4th August......Too Cold !

Been away for a few days working in Wales. It was a lot warmer there than Bedfordshire ! Temperatures came close to single figures last night and the trap results reflected this with just 25 moths of 12 species. Among those were a "first for year"
FLOUNCED RUSTIC Results:-
8 Shuttle-shaped Dart
3 Turnip Moth
2 Straw Underwing
2 Buff Ermine
2 Riband Wave
2 Common Rustic agg
1 Small Waved Umber
1 Lime-speck Pug
1 Copper Underwing
1 Setaceous Hebrew Character
1 Silver Y
1 Flounced Rustic
We need another 10 degrees at night !

Month ends on a Sallow note

The last few days have seen temperatures fall and numbers down. Here are the highlights for 28th - 31st July. Star of the show is this
BORDERED SALLOW

least but not last........

LEAST YELLOW UNDERWING

My 17th SMALL RANUNCULUS for the year, an incredible tally.

DOUBLE-STRIPED PUG

SHARK....third one this year

DUSKY SALLOW

KNOT GRASS

a new micro for my garden..........................

DONACAULA FORFICELLA
first for the year and many more to come...

STRAW UNDERWING

this black example completes the set, after previous white, and black & white forms of this.....

PEPPERED MOTH

26th July......OAK EGGAR !!

A warm evening with heavy cloud, clearing later to reveal a bright full moon. 44 macro species caught with two traps running and the shed illuminated for my half hourly patrols armed with camera. A garden "first", a wonderful Oak Eggar female, to which I have dedicated my pics for this blog.
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OAK EGGAR....(female)

Not sure about this one, it looks a little different to my usual Double Square spots, maybe a Triple -spotted Clay ? Pic sent to VC30 recorders for ID

No verdict on this one....and a lesson learnt......I could have seen the difference myself had I checked out the hindwing. Pale for Triple-spotted Clay and much darker for the commoner Double Square-spot. The Oak Eggar flew down to my illuminated shed early evening, around 2230 hrs, and ruined the rest of the nights mothin'. There was no way I could better that ! The best of the rest was, a Campion, Mouse Moth, Spectacle, 2 x Sallow Kitten, Nut-tree Tussock, 2 x Scalloped Oak, 2 x July Highflyer, Mere Wainscot, Brown-line Bright-eye, Red/Dark Twin-spot Carpet, a high count of 7 Small Waved Umber, an intermediate Peppered Moth, 4 x Ruby Tiger plus the usual hundreds of Dark Arches and Shuttle-shaped Darts, Underwings and a few others that would be expected. Also around 25 micros were recorded that I could name, with a few for Mr Mannings email box.

25th July......Flying High !

The early cold gusts abated and the evening remained still and damp with intermittent drizzle. Not quite enough to soak the trap. 33 species of macro were recorded including this.......
.......JULY HIGHFLYER, a Dells garden debutante, merci beaucoup

DUSKY SALLOW..... 3 of these little beauties in the trap this morning.

My 16th SMALL RANUNCULUS of the year, on the house wall near the trap after a 5 day absence.

DUN-BAR.....a frequent visitor. I have now had 3 different colour forms

COPPER UNDERWING (not Svensson's) Last nights tally :-

16 S.S.Dart

15 Dark Arches

7 Riband Wave

5 Cloaked Minor

5 Silver Y

4 Marbled Beauty

4 Least Carpet

4 Lime-speck Pug

3 Scarce Footman

3 Dun-bar

3 Dusky Sallow

3 Small Waved Umber

3 Common Rustic agg

2 Willow Beauty

2 Lesser Yellow Underwing (no Large Yellow !)

2 Dark/Grey Dagger

2 Ruby Tiger

2 Buff Ermine

2 Uncertain

2 Scalloped Oak

Copper Underwing

Garden Carpet

Bordered Pug

Nutmeg

Small Ranunculus

July Highflyer

Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing

Sallow Kitten

Heart & Dart

Small Dusty Wave

Privet Hawkmoth

Lackey

Red/Dark Twin-spot Carpet

24th July....A night at the Proms

Temperatures were back up last night and two new species for the garden were added to the list. Both Coxcomb and Swallow Prominents.
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COXCOMB PROMINENT

SWALLOW PROMINENT

MOUSE MOTH

YELLOW SHELL

LACKEY Results from 3 traps :-

18 Dark Arches

17 Shuttle-shaped Dart

7 Common Rustic agg

6 Silver Y

6 Riband Wave

5 Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing

4 Ruby Tiger

3 Grey/Dark Dagger

3 Nutmeg

2 Lesser Yellow Underwing

2 Lesser Broad Bordered Underwing

2 Toadflax Pug

2 Turnip Moth

2 Cloaked Minor

2 Least Carpet

2 Small Waved Umber

2 Willow Beauty

2 Buff Ermine

2 Bright-line Brown-eye

2 Pale Mottled Willow

2 Uncertain

2 Scarce Footman

Lime-speck Pug

Large Yellow Underwing

V-Pug

Dingy Footman

Mouse Moth

Yellow Shell

Brimstone Moth

Dun-bar

Straw Dot

Swallow Prominent

Knot Grass

Scalloped Oak

Cabbage Moth

Bordered Pug

Double Square-spot

Blood-vein

Light Arches

Dot Moth

Single-dotted Wave

Coxcomb Prominent

Lackey