29th Sept....Shut your trap !

Heavy rain for most of the evening meant the trap went under cover. The rain moved on, the clouds disappeared and the temperature plummeted. Result: 21 moths of 7 species.
It was nice to see another VAPOURER after a long absence.

Two COMMON MARBLED CARPET showing quite a size and colour difference 5 x Large Yellow Underwing

4 x Lunar Underwing

3 x Willow Beauty

3 x Pale Mottled Willow

3 x Blair's Shoulder-knot

2 Common Marbled Carpet

1 x Vapourer

28th Sept....Autumn arrivals

Highlight of last nights catch ............DUSKY-LEMON SALLOW, a garden "first"

DEEP-BROWN DART another first for The Dells garden

DARK SWORD-GRASS ......2nd record this year for this immigrant species

Trap results:-

9 x Willow Beauty

8 x Lunar Underwing

5 x Large Yellow Underwing

4 x Pale Mottled Willow

3 x Lesser Yellow Underwing

3 x Setaceous Hebrew Character

2 x Blair's Shoulder-knot

2 x Shuttle-shaped Dart

1 x Black Rustic

1 x Dusky-lemon Sallo1 x Light Emerald

1 x Dark Sword-grass

1 x Garden Carpet

1 x Large Ranunculus

1 x Deep-brown Dart

1 x Square-spot Rustic

27th Sept...in the pink

A late finish at work meant putting on the one trap well after dark. Great conditions and it looks like the autumn species are here at last. The highlight of the night was this................
............... PINK-BARRED SALLOW, second record for the garden and a year first.

BLAIRS SHOULDER-KNOT one of 3 in the trap. First for year.

BLACK RUSTIC

Very few moths trapped but a high count of 16 Willow Beauty on the illuminated brick walls around the trap
16 x Willow Beauty

4 x Large Yellow Underwing

4 x Lunar Underwing

3 x Pale Mottled Willow

3 x Blair's Shoulder-knot

2 x Turnip Moth

2 x Shuttle-shaped Dart

2 x Black Rustic

1 x Small Dusty Wave

1 x Garden Carpet

1 x Pink-barred Sallow

24th & 25th Sept...Poor conditions still

With the cold weatherbeing more like an Eskimo summer rather than an Indian there was little to report in the traps. Temperatures dropped to around 5 deg C over the last 2 nights which seems to have ended the flight season for the likes of the Large and Lesser Yellow Underwings, Rustic types, Turnip Moths etc. Hopefully the colder weather species will come out in force soon for the autumn/winter period as I still need 13 macros to hit my target of 200 species for the garden year.
Combined tally for 24th/25th :-
13 x Lunar Underwing
8 x Willow Beauty
5 x Pale Mottled Willow
4 x Large Yellow Underwing
3 x Large Ranunculus
1 x Shuttle-shaped Dart
1 x Turnip Moth
1 x Garden Carpet
Still seeing a few micros, Emmeline monodactyla and Eudonia mercurella are quite frequent and nothing seems to deter Light Brown Apple Moth.

23rd Sept.....New moth for The Dells

MOUSE MOTH . . . . .Not the new moth, just a late addition.

Had the Skinner and the Funnel trap out last night. Weather was warm and overcast with a hint of a breeze which would have been perfect had the clouds not disappeared to reveal a big bright moon. Having said that, two Large Ranunculus were trapped, one in the Skinner and one in the Funnel Trap. This is the first time I have had them actually in the traps as they usually sit on the walls nearby. Highlight of the evening was a new tick ...................................

..............................................BRINDLED GREEN

LUNAR UNDERWING is now becoming abundant with 9 in the traps

RIBAND WAVE on the shed door

WILLOW BEAUTY appeared in numbers with 16 around the traps

SMALL BLOOD-VEIN looking worse for wear The nights haul:-

16 x Willow Beauty

12 x Large Yellow Underwing

12 x Pale Mottled Willow

9 x Lunar Underwing

5 x Shuttle-shaped Dart

4 x Turnip Moth

3 x Lesser Yellow Underwing

2 x Square-spot Rustic

2 x Garden Carpet

2 x Large Ranunculus

Black Rustic

Light Emerald

Snall Blood-vein

Riband Wave

Mouse Moth

Brindled Green

22nd Sept....Nice variety, but fairly quiet

LARGE RANUNCULUS

No year or garden "firsts" for 5 days now, the autumn moths are not coming to the party as yet. Still need 14 to reach my 200 macro target for The Dells garden. No Chance of catching the Manor Place garden which is sitting pretty at 223. I'm not going to the off-licence yet tho, but it's looking like I am probably up for an expensive bottle of the vino. Last night saw a few nice moths but nothing to add to the tally............

