15th Sept 2011...What makes a moth a RARE moth ?

Overnight min temp: 10.4 deg, calm, bright waning moon.
On the 3rd August this year, I caught a small non-descript micro, a little brown job, which I identified as 1397a Diplopseustis perieresalis.
This particular species was a national rarity and according to UK Moths, only two had been recorded previously.
Self doubt crept in, so I sent pics to our micro recorder and some of you bloggers out there for confirmation.
To a man you all agreed and the moth was submitted by our county micro recorder, David Manning, to the foremost authority, John Langmaid who duly confirmed it to be the 4th British record.
Given that this little fella is so rare, it would seem a long shot to record it again in my small patch of England that is attached to my house, but last night along came another.
Easterly winds had been blowing during the day which may be the reason it turned up but the fact remains it is here in numbers much higher than its status suggests.
It just goes to show how underwatched our micro moths are compared to the macros and I wonder how many of these have been ignored or overlooked.
So unless any more of this species has been recorded since August 3rd, here is Britains 5th DIPLOPSEUSTIS PERIERESALIS 1397a

Also rans:-
A garden year first Latticed Heath

Others:-
10 x Flounced Rustic
8 x Large Yellow Underwing
6 x Lesser Yellow Underwing
1 x Setaceous Hebrew Character
1 x Shuttle-shaped Dart
1 x Garden Carpet
5 x Willow Beauty
6 x Square-spot Rustic
1 x Light Emerald
4 x Lunar Underwing
7 x Pale Mottled Willow
1 x Latticed Heath
2 x Silver Y
5 x Vine's Rustic
2 x Turnip Moth

1 x Epiphyas postvittana
3 x Emmelina monodactyla
3 x Eudonia angustea
1 x Diplopseustis perieresalis
4 x Agriphila geniculea
1 x Depressaria type, to be ID'd