Border invasion.

2015 will go down as one of the best years for the migrant moth Bordered Straw.
The Dells has now joined the USB triangle.
That's Upper Caldecot, Stevenage and Biggleswade, the 3 Mothketeers who compete in the annual Wine Race, each now with Bordered Straw on their year lists.

14/06/2015 BF 2403. Bordered Straw

This is a first record for The Dells, nice to add another species to the garden list which now stands at 666 species.
The rest of last nights catch feels like an anticlimax...
0874 Blastobasis lacticolella 1, year first

A very worn Blastobasis lacticolella

0994 Clepsis consimilana, 1
0998 Epiphyas postvittana, 1
1301 Crambus lathoniellus, 1
1376 Eurrhypara hortulata, 1
1524 Emmelina monodactyla, 1
1707 Small Dusty Wave, 1
1713 Riband Wave, 1
1728 Garden Carpet, 2
1825 Lime-speck Pug, 1, year first

Lime-speck Pug

1834 Common Pug, 1
1920 Scalloped Hazel, 1
1937 Willow Beauty, 1
2011 Pale Prominent, 1

Pale Prominent

2050 Common Footman, 1, year first

Common Footman

2069 Cinnabar, 2
2087 Turnip Moth, 3
2089 Heart and Dart, 23
2092 Shuttle-shaped Dart, 4
2102 Flame Shoulder, 1
2107 Large Yellow Underwing, 1
2126 Setaceous Hebrew Character, 1
2337x Marbled Minor agg. 3
2381 Uncertain, 2

2384 Vine's Rustic, 5
2389 Pale Mottled Willow, 2
2403 Bordered Straw, 1, garden first

6th Oct 2013 ... October Coronet

A Varied Coronet was attracted to the Synergetic fluorescent lamps last night.
This is the first autumn record for the garden

2170 ... Varied Coronet

Our VC30 recorders, Andy and Melissa Banthorpe, have just informed me that the two previous latest records in VC30 Bedfordshire were August 1977 and September 9th 1983, so this is indeed a late one.

Last nights catch :-
0874 ... Blastobasis lacticolella

0874 ... Blastobasis lacticolella

0998 ... Epiphyas postvittana x 3
1342 ... Eudonia angustea x 2
1524 ... Emmelina monodactyla x 3
1745 ... Mallow x 2
1760 ... Red-green Carpet
1764 ... Common Marbled Carpet x 2
1769 ... Spruce Carpet
1937 ... Willow Beauty x 2
2087 ... Turnip Moth
2092 ... Shuttle-shaped Dart
2107 ... Large Yellow Underwing x 10
2109 ... Lesser Yellow Underwing x 6
2126 ... Setaceous Hebrew Character x 8
2170 ... Varied Coronet
2232 ... Black Rustic
2240 ... Blair's Shoulder-knot x 6
2267 ... Beaded Chestnut x 3
2270 ... Lunar Underwing x 7
2272 ... Barred Sallow
2297 ... Copper Underwing

2297 ... Copper Underwing

2306 ... Angle Shades
2389 ... Pale Mottled Willow x 3
2441 ... Silver Y

6th June 2013 ... WEARETHECAMPIONS ...........

............. AND SO AM I ...

2166 ... The Campion ... Hadena rivularis

The Campion was one of a good selection of moths from last nights trapping. The temperature was a couple of degrees warmer than the previous two nights and that made the difference.
Two Setaceous Hebrew Characters were debutants for '13, as were Treble-bar, Tawny Marbled Minor, Green Pug and Common Carpet.
The micros are slowly stirring at last with 4 additions to the year list, one 3mm jobbie has yet to be identified.

2126 ... Setaceous Hebrew Character ... Xestia c-nigrum

1867 ... Treble-bar ... Aplocera plagiata

2339 ... Tawny Marbled Minor ... Oligia latruncula

874 ... Blastobasis lacticolella

1174 ... Notocelia cynosbatella  syn. Epiblema cynosbatella

229 ... Monopis obviella

1738 ... Common Carpet ... Epirrhoe alternata

The Green Pug did the "Frank Bough" in mid photo session, and the tiny micro is too much hassle without knocking it out first. Off to the micro recorder for ID on that one as it is probably a new species for the garden.
The Catch .....
Tiny micro for ID  ... 1
0229 ... Monopis obviella ... Yellow-backed Clothes Moth ... 1... YF
409a ... Argyresthia trifasciata ... Triple-barred Argent ... 3
0648 ... Endrosis sarcitrella ... White-shouldered House-moth ... 