The humble SHUTTLE-SHAPED DART

Just the one ORANGE SWIFT in the Skinner last night

It's been a while since I have seen one of these....GOLD TRIANGLE (forgot the Latin name)

ANGLE SHADES

ROSY RUSTIC

19th Sept...... Large Double

The breezy start to the evening turned into a strong gusty wind, which put an end to the mothing so the blog is early. I'm not expecting any additions and I have an early start in the morning having to drive to Edinburgh.
Don't know about about this moth, could be a dark Turnip Moth or one of the Darts

BLACK RUSTIC

year tick for LARGE RANUNCULUS

a pair of SMALL BLOOD-VEIN

The large double......the two LARGE RANUNCULUS found on the walls near the traps. The haul :-

12 Large Yellow U'wing

5 Lesser Yellow U'wing

5 Lunar U'wing

1 Copper U'wing

1 Brimstone

7 Pale Mottled Willow

5 Willow Beauty

3 Square-spot Rustic

1 Black Rustic

2 Vine's Rustic

3 Setaceous Heb. Ch.

2 S.S.Dart

2 Large Ranunculus.....year tick

6 Turnip Moth

3 Small Dusty Wave

1 Garden Carpet

1 Double-striped Pug

1 Common Wainscot

2 Small Blood-vein

2 Light Emerald

4 Eudonia mercurella ( I think )

6 L.B.Apple Moth

1 E. monodactyla

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

17th Sept.....Dusky Thorn

Winter seems to be on its way as temps plunged to around 4 degC. There were a few moths flying early in the evening and it was nice to get a Dusky Thorn which is a newcomer to my garden.
................................................
................................................
DUSKY THORN

SMALL DUSTY WAVE is a common visitor to the traps

one of 3 PALE MOTTLED WILLOW to brave the cold

GARDEN CARPET

A micro believed to be CELYPHA LACUNANA unless someone knows better. I've set low standards for micro I.D. and so far have failed to achieve them Last nights tally :-

7, Large Yellow Underwing

4, Garden Carpet

4, Square-spot Rustic

3, Setaceous Hebrew Character

3, Pale Mottled Willow

3, Willow Beauty

2, Orange Swift

2, Flounced Rustic

2, Lunar Underwing

1, Silver Y

1, Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

1, Lesser Yellow Underwing

1, Small Dusty Wave

1, Turnip Moth

1, Shuttle-shaped Dart

1, Dusky Thorn (garden first)

11th Sept.......Waiting for the autumn arrivals

A perfect mothing night, no moon, no wind, but strangely quiet. A nice variety though but no new moths. The only "pulse raiser" was the large Hawker dragonfly. The Autumn flyers are still waiting in the wings so to speak.
...................................................
A Tortrix, Chequered fruit tree maybe

BURNISHED BRASS

THE SNOUT

BLOOD-VEIN

RUSTIC/UNCERTAIN ?????

11th Sept....ENTER THE DRAGON

How this Dragonfly squeezed through the gap in the Skinner trap is quite baffling. And what was it doing out at night ? I checked the traps at 2300 then watched "Match of the Day" before checking once more at 0030, and there it was ! So it was flying around at at unusual hour. You never know what you may find..................any Dragonfly experts out there ?? My guess would be.......
SOUTHERN HAWKER

10th Sept...Better late than never

RUSTIC ???????????
UNCERTAIN ????????????

Got back from a work trip to Wales at 0230hours and set two skinner traps, so this record should be 11th. A windy night plus the late trapping didnt raise hopes but at least I got my first Lunar Underwing of the year. Large Yellow Underwings were plentiful along with Rustic/Uncertain types.
......................................................
RUSTIC ???

Thanks Ben, this particular moth is in fact a LESSER YELLOW UNDERWING.....The RUSTIC type which should have appeared here has now been added at the top of the page

LUNAR UNDERWING first of the year

5th Sept....Gothic Topic

Two Feathered Gothics in the Skinner by the house and an Old Lady on the garden shed were more than welcome, also Angle Shades and Blood-vein were noted. Another 48 Large Yellow Underwing cluttered up the traps with 23 Setaceous Hebrew Character. and a whole host of Rustic types.
..............................................................................................................................
FEATHERED GOTHIC

OLD LADY

Female BROAD-BORDERED YELLOW UNDERWING

SQUARE-SPOT RUSTIC

COPPER UNDERWING

4th Sept.........Yet another Small Ranunculus

The usual fare in the traps, including 81 Large Yellow Underwings !! and 41 Setaceous Hebrew Characters. The saving grace was this SMALL RANUNCULUS on the wall near the trap and a micro which could be Cochylis hybridella or similar
..............................................
SMALL RANUNCULUS

COCHYLIS species... looks like hybridella,

another view