An update ... garden moths

Here are a few recent additions to the garden year list ...

Swallow Prominent

Least Yellow Underwing

Orange Sallow

Cream-bordered Green Pea

Tree-lichen Beauty

Six-striped Rustic

Epiblema foenella (brown form)

Latticed Heath

22nd July 2014 ... Plain sailing ...

Plain Pug has been around in numbers of late and thanks to the moth'ers who have been posting their pics, it made it easy to recognise my very first garden Plain Pug.

Lots of brown stuff in the traps that I have stopped counting for a while.
Shuttle-shaped Darts, Common Rustic aggs, Dark Arches, Yellow Underwings with Copper and Straw Underwings.
Instead I have just jotted down a selection with the emphasis on newcomers and the uncommon.
Selected Species:-
0294 Aspilapteryx tringipennella
0947 Aethes smeathmanniana
0964 Cochylis dubitana
1212 Rhyacionia pinicolana
1260 Cydia splendana
1348 Parapoynx stratiotata
1371 Sitachroa verticalis
1417 Pyralis farinalis
1637 Oak Eggar
1646 Oak Hook-tip (female)
1690 Small Bloodvein x 3
1702 Small Fan-footed Wave
1726 Large Twin-spot Carpet
1803 Small Rivulet
1816 Toadflax Pug
1830 Wormwood Pug
1842 Plain Pug
1858 V-pug
1862 Double-striped Pug
1894 Latticed Heath
1922 Swallow-tailed Moth
2009 Maple Prominent
2165 Small Ranunculus
2223 Toadflax Brocade
2289 Knot Grass
2292 Tree-lichen Beauty
2352 Dusky Sallow
2377 Fen Wainscot

Top to Bottom:-
Aethes smeathmanniana
Pyralis farinalis
Toadflax Brocade
Latticed Heath
Tree-lichen Beauty
Fen Wainscot

8th June 2013 ... Toadflax Brocade

Two more Toadflax Brocades brightened up an otherwise uneventful night for the garden traps.
This Red Data Book species has been a regular for 3 years.

As a resident species, this moth is restricted to the south-east and central southern coasts of England, where it frequents mainly shingle beaches. It is a relatively recent colonist, arriving around 1950 and quickly gaining a foothold, but appears to be now in decline again.
--- UK Moths
It's certainly not in decline in my little square of  Bedfordshire at present so maybe this neat little moth will become firmly established across the country......

2223 ... Toadflax Brocade ... Calophasia lunula

2223 ... Toadflax Brocade ... Calophasia lunula

2223 ... Toadflax Brocade ... Calophasia lunula

2223 ... Toadflax Brocade ... Calophasia lunula

Last nights trap results :-
0648 ... Endrosis sarcitrella ... White-shouldered House-moth ... 6
0998 ... Epiphyas postvittana ... Light Brown Apple Moth ... 1
1356 ... Evergestis forficalis ... Garden Pebble ... 1
1474 ... Ephestia unicolorella, ssp. woodiella ... False Cacao Moth ... 1 ... YF

1474 ... Ephestia unicolorella, ssp. woodiella (syn. Ephestia parasitella, ssp. unicolorella)

1727 ... Silver-ground Carpet ... Xanthorhoe montanata ... 1
1728 ... Garden Carpet ... Xanthorhoe fluctuata ... 3
1781 ... Small Waved Umber ... Horisme vitalbata ... 1
1819 ... Mottled Pug ... Eupithecia exiguata ... 2
1834 ... Common Pug ... Eupithecia vulgata ... 1
1837 ... Grey Pug ... Eupithecia subfuscata ... 1 (Not Verified)
1894 ... Latticed Heath ... Chiasma clathrata ... 2 ... YF

1894 ... Latticed Heath ... Chiasma clathrata

1920 ... Scalloped Hazel ... Odontopera bidentata ... 1

1920 ... Scalloped Hazel ... Odontopera bidentata

2060 ... White Ermine ... Spilosoma lubricipeda ... 1

2069 ... Cinnabar ... Tyria jacobaeae ... 1

2089 ... Heart and Dart ... Agrotis exclamationis ... 2

2092 ... Shuttle-shaped Dart ... Agrotis puta ... 7

2223 ... Toadflax Brocade ... Calophasia lunula ... 2

2278 ... Poplar Grey ... Acronicta megacephala ... 1

2278 ... Poplar Grey ... Acronicta megacephala 

2283/4. Dark/Grey Dagger ... Acronicta tridens/psi ... 1
2334 ... Rustic Shoulder-knot ... Apamea sordens ... 2
2339 ... Tawny Marbled Minor ... Oligia latruncula

2339 ... Tawny Marbled Minor ... Oligia latruncula

2380 ... Treble Lines ... Charanyca trigrammica
2389 ... Pale Mottled Willow ... Paradrina clavipalpis
2450 ... Spectacle ... Abrostola tripartita

12 Aug '12 ... Garden traps

No sign of macro no. 300 which is disappointing given the great weather for the last week.
The last two nights haven't boosted the year list by many, just an expected Square-spot Rustic and a Small China-mark....
A second Small Rivulet for the garden, Latticed Heath, Nut-tree Tussock and White Satin Moth were nice finds.
No Footman moths for the first time in weeks, whoosh, that was your summer !

Square-spot Rustic ... Xestia xanthographa, year first.

Small China-mark, Cataclysta lemnata, year first

Latticed Heath, Chiasmia clathrata

Sallow Kitten, Furcula furcula

Below ... Marbled Beauty's

26th July 2012 ... Garden traps

Here are the latest additions to the 2012 garden year list :-

1183 Epiblema foenella

1304 Agriphila straminella

1305 Agriphila tristella

1313 Catoptria pinella

640 Batia lunaris

427 Yponomeuta cagnagella

2299 Mouse Moth

2353 Flounced Rustic

1894 Latticed Heath

2044 Dingy Footman

2297 Copper Underwing

15th Sept 2011...What makes a moth a RARE moth ?

Overnight min temp: 10.4 deg, calm, bright waning moon.
On the 3rd August this year, I caught a small non-descript micro, a little brown job, which I identified as 1397a Diplopseustis perieresalis.
This particular species was a national rarity and according to UK Moths, only two had been recorded previously.
Self doubt crept in, so I sent pics to our micro recorder and some of you bloggers out there for confirmation.
To a man you all agreed and the moth was submitted by our county micro recorder, David Manning, to the foremost authority, John Langmaid who duly confirmed it to be the 4th British record.
Given that this little fella is so rare, it would seem a long shot to record it again in my small patch of England that is attached to my house, but last night along came another.
Easterly winds had been blowing during the day which may be the reason it turned up but the fact remains it is here in numbers much higher than its status suggests.
It just goes to show how underwatched our micro moths are compared to the macros and I wonder how many of these have been ignored or overlooked.
So unless any more of this species has been recorded since August 3rd, here is Britains 5th DIPLOPSEUSTIS PERIERESALIS 1397a

Also rans:-
A garden year first Latticed Heath

Others:-
10 x Flounced Rustic
8 x Large Yellow Underwing
6 x Lesser Yellow Underwing
1 x Setaceous Hebrew Character
1 x Shuttle-shaped Dart
1 x Garden Carpet
5 x Willow Beauty
6 x Square-spot Rustic
1 x Light Emerald
4 x Lunar Underwing
7 x Pale Mottled Willow
1 x Latticed Heath
2 x Silver Y
5 x Vine's Rustic
2 x Turnip Moth

1 x Epiphyas postvittana
3 x Emmelina monodactyla
3 x Eudonia angustea
1 x Diplopseustis perieresalis
4 x Agriphila geniculea
1 x Depressaria type, to be ID'd

31st Aug....Nice end to the month

It doesn't look too impressive, apart from its large size, when sitting on the wall.
But when it opens its wings....................

............. it transforms into this striking RED UNDERWING a garden first- timer
It was great to find the RED UNDERWING on the back wall near the Funnel Trap, this was the first time I had seen one of these beauties.

Had an all-out attack on the garden with 3 traps running in a desperate attempt to get a Newby in the garden for August. (and to try and bridge the gap between The Dells total and Manor Place, Upper Caldecote, where I have been the victim of some recent taunting !) SO, I was a little surprised and rather chuffed to find my efforts had paid dividends with the Red Underwing and this superb...............
..........LATTICED HEATH

Hey Matt !............... want to borrow one of these ???

The moth that has so far found Manor Place unpalatable...................

............................................................ TREBLE-BAR with 3 traps on the go and a wind-less, warmer (slightly) evening and NO power cuts, the total moth count was high. Unable to make a precise count

30 plus....Vine's Rustic

30 plus....Large Yellow Underwing

20 plus....Flounced Rustic

20 plus....Orange Swift

10 plus....Setaceous Hebrew Character

10 plus....Willow Beauty

10 plus....Turnip Moth

5 plus.....Pale Mottled Willow

5 plus.....Double-striped Pug

5 plus.....Shuttle-shaped Dart

5 plus.....Brimstone Moth

5 x Yellow Shell

4 x Lesser Yellow Underwing

3 x Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing

3 x Square-spot Rustic

3 x Garden Carpet

3 x Straw Underwing

3 x Common Wainscot

3 x Small Dusty Wave

2 x Cabbage Moth

2 x Nutmeg

Copper Underwing X

Light Emerald

Treble-bar

Latticed Heath

Marbled Beauty

Silver Y

Plus a multitude of rustic type aggs