BLACK RUSTIC

TRAP RESULTS for 29/9/09

1 x Large Ranunculus ( same one !)
1 x Garden Carpet, very worn
1 x Blair's Shoulder Knot
1 x Black Rustic
2 x Pale Mottled Willow
2 x Lesser Yellow Underwing
3 x Lunar Underwing
4 x Large Yellow Underwing
4 x Willow Beauty
8 x Shuttle shaped Dart

Trap site moved from house/wall corner near small pond
to back of garden between the Vic plum and apple tree.
New species expected tonight....the glass is always half full !!

LUNAR TICKS

Lunar Underwings variable colours (posted 18.50)

TRAP RESULTS 28/9/09

One of last nights visitors, a Setaceous Hebrew Character.
The weather conditions
were once again still. no
breeze but a little on
the chilly side. It's now 18.30
so time to set up the trap.
A little breezy tonight, but
warm, feels quite humid.
The trap has been adjusted
for the third time in as many
weeks and last nights haul
was good for this small patch.
Hoping for one or two new
species, I need to make up
some ground on the
Manor Rd trap
Tally :-
2 x Setaceous Hebrew Character
6 x Shuttle-shaped Dart
5 x Large Yellow Underwing
3 x Willow Beauty
2 x Garden Carpet ( 1 from last night )
Large Ranunculus ( stayed on wall the previous day and was still there last night,,, disappeared around 11.00pm but was back in the morning)
Black Rustic
Lesser Underwing
Lunar Underwing & Blairs Shoulder Knot.
Pale Mottled Willow

GREY SHOULDER KNOT

GETTING IN A TANGLE

Grey Shoulder Knot(left) and Blair's Shoulder Knot

Two new visitors to the illuminated wall next to my trap presented this novice with a knotty I.D. problem, until consulting my oracle. ((Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain & Ireland).

Grey and Blair's Shoulder knots, side by side almost.

Another Large Ranunculus put in an appearance, not the same one as last night after comparing the pics. That makes 3 different ones in about 10 days.

Last Nights Yield :-

6 x S.S. Dart

2 x Large Yell. Underwing

1 x Lesser Yell. Underwing

3 x Lunar Underwing

2 x Garden Carpet

1 x Willow Beauty

1 x Pale Mottled Willow

2 x Blair's Shoulder Knot

1 x Grey Shoulder Knot

1 x Large Ranunculus

Weather:- Calm, no breeze, chilly

but after

Trap results 26/9/09

Another very still night, cloudless and quite chilly.

My 2nd Black Rustic (pic left) and another Large Ranunculus (pic right) sitting on the brick wall near the trap and difficult to spot against the background despite its size.

Fascinating creatures, and in a lot of cases difficult to identify. My Field Guide to the Moths of Great Bitain and Ireland is starting to look well worn after just 2 months of use !

Last nights haul :-

3 x Willow Beaty

2 x Shuttle-shaped Dart

2 x Large Yellow Underwing

1 x Lesser Yellow Underwing

1 x Pale Mottled Willow

1 x Square-spot Rustic

1 x Black Rustic

1 x Large Ranunculus

Trap results 25/9/09

Nice weather, calm, but slim pickings. A garden first was a Mallow on the wall near the trap. Also 2 x Willow Beauty, 3 x Large Yellow Underwing, 1 x Lesser Yellow Underwing, 1 x Shuttle-Shaped Dart, 1 x Pale Mottled Willow and a pale form of the Lunar Underwing (pictured)

Get a decent field guide and it is easy to I.D. this unmistakable Mallow. Snapped on the air vents in my garden brick wall near the trap tonight.

National Moth Day 2nd Night

Nice weather conditions, no wind and warm for most of the evening. Good for the serious mothmen, sitting around an array of illuminated boxes with their bottles of real ale and hip flasks in the middle of some woodland. God only knows what they tell their wives ! Don't forget the pack of cards !!
Last nights trap results :-
One each of the following:-
Common Wainscot (common)
Common Marbled Carpet ( only 2 since I started in July)
Double-Striped Pug ( very small, forewing about 8mm) see pic below
Square-Spot Rustic (common)
Brimstone (very common in my garden)
Setaceous Hebrew Character (common)
Treble Bar (regular) see pic below
Black Rustic (garden 1st) see pic below
................................... 8 x Large Yellow Underwing ( very common..The" crash-test dummy" moth)
7 x Lesser Yellow Underwing
6 x Willow Beauty
5 x Pale Mottled Willow
3 x Shuttle-Shaped Dart

This was prowling around the trap last night



Another non-moth visitor, a cream-spot ladybird ?



Double striped Pug



Black Rustic





Treble Bar

National Moth day 2 19th sept 2009

Two of several non-moth visitors to the trap last night. A Cream-Spot Ladybird ??? and something to frighten it in the shape of a large spider.




















one large spider









Black Rustic (my first)

Treble Bar....common in my garden

Double Striped Pug

Nice weather conditions for all the serious mothmen, sitting out in woodland, peering into an array of illuminated boxes, flasks of hot coffee, the inevitable hip-flask, bottles of real ale. yeah, we know !

Last nights trap results :-

6 x Willow Beauty

5 x Pale Mottled Willow

8 x Large Yellow Underwing

7 x Lesser Yellow Underwing

4 x Shuttle-Shaped Dart

& one each of :-

Common Wainscot

Common Marbled Carpet

Treble Bar

Square-Spot Rustic

Double-Striped Pug

Brimstone

Setaceous Hebrew Character

Black Rustic

Two From July and August The Campion and an Angle Shades

Campion (as in the blog title)





Angle Shades

National Moth Day 1

Only eight species on a perfect night. Lesser Yellow Underwing (3 of these)
Common Wainscot

Garden Carpet

The Trap in action, complete with a 15 watt ultra-violet fluorescent tube.

Results continued below.

National Moth Day 1

Perfect conditions but a disappointing return from my Biggleswade garden trap.
Several Large yellow Underwings, my most common moth.







Willow Beauty (5 in and around trap)
Square-spot Rustic (I think, but any correction to my ID would be appreciated)

Shuttle-shaped Dart, 3 in trap

Pale Mottled Willow

Bush Cricket and spider

Beetle and Shield-Bug

another beetle

You can never tell what is going to turn up.

Weird and Wonderful

It's not just moths that are attracted by the light. Here are a few regular visitors that have put in an appearance. One in particular is the strange looking Horned Leaf Hopper (Ledra aurita ), a regular visitor but difficult to see on lichen covered flagstones around my trap.

Last nights findings :-
Large Y Und'wing........ 8
Lesser Y Und'wing...... 2
Lunar Und'wing........... 1
Flounced Rustic........... 1
Square-Spot Rustic..... 3
Shuttle-Shaped Dart... 3
Willow Beauty.............. 4
Brimstone..................... 1
Large Ranunculus....... 1 (on wall near trap)

Here is a bigger pic of the Large Ranunculus showing the orange flecking on the forewing

Wall to Wall cont........

Not forgetting.........Green Carpet and Common Marbled Carpet

Wall to Wall

More July moths........ From bottom to top......................Flame Carpet, Garden Carpet, Least Carpet, Red Twin-Spot Carpet and Scorched Carpet