24th Aug '15 .. Dark Sword-grass and Maiden's Blush

Two more year ticks last night despite the apalling weather.
10 deg. C and raining, that's August for you, two days before it was 31 deg during the day, then down to 16 today,
Back to the moths ....
2091 - Agrotis ipsilon - Dark Sword-grass

2091 Agrotis ipsilon - Dark Sword-grass

2019 Agrotis ipsilon - Dark Sword-grass

 Another regular, but not in great numbers ... Maiden's Blush ...

1680 Cyclophora punctaria - Maiden's Blush

30th April 2013 ... Nice end to the month, but still cold.

Temperatures hit a low of zero degrees last night and only 8 moths were recorded in and around the traps.
My third ever Streamer was a good Dells moth and it was nice to get a Dark Sword-grass as I missed it last year.

1747 .. Anticlea derivata ... The Streamer ... 1, YF

1747 ... The Streamer,  Anticlea derivata

1862 .. Gymnoscelis rufifasciata ... Double-striped Pug ... 1
2091 .. Agrotis ipsilon ... Dark Sword-grass ... 1, YF

2091 ... Dark Sword-grass,  Agrotis ipsilon

2182 ... Orthosia cruda ... Small Quaker ... 1
2190 ... Orthosia gothica ... Hebrew Character ... 2
2243 ... Xylocampa areola ... Early Grey ... 2

On the sunny wall this morning ....
Common Lizard, minus tail, probably had a close encounter with one of the cats ....

Common Lizard ... Lacerta vivipara

11/11/11....Migrants

Overnight min temp. 10.1 deg...20mph gusts, drizzle and rain from 11pm until midnightish.
Thursdays very bright full moon resulted in a blank for the traps, but last night was a different story.
No sign of the moon, heavily overcast and apart from an hour of rain it was a good night.
13 moths of 11 species were recorded.
Also another garden first was added to The Dells species list, not from the traps but from a phone call.
I sent an unidentified moth to the recorders that had been refridgerated since 15th september.
After a gen det it turned out to be a male Garden Dart which brings the 2011 macro total to a tantalising 249 species. Thanks to Andy and Melissa Banthorpe, whose help over the last 3 years has been invaluable.
Last nights haul :-

BRICK

SATELLITE



DARK SWORD-GRASS



SILVER Y

RUSTY DOT PEARL





RED-LINE QUAKER

BLAIR'S SHOULDER-KNOT



NOVEMBER MOTH agg.

plus
Turnip Moth
Blastobasis lacticolella
Epiphyas postvittana x 3

11th Oct 2011....The Dark side

Min overnight temp, 13 deg, Breezy, Bright full moon.
The last few days have been too windy, although I have put the traps on.
The theory being that now we have strong westerlies, it may blow some of those immigrants from the west back to the eastern side of the country.
A flimsy theory maybe, but last night I was rewarded with a year first Dark Sword-grass, so who knows ? Maybe a Vestal or Flame Brocade would be nice!


DARK SWORD-GRASS

For the past 3 nights, the low catch has seen mainly, Shuttle-shaped Dart, Pale Mottled Willow, Blair's Shoulder-knot and Black Rustic.
Large and Lesser Yellow Underwings are still around, but gradually getting fewer and Angle Shades have appeared regularly.
Micros are few and far between, Light Brown Apple Moth and Emmelina monodactyla with the occasional Wax Moth and Gold Triangle.
Garden Tally for 2011 :-
425 species...243 macro, 182 micro

28th Sept....Autumn arrivals

Highlight of last nights catch ............DUSKY-LEMON SALLOW, a garden "first"

DEEP-BROWN DART another first for The Dells garden

DARK SWORD-GRASS ......2nd record this year for this immigrant species

Trap results:-

9 x Willow Beauty

8 x Lunar Underwing

5 x Large Yellow Underwing

4 x Pale Mottled Willow

3 x Lesser Yellow Underwing

3 x Setaceous Hebrew Character

2 x Blair's Shoulder-knot

2 x Shuttle-shaped Dart

1 x Black Rustic

1 x Dusky-lemon Sallo1 x Light Emerald

1 x Dark Sword-grass

1 x Garden Carpet

1 x Large Ranunculus

1 x Deep-brown Dart

1 x Square-spot Rustic

24th Aug..........A Turnip for the books !

A garden first (or previously overlooked) for this DARK SWORD-GRASS which was at first written off as a TURNIP MOTH
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DARK SWORD-GRASS

2nd BULRUSH WAINSCOT for the year

a first for year............. ROSY RUSTIC

one of 4 FLOUNCED RUSTICS in last nights trap