29th April ..No night for Wimps

Just one hardy micro on the sheet last night..................

........... but what is it ? Epinotia immundana Thanks Ben !

A much cooler night with a cold breeze and a lot of rain meant only the "toughies" ventured forth. Just put the Skinner out in the shelter of the porch and the sheet light on. Results:-

3 x S S Darts

3 x Early Grey
3 x Common Quaker
3 x Hebrew Character

Also had a Brimstone and a Small Waved Umber in the shed and 1 hardy micro on the illuminated sheet which needs ID.

And thanks to Bennyboymothman for the ID.....it is Epinotia immundana

28th April Another great night !

Missed this one. Found it on the wall near the trap, and it's another garden first....
YELLOW BARRED BRINDLE

Cabbage Moth

WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS ????

Another good night indeed with two more to add to my garden macro list and plenty of micros to sort out !

The two pics below are for Bennyboy to peruse, he has followed this blog and helped me out with ID probs as have many others and I thank you all. This is my old bedsheet, nailed to the shed, with a 25watt bayonet blacklight in a batten lampholder shining on it. This attracted the 2 Least Black Arches the night before, but is great for allsorts of moths and other strange insects. I like to check this at hourly intervals with camera poised....SO, this is the famous Tesco "value" bedsheet Ben !! Crude but affective (:0))

25 watts of bug pulling power !!

Always nice to see RUBY TIGER, two were in the Skinner this morning.

Nice littleish micro...Argycotaenia ljungiana

This was on the bedsheet with 2 others and I need help on this one !! But what a little stunner at around 5/6mm long.

Eriocrania subpurpurella ..........Thanks Paul, that fits the bill perfectly


SCALLOPED HAZEL a garden first, it liked the outside toilet light more than the traps !

A beautiful CINNABAR moth, another garden first. Trapped in the "Homebase Funnel Trap"

The first FLAME SHOULDER of the year

One of my "target" moths, an EARLY THORN, and my first 1st generation sighting

Total species and numbers found :-

6 x S.S.Dart
1 x Red Twin-spot Carpet (not verified)
3 x Common Quaker
2 x Small Quaker
2 x Bright-line Brown-eye
1 x Brimstone
2 x Ruby Tiger
4 x D.S. Pug
4 x Early Grey
1 x Grey Dagger (not verified)
1 x Small Waved Umber....prob one that escaped last night before release
1 x Nut-tree Tussock.....again, prob the same one as last night, have caught and released today.
3 x Hebrew Character
1 x Garden Carpet
1 x Early Thorn
1 x Scalloped Hazel (garden first)
1 x Flame Shoulder
1 x Cinnabar (garden first)
1 x Cabbage Moth

1 x Yellow Barred Brindle (garden first)

micros.........................

1 x Argyrotaenia ljungiana

1 x Light Brown Apple Moth

2 x White Shouldered House-moth

2 x E. monodactyla

2 x Tinea pellionella

3 x (that gold moth !!) Eriocrania purpurella ...Thanks Paul

plus 2 or three more.

27th April Last but not LEAST Black Arches

Another bumper catch in the garden last night...Stars of the show were the TWO Least Black Arches that settled on my sheet on the shed wall, illuminated with a 25w U/V. The traps did well too with another garden first, a Nut-tree Tussock. Total count was 52 moths of 23 species. :-
9 x Shuttle -shaped Dart
6 x Double-striped Pug
4 x Common Quaker
3 x Early Grey
3 x Grey Dagger (Not verified)
3 x Hebrew Character
3 x Brindled Pug
3 x Brimstone Moth
2 x Small Waved Umber
2 x Least Black Arches (Garden first)
1 x Pale Mottled Willow
1 x Common Pug
1 x Powdered Quaker
1 x Muslin Moth
1 x Ruby Tiger
1 x Nut-tree Tussock (Garden first)
1 x Garden Carpet
1 x Purple Thorn ( no doubt the same one from the night before, but I managed to catch it and released it far away to give it a break !)
Also 6 x micro of 5 species
2 x Twenty-plume moth
1 x White shoulder moth
1 x Agonopterix alstromeriana
1 x Light Brown Apple Moth
1 x Unidentified
DOUBLE-STRIPED PUG
one of 6

GARDEN CARPET

RUBY TIGER

NUT-TREE TUSSOCK

LEAST BLACK ARCHES

Two of these little beauties on my old bedsheet !!

PURPLE PATCH 26/04/10

Another good night for the little garden at The Dells, despite the temperature dropping to well below the forecast. Some early surprises turned up and a cracking Purple Thorn. No less than 4 Double-Striped Pugs and another that I'm not sure of. Plus a few micros. 33 moths were found of 17 species.......
6 x Shuttle-shaped Dart
5 x Common Quaker
4 x Double-striped Pug
3 x Hebrew Character
2 x Brimstone Moth
2 x Muslin Moth (garden first)
1 x Bright-line Brown-eye
1 x Pale Mottled Willow
1 x Early Grey
1 x Grey/Dark Dagger
1 x Small Waved Umber
1 x Purple Thorn (garden first)
1 x ....... Pug (garden first) ! ! ! Brindled Pug, thanks Paul
.....micros.....
1 x Twenty-plume Moth (garden first)
1 x micro (to be I.D'd)
1 x micro (to be I.D'd)
1 x White-shouldered House Moth
................................................................
............? PUG Brindled, thanks Paul. Some dispute over this confusing species....Common Pug has been suggested as a good bet. Difficult....I may have to retain a few pugs for ID purposes.

WHITE-SHOULDERED HOUSE MOTH

Unidentified micro

We think possibly TINEA PELLIONELLA but the general concensus tells me it is Tinea trinotella...Thanks Melissa Andy & David

Unidentified micro

GREY DAGGER (not verified)

PALE MOTTLED WILLOW

TWENTY-PLUME MOTH

MUSLIN MOTH (garden first and second !)

PURPLE THORN

PURPLE THORN underside

THE DELLS ! ! ! (eventually) 25/04/10

First night back in the UK after a month in the Cayman Islands (one week extra thanks to volcanic disturbances in Iceland.... I'm NOT shopping THERE again !) Despite being tired after 18hours travelling, I set up two traps in the garden and I'm glad I did. RESULTS :- 27 moths of 11 species...
Early Grey x 7 my highest count
3 x Powdered Quaker, garden first
3 x Shuttle-shaped Dart, 2 x Dark & 1 x light form
2 x Common Quaker
2 x Clouded Drab
2 x Hebrew Character
2 x Brimstone Moth
1 x Red Twin-spot Carpet, (not verified)
1 x Bright-line Brown-eye
2 x E. monodactyla
2 x Brown House Moth, H. psuedospretella
PLUS....2 x Hornets and 5 x Caddis Flies
BRIGHT-LINE BROWN-EYE

COMMON QUAKER

HEBREW CHARACTER

SHUTTLE-SHAPED DART dark form

EARLY GREY highest count this year (7)

Thanks Ben for the info on the S S Darts. I hadn't realised the dark ones were female.

THE DELLS ! ! ! ! (eventually) 25/04/10 CONT;-

My first POWDERED QUAKER

One of two BRIMSTONE MOTH

Lighter form of SHUTTLE-SHAPED DART along with two DARK forms

RED TWIN-SPOT CARPET showing underwing

RED TWIN-SPOT CARPET

CAYMOTH LAST POST (maybe)

It appears that air travel is almost back to normal so this could be the last posting from Grand Cayman. Next blog from The Dells, Biggleswade. That's the plan anyway ! SO, more Caymoths of species unknown to me.....This drab looking creature is 10mm long and could be the Cay version of a house moth

2omm wingtip to wingtip with distinct dots

Another nondescript moth about 10mm long

This one is interesting. It looks like a cross between a moth and a weevil. It is about 6mm long and side on looks like a type of Drinker

This micro is 9mm in length

CHEESY PIRATES CAVE

Beware all ye who enter here...............

.............. there are cute bats to be found !

CAYMOTH

With night temperatures plummeting to about 25 C another new species arrived. All I can tell you is it is about 6/7mm from nose to tip

Caymoth

12mm wingspan...nice pattern...reminds me a bit of a china mark

Caymoth

The pressure was on to produce a new moth until this little fella appeared. 12/14mm from snout to wingtip. I think I'm ahead of the Upper Caldecote Crew now... Do these count ??? Hope the evenings warm up soon in the UK for my return on Sunday, the extra week here has been a lot easier than the nightmare that some stranded people are still experiencing.

Another Caymoth

Roughly 18mm across, this is the third one I've seen. The blog will continue from the Cayman Islands for the rest of the week thanks to the Icelandic Volcano causing my extended stay.