Brrr ! It's June, so they say.

8th June 2015
The dire June weather seems to be deteriorating.
It is 22.50 hrs and I have just checked the two traps, jumper and coat on, it's 8 deg C and dropping, but feels more like 4 or 5 with a bitter NE breeze chilling it's way across the cold North Sea to the western reaches of East Anglia.
Absolute zero ... not the temperature but the moth count, so I hope there may be a few lurking in the egg boxes in the morning.
I'll probably find a few sitting around the lamps trying to keep warm !
Back in a few hours .........................

The temperature eventually bottomed out at 5.5 deg C and 19 hardy souls were found huddling in the egg boxes like winter tramps along the Thames embankment under their cardboard domiciles.
No micros were recorded which is very unusual for this time of year.
1728 Garden Carpet x 3
1769 Spruce Carpet x 1, year first
1781 Small Waved Umber x 2
1827 Freyer's Pug x 1, year first
1834 Common Pug x 2
2089 Heart and Dart x 4
2092 Shuttle-shaped Dart x 2
2107 Large Yellow Underwing x 1
2321 Dark Arches x 1
2384 Vine's Rustic x 1
2441 Silver Y x 1

1827 Freyer's Pug

Spruce Carpet

That's it !
Not a good forecast for tonight either, more of the same, cold NE breeze and single figure temperatures.
Flaming June ?
...............................
9th June
8.4 deg. C
A little warmer than the previous night but still feeling much colder in the nagging NE breeze..
39 moths of 21 species, with 2 additions to the year list
0697 Agonopterix arenella, 1
0998 Epiphyas postvittana, 1
1728 Garden Carpet, 1
1764 Common Marbled Carpet, 1
1769 Spruce Carpet, 1
1827 Freyer's Pug, 1
1834 Common Pug, 1
1867 Treble-bar, 1
1961 Light Emerald, 2, year first

2087 Turnip Moth, 1
2089 Heart and Dart, 13
2092 Shuttle-shaped Dart, 2
2107 Large Yellow Underwing, 1
2126 Setaceous Hebrew Character, 3
2154 Cabbage Moth, 1
2157 Light Brocade, 1
2170 Varied Coronet, 1, year first

2321 Dark Arches, 1
2337x  Marbled Minor agg. 1
2384 Vine's Rustic, 3
2389 Pale Mottled Willow, 1

Micros return

The garden traps yielded the usual mass of Large Yellow Underwing's with 150 at least. I didn't count them this morning.
Some decent micros were recorded for a change, they have been very thin on the ground of late especially throughout the cold August.
Monopis obviella
Cameraria ohridella
Bucculatrix nigricomella
Carcina quercana
Dichrorampha simpliciana (to be confirmed)
Cacoecimorpha pronubana
Coleophora trifolii
Acleris variegana
Eudonia angustea
Epiphyas postvittana
Emmelina monodactyla
plus several Diamond-back Moth's, Plutella xylostella which have been abundant this year.

Bucculatrix nigricomella

Cameraria ohridella

Dichrorampha simpliciana

Coleophora trifolii

Eudonia angustea

Cacoecimorpha pronubana

Of the macros, Yellow-barred Brindle, Old Lady and a Small Blood-vein were about the pick of the bunch.

Some fresh Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings (females) have been appearing over the last couple of nights and Common Wainscot numbers are increasing with 7 recorded in the traps this morning.

A fresh Small Blood-vein with wing damage

Yellow-barred Brindle

Light Emerald

Old Lady

24th May 2014 ... Garden Traps latest ...

Much quieter this week with lower temperatures and rain showers, some very heavy.
Two more additions to The Dells year list ...
23rd May
LIGHT EMERALD

24th May
My signature moth
CAMPION

24th May
My 10th record of TOADFLAX BROCADE this year

11th June 2013 ... POTTED AND NETTED

The warm and windy conditions blew in a garden first Netted Pug which was promptly potted up for a pug mug shot ....

1823 ... Netted Pug ... Eupithecia venosata

....other Pugs included Lime-speck, Mottled, Common, Grey and a host of others which are beyond my limited Pug expertise.
The micros are slowly trickling in with Bryotropha terrella, Cydia pomonella and Epiblema trimaculana putting in an appearance at last......

1176 ... Epiblema trimaculana ... Triple-blotched Bell

787 ... Bryotropha terrella ... Cinereous Groundling

1261 ... Cydia pomonella ... Codling Moth

A rather battered Light Emerald and a Sandy Carpet completed the new 2013 signings ...

1961 ... Light Emerald ... Campaea margaritata

1808 ... Sandy Carpet ... Perizoma flavofasciata

31st May 2012 ... Good end to month

Overnight low 13.3 deg. cloudy
The month ended on a high with 45 species in and around the garden traps, including 11 additions to the year list.

17 Common Swift Hepialus lupulinus 1
229 Monopis obviella 1
647 Brown House-moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella 3
648 White-shouldered House-moth Endrosis sarcitrella 3
779 Bryotropha affinis 1
808 Platyedra subcinerea 2
974 Argyrotaenia ljungiana 1
998 Light Brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana 3
1063 Celypha striana 1, year first
1133 Epinotia bilunana 1 year first (Below)

1174 Epiblema cynosbatella 2
1428 Bee Moth Aphomia sociella 3
1524 Emmelina monodactyla 1
1728 Garden Carpet Xanthorhoe fluctuata 5
1768 Grey Pine Carpet Thera obeliscata 1 year first (Below)

1776 Green Carpet Colostygia pectinataria 4
1819 Mottled Pug Eupithecia exiguata 1
1825 Lime-speck Pug Eupithecia centaureata 1
1834 Common Pug Eupithecia vulgata 7
1860 Green Pug Pasiphila rectangulata 2, year first (Below)

1906 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata 3
1920 Scalloped Hazel Odontopera bidentata 1
1937 Willow Beauty Peribatodes rhomboidaria 4
1958 Clouded Silver Lomographa temerata 1, year first (Below)

1961 Light Emerald Campaea margaritata 1, year first (Below)

2000 Iron Prominent Notodonta dromedarius 1
2006 Lesser Swallow Prominent Pheosia gnoma 1, year first (Below)

2011 Pale Prominent Pterostoma palpina 1, year first (Below)

2028 Pale Tussock Calliteara pudibunda 1
2060 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda 1, year first (Below)

2087 Turnip Moth Agrotis segetum 8
2089 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis 4, (Below)

2092 Shuttle-shaped Dart Agrotis puta 15
2102 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta 1
2126 Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum 1
2154 Cabbage Moth Mamestra brassicae 2
2173 The Lychnis Hadena bicruris 1
2223 Toadflax Brocade Calophasia lunula 1
2333 Large Nutmeg Apamea anceps 2
2380 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica 4
2381 The Uncertain Hoplodrina alsines 7
2283/4 Dark/Grey Dagger Acronicta tridens/psi agg.1
 2387 Mottled Rustic Caradrina morpheus 1, year first (Below)

2389 Pale Mottled Willow Paradrina clavipalpis 8
2418 Cream-bordered Green Pea Earias clorana 1, year first (Below)

2441 Silver Y Autographa gamma 4

19th May 2011.....Half of last nights trap yields

After losing all the moths in Skinner #1 to an adventurous Blue Tit, here are Trap #2 results plus potted species from walls.
Six more species for the year and it may have been more but I didn't really have the time to sift through a pile of wings !
The wine side bet has swung my way again. I am 4 or 5 species ahead now, but Captain Trappings is putting up his large gazebo tonight.
He hangs a couple of 1200mm disco u/v lights inside and leaves the two ends open. It's very productive and I could find myself playing catch-up after the weekend.
Anyway, back to the moths.

EPINOTIA BILUNANA 1133 year first

HEDYA PRUNIANA 1082.... first record for the Plum Tortrix

SANDY CARPET 1808 year first

MOTTLED RUSTIC 2387 year first

UNCERTAIN 2381....The Rustic will be out a couple of weeks or so after The Uncertain

LIGHT EMERALD 1961 year first

19th May :-

8 x Heart and Dart

2 x Setaceous Hebrew Character

5 x Shuttle-shaped Dart

2 x Small Waved Umber

1 x Pale Tussock

4 x Marbled Minor agg.

1 x Common Marbled Carpet

6 x Willow Beauty

6 x Large Nutmeg

2 x Light Emerald * year first

3 x Garden Carpet

1 x White Ermine

5 x Vine's Rustic

3 x Green Pug

1 x Buff-tip1 x Angle Shades

1 x Mottled Rustic * year first

1 x Scalloped Hazel

3 x Treble Lines

3 x Turnip Moth

1 x Sandy Carpet * year first

1 x Common Wainscot

3 x Common Pug

1 x Uncertain * year first

4 x Endrosis sarcitrella

4 x Epiphyas postvittana

3 x Aphomia sociella

1 x Clepsis consimilana

1 x Epinotia bilunana * year first

1 x Hofmannophila pseudospretella

1 x Celypha lacunana

1 x Platyedra subcinerea

1 x Hedya pruniana ** garden first

Totals:-

167 species.....114 macro, 53 micro

18th Sept....Black night

Not the best of conditions with rain for most of the night and the wind getting up, but much warmer than the previous evening. Still a lot of Large Yellow Underwings, Lesser Yellow Underwings and Square-spot Rustics about but they are looking very worn. A garden year first in the shape of this BLACK RUSTIC appeared, with many more to come weather permitting.

One of Two LIGHT EMERALDs

Still a few TURNIP MOTHs around Also :-

5, Willow Beaty

5, Pale Mottled Willow

5, Turnip Moth

3, Orange Swift

2, Flounced Rustic

2, Small Dusty Wave

2, Snout

2, Vine's Rustic

2, Setaceous Heb. Ch.

2, Light Emerald

2, Garden Carpet

1, Brimstone

1, Shuttle-shaped Dart

1, Black Rustic

6, Square-spot Rustic

6, Lesser Yellow U'wing

14, Large Yellow U'wing

25th Aug.....wet,wet,wet

All night rain put a damper on the trapping, but amazingly there were 51 moths of 20 species caught.
..............................................
COMMON WAINSCOT

LIGHT EMERALD

MOUSE MOTH The nights haul :-

9 x Large Yellow Underwing
6 x Turnip Moth

5 x Vine's Rustic

4 x Flounced Rustic

3 x Shuttle-shaped Dart

3 x Setaceous Hebrew Character

3 x Common Wainscot

3 x Rustic

2 x Square-spot Rustic

2 x Nutmeg

2 x Pale Mottled Willow

1 x Lesser Yellow Underwing

1 x Yellow Shell

1 x Orange Swift (female)

1 x Common Rustic (agg)

1 x Uncertain

1 x Marbled Beauty

1 x Light Emerald

1 x Mouse Moth

1 x Agriphila geniculea

17th May ... SubLime !

Had to put the traps on early (15.30) due to work commitments, but glad I did. Returning home at midnight I checked the traps and found this cracking Lime Hawkmoth behind the egg boxes in the skinner. Temperatures rapidly dropped to 4degC through the night, slowing down the activity to a stop. While working at a Tesco store in Norwich, I checked the fire escape route lights and found two lifers, Swallow Prominent and a Chocolate Tip
...........................................
LIME HAWKMOTH a new entry for my garden list

HEART and DART also a garden first

LIGHT EMERALD. First for year

FLAME SHOULDER is a common moth in my garden. This is one of 5 trapped Results:-

9 x S.S.Dart

5 x Flame Shoulder

1 x Rustic Shoulder-knot

1 x Light Emerald

1 x Heart and Dart

1 x Lime Hawkmoth

1 x Muslin Moth

1 x Common Pug

Emmelina monodactyla

PLUS 4 "David Mannings" ( I am pestering him on a regular basis now. It's his own fault for sparking my interest in micros !)