26th Jan 2013.. Garden Fieldfare

For the past week I have had Fieldfare in the garden.
Not the most startling news I know, but in my town garden that is a notable event.
The snow covered fields have driven the Fieldfare to seek other available food sources and a flock of c70 flew through the Dells valley, which is the adjoining back gardens in between the two rows of houses, obviously on a recce.
A kilo of halved Braeburn apples was too much for the normally wary birds and all week I have enjoyed the sight of feeding Fieldfare on the snow covered back lawn area.
Long-tailed Tits and regular sightings of Goldcrest were notable through the week.
Now the big thaw has started, the Fieldfare will move out of the gardens, but it was certainly a plus during the freeze.

Fieldfare 

Below ... Now that the top of the above wall is clear of snow......
Fieldfare poo, packed with Cotoneaster/Pyracantha berries/seeds with a Braeburn apple pulp binding.

7th/8th Jan 2013 ... Lesser Yellow "comes" as a surprise

A Lesser Yellow Underwing was totally unexpected last night.
It was quite worn and is probably a migrant carried over on the recent mild southerly winds.

Lesser Yellow Underwing,  Noctua comes

Garden trap 7th Jan ... min overnight temp 6.5 deg C
Early Grey
Dark Chestnut
Light Brown Apple Moth
Common Plume

8th Jan ... min overnight temp 8 deg C
Dark Chestnut
Lesser Yellow Underwing (year first )

6th Jan 2013 ... Pale Brindled Beauty

Just the one moth last night, but a nice year tick.
Pale Brindled Beauty.
It was attracted to the 40 watt blacklight in the shed window, the actinic lights on the trap scored a big zero.

Pale Brindled Beauty, Phigalia pilosaria

Wine Bet Latest.
P.B.B. brings my total to 6 species for the year but Matt has weighed in with a cracking Mottled Umber to pull level.
Mottled Umber remains unrecorded at The Dells so "advantage Matt"

5th Jan 2013 ... Earliest Early

Early Grey was the earliest record for the garden, found on the wall by the trap.
Yet another Dark Chestnut, which is the 5th this year and much commoner in The Dells garden than Chestnut.
Other interesting creatures were the variety of flies around the trap and a Rosemary Beetle, Chrysolina americana.
An unidentified larva was seen munching away at my Senicio cineraria (Silver Ragwort) which also suffers occasional attacks from Cinnabar larva as it is closely related to Common Ragwort.

Early Grey

Rosemary Beetle

Unidentified larva  25mm max.

4th Jan 2013, Garden Trap & Home Wood

The mild conditions continue with min temp of 8 deg overnight.
A disappointing 6 moths of 3 species were in and around the garden trap ...
Light Brown Apple Moth x 3
Emmelina monodactyla  x 2
Dark Chestnut
Nothing new for the year list and already 1 behind in the Wine Race.

Matt dumped a battery powered twin Blacklight/actinic into Home Wood  last night and we checked it out this morning.
18 Early Moth
  2 Chestnut
  1 Acleris sp. for ID (below)

My guess would be Acleris logiana ?

3rd Jan 2013 ... Garden trap

The trap was in action on the 2nd Jan .... despite a very mild evening, a big zero was recorded.
Last night was a little better with 1 Light Brown Apple Moth, 1 Emmelina monodactyla and a Dark Chestnut.
A large bumble bee was flying around my bright yellow hi-viz jacket during the day, probably the earliest one I have seen,  and a water beetle was trapped in the garden trap.

Emmelina monodactyla

Water Beetle under the actinic lights in the trap

Something from Jurassic Park

House Fly on wall near trap

1st Jan 2013 ... We're off and running !

A happy, healthy New Year to all.

2012 was officially the wettest year on record and a poor year for mothing.
(I've just heard it's the second wettest. Apparently the year 2000 was the wettest)
Since most pupae are developing near, on or under the ground, a large number were probably washed away or drowned.
This could mean low numbers for a few years before the populations recover.
I hope my simplistic theory is proved wrong by a bumper 2013,

THE ANNUAL WINE BET between myself and Matt for the most species of moths caught within our garden boundaries, will be all inclusive, macro/micro, if it's a moth ... it counts.
Yours truly has lost the previous 3 years !

The trap has been modified a little, the 20watt blacklight ballast developed a fault so I have removed it and replaced it with two more 11 watt PL actinic lamps (see below).

The Dells garden trap in action last night .... Skinner type with 4 x 11watt PL actinic lamps 

Let's get 2013 started,
Last nights trapping results.....
Trap: 4 x 11watt PL actinic Skinner

1799...WINTER MOTH
2259...DARK CHESTNUT x 2

Winter Moth, Operophtera brumata

Dark Chestnut, Conistra ligula