

After two and a half weeks of no trapping in the garden, I was starting to get desperate, so I decided to take a gamble with last night, despite the rainy forecast.  It was wet, very, and that was reflected in the appaling numbers, but luckily, quality was high, with another two garden ticks.  These were a Four-dotted Footman, and a pristine Beautiful Golden Y, along with expected year ticks (plus only my second garden Purple Bar).

17th June:
5 Common Marbled Carpet
2 Heart and Dart
2 Buff Ermine NFY
1 Dark Arches NFY
1 Peppered Moth
1 Minor sp.
1 Four-dotted Footman NFG
1 Vine's Rustic
1 Lesser Swallow Prominent
1 Figure of 80
1 Purple Bar NFY
1 Beautiful Golden Y NFG
1 Garden Carpet
1 Large Yellow Underwing NFY
1 Small Angle Shades NFY

The only identifiable micros were a Small Magpie and a Diamond-back Moth.

Beautiful Golden Y



Four-dotted Footman

Purple Bar

Large Yellow Underwing

Dark Arches

Small Angle Shades

Heart and Dart

Buff Ermines

More Than Micro Interest at Farnham

After several weeks of appaling weather, I took my first proper outing with my loaned generator yesterday evening.  It was a bit windy, and the sky was rather clear by the end, but I was pretty happy with a total of 45 species, in what was my first real attempt at IDing all micros too (thanks to the new micro book of course!).  I trapped on a small water meadow next to the River Wey, on the RSPB reserve at Farnham Heath.  Best macros were only my second ever Sandy Carpet and Slender Pug.  I was delighted with how many micros I was able to successfully ID (I hope!), including the Reed feeder Elachista maculicerusella.

15th June, Farnham Heath:

7 Straw Dot

6 Celypha lacunana

5 Scorparia ambigualis

4 Agapeta hamana

4 Marbled Brown

3 Small Rivulet

3 Common Carpet

3 Common Marbled Carpet

2 Scorparia pyralella

2 Yellow Shell

2 Sandy Carpet

2 Brown Silver-line

2 May Highflyer

2 Common White Wave

2 Snout

2 Green Carpet

2 Peppered Moth

1 Cnephasia sp.

1 Coleophora sp.

1 Nemophora degreella (before dusk)

1 Elachista maculicerusella

1 Argyresthia retinella

1 Caloptilia alchimiella

1 Triaxomera parasitella

1 Fox Moth

1 Rivulet

1 Argyresthia brockeela

1 Silver-ground Carpet

1 Water Ermine

1 Grey Pug

1 Small Elephant Hawk

1 Heart and Dart

1 Udea olivalis

1 Clouded Border

1 Mottled Beauty

1 Grey Pine Carpet

1 Waved Umber

1 Buff Ermine

1 Bordered White

1 Pale Oak Beauty

1 Orange Footman

1 Iron Prominent

1 Middle-barred Minor

1 Bird's Wing

1 Slender Pug
1 Blastobasis laticolella

Total: 46

Elachista maculicerusella

Bordered White

Caloptilia alchimiella

Triaxomera parasitella

Sandy Carpet

Argyresthia retinella

Small Elephant Hawk-moth

I found this in the house the other day - the Case-bearing Clothes Moth (Tinea pellionella) sitting by its case:

Quite recently, I worked out my pan-species British list (i.e. the list of ALL species of everything plants, birds, insects etc.).  These latest micros brought that list to 1999.  I'm hoping to twitch the Little Bittern in Hertfordshire tomorrow, as that would be a rather fitting 2000th (compared to a tiny dull micro moth for instance anyway!). 

Cypress Carpet at Berrylands

Cypress Carpet at Berrylands Station, 15/06/2012

It's been a really slow year so far, apart from the Toadflax Brocade mentioned in a previous post there has been nothing of note to report from the station so far. That changed this morning when I found a rather dark carpet at rest high up on the station stairs, I thought it was going to be the first Yellow-barred Brindle of the year but when I got my binoculars on it I was amazed to see it was a Cypress Carpet. A quick dash to the local newsagent to borrow one of his long-handled fishing nets and the prize was in the pot. After finding Cypress Pug a couple of years ago this one has been on my wish list along with Pine Hawk-moth (there is a small stand of Scots Pine at the western end of the station so I live in hope). The station macro yearlist now stands at just 38 species, a good 20 down on the average.

A Broader String to my Bow

The forecast of a nice cloudy night had me scrambling for the trap equipment yesterday evening.  It had probably been just a little too cool during the day for a 'big night', but my garden continued its incredible record of ticks from recent trappings.  Amongst 52 moths of 25 species was another new one to me, and another garden tick, as well as the usual list of year ticks.  The brand new one was a single Broad-barred White, a moth apparently of shingle beaches and waste ground in urban areas.  The garden tick was a Poplar Lutestring, but interestingly, I also got another Figure of 80 (I hate it when that happens, as it just devalues the first record!).  I also saw my first ever intermediate Peppered Moth between the normal and carbonaria forms.

31st May:
11 Common Marbled Carpet
5 Shuttle-shaped Dart
4 Peppered Moth
3 Flame Shoulder
3 Heart and Dart
3 Orange Footman
2 Light Brocade
2 Green Carpet
2 Vine's Rustic
2 Brimstone
1 Pale Tussock
1 Yellow-barred Brindle
1 Silver Y
1 Common Carpet
1 Clouded Silver NFY
1 Common White Wave NFY
1 Figure of 80
1 Small Phoenix NFY
1 Treble Lines
1 Common Pug
1 Spectacle NFY
1 Broad-barred White NFM
1 Garden Carpet
1 Poplar Lutestring NFG
1 Broken-barred Carpet NFY

Broad-barred White

Peppered Moth (intermediate)

Clouded Silver

Small Phoenix

Broken-barred Carpet

Poplar Lutestring

Spectacle

I have been seeing lots of these larval cases of Psyche casta about the place, but imagine my surprise when I found this one inside the lounge!:

Psyche casta