Pugtastic

Last night was the first warm cloudy one for a couple of weeks, so it worth running the trap. Numbers were a little dissapointing, but included an array of Pugs, all but one of which I managed to identify! One of the Green Pugs was very fresh, but by the time I had had it potted for a little while, it started to loose its green! The same can be said for the July Highflyer too. I also found a very pretty micro flying around in the day, that I would appreciate an ID for.

June 14th:

15 Heart and Dart

4 Rustic

3 Green Pug NFY

2 Dark Arches

2 Willow Beauty

2 Common Pug

1 Foxglove Pug NFY

1 Grey Pug

1 Fan-foot NFY

1 Small Fan-foot NFY

1 July Highflyer NFY

1 Marbled White-spot

1 Small Dusty Wave NFY

1 Brimstone

1 Uncertain NFY

Sorry for some of these poor shots, but I wasn't having much luck persuading them to sit where I wanted!

Unidentified micro

Green Pug

Small Dusty Wave

July Highflyer

Small Fan-foot

Fan-foot

Rustic

little and large (clouded brindles)

I found a clouded brindle in my shed a couple of nights ago. I thought that it might be interesting to post it above a small clouded brindle from last year.
small clouded brindle

clouded brindle

Shears!

Last night was lovely and cloudy, and it was a pleasant surprise not to see any of the wet stuff. Variety was oddly down on yesterday, but numbers were up, as Heart and Darts soared to new heights! Best were a Shears, and a Pine Hawk, although its a shame the latter was such a sorry looking specimen!

4th June:

64 Heart and Dart

22 Dark Arches

7 Minor sp.

1 Flame

1 Shuttle-shaped Dart

1 Heart and Club

1 Buff-tip

1 Treble Brown Spot

1 Marbled White Spot NFY

1 Shears NFY

1 Peppered Moth NFY

1 Red-green Carpet NFY

1 Pine Hawk NFY

Red-green Carpet

Marbled White Spot

Pine Hawk

Shears

Aye, Aye, Admiral!

I went looking for silver-washed fritillaries yesterday. I probably left it too late in the day but I did find a white admiral.

Darts, Clubs and Silver-lines

Another warm night, so I trapped in the garden. I got the best variety of the year so far, but the high numbers of individuals were mostly down to Heart and Dart! Only the second garden record of Green Silver-lines was probably the best, although its a shame it was so worn.

3rd June:

48 Heart and Dart

15 Dark Arches

6 Minor sp.

4 Treble Lines

4 Flame

2 Willow Beauty NFY

2 Heart and Club NFY

2 Grey Pug

1 Dusky Brocade NFY

1 Brimstone NFY

1 Garden Carpet NFY

1 Middle-barred Minor NFY

1 Green Silver-lines NFY

1 Buff-tip

1 Brown Silver-lines

1 Large Yellow Underwing NFY

1 Vine's Rustic

1 Light Emerald NFY

Heart and Club

Garden Carpet

Dusky Brocade

Middle-barred Minor

Green Silver-lines

Festooned with success

As the weather has turned so warm, Paul Wheeler decided to do some trapping at Pewley Down last night. Although it was clear, the warm still air remained in situ, right up to 1:00 when we packed up. Under the light of Saturn, we kept a vigil on both traps, and they were almost constantly heaving with moths. Loads of highlights but I got two new species (the latter was even a lifer for the experienced Mr Wheeler!), which were a fantastic Festoon, and a stunning fresh Netted Pug. The other stars were heaps of Reddish Light Arches (50+), a few Lace Border (an also-ran now!), a Privet Hawk, and 7 Small Elephant Hawks.

Pewley Downs, 2nd June:
Small Dusty Wave
Middle-barred Minor
Common Swift
Clouded Silver
Barred Yellow
Reddish Light Arches
Light Brocade
Straw Dot
Heart and Dart
Treble Lines
Satin Wave
Green Carpet
Willow Beauty
Shuttle-shaped Dart
Scorched Carpet
Mottled Beauty
Light Arches
Small Elephant Hawk
Varied Coronet
Common Marbled Carpet
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Large Yellow Underwing
Iron Prominent
Dark Arches
Snout
Tawny Marbled Minor
Vine's Rustic
Privet Hawk
Clay
Cinnabar
Lesser Swallow Prominent
Light Emerald
Mottled Pug
Festoon*
Lesser Yellow Underwing
Blotched Emerald
Small White Wave
Peppered Moth (carbonaria)
Flame
Bright-line Brown-eye
Engrailed
Netted Pug*
Brimstone
Lobster Moth
Marbled Minor
Total macros: 47

White Point

Varied Coronet

Reddish Light Arches

carbonaria Peppered Moth

Mottled Beauty

Light Brocade

Lace Border

Engrailed

Cinnabar

Blotched Emerald

Netted Pug

Festoon

Small Elephant Hawk

Privet Hawk

Some new friends!

Like a Phoenix from the fire

It seems the warm weather is finally here, and with a little cloud cover about, I set the trap last night. Numbers were surprisingly down on the last couple of nights, but the quality was pretty good. Best was my first confirmed Phoenix for the garden, although it got away before I got a photo! A few others new for the year in addition, included a fantastic Buff-tip.



1st June:
17 Heart and Dart
4 Dark Arches
3 Minor sp.
2 Treble Brown Spot NFY
1 Buff-tip NFY
1 Treble Lines
1 Mottled Pug NFY
1 Small Seraphim NFY
1 Bird's Wing
1 Broken-barred Carpet NFY
1 Phoenix NFY
1 Ingrailed Clay
1 Vine's Rustic
1 Grey Pug NFY

Treble Brown Spot

Small Seraphim

probable Grey Pug

Bird's Wing

Broken-barred Carpet

Buff-tip

witch hunt

Mother Shipton was a witch, apparently, and she has a moth named after her. I've seen the species often enough in meadows and stream-side vegetation but they seem to like perching deep in the vegetation. I didn't manage to get a great shot but at least it's recognisable. I also got on friendly terms with a large skipper in the same meadow... and a blood-vein.

Mother Shipton

large skipper
blood-vein

A Minor increase

The cloud cover finally came last night, although it was not a particularly warm day. None the less, the results were encouraging. Nothing new for the garden amongst 42 moths of 16 species, but a load of new for the years. Best was probably a Freyer's Pug, a worn Yellow-barred Brindle, and a couple of striking Minors. Interestingly, I got the same number of Heart and Darts as two days ago.

May 28th:
22 Heart and Dart
3 Treble Lines
2 Common Marbled Carpet NFY
2 Dark Arches NFY
2 Minor sp. NFY
1 Flame NFY
1 May Highflyer
1 Ingrailed Clay
1 Vine's Rustic NFY
1 Pale Tussock NFY
1 Pale Mottled Willow NFY
1 Brown Silver-line NFY
1 Turnip NFY
1 Yellow-barred Brindle NFY

1 Small Phoenix NFY

Minor sp. (perhaps good examples of Tawny Marbled and Marbled?)

Pale Tussock

Turnip

Brown Silver-line

Freyer's Pug

As an aside, the council have recently installed a load of new street lighting around the town, including down my road. All the lamps are strong white light, which I can't help but think will have an effect on local moth populations. I just don't know why they can't just have the usual yellow filters!

Improving weather...and moths

After a gap of a month, I was back trapping in the garden last night. The weather still looked clear, and when I tended the trap in the morning, the light was out (probably a loose connection). Despite these setbacks, I still managed 35 moths of 10 species, all but one of which were new for the year! The best one was probably only my second ever Pale-shouldered Brocade. Lets hope the weather is on the change for the better.

25th May:

22 Heart and Dart

3 Treble Line

2 Grey Pine Carpet

2 Rustic

1 Bird's Wing

1 Lesser Swallow Prominent

1 Shuttle-shaped Dart

1 Ingrailed Clay

1 Pale-shouldered Brocade

1 May Highflyer

Lesser Swallow Promient (I only ever seem to get Lesser in the garden)

Pale-shouldered Brocade

P.S. Sorry Ken, but there appears to be some sort of glitch, meaning I can't reply to comments. Yes, I am still using your trusty trap in the garden! There appears to be a loose connection in the plug at the moment, hopefully easily fixed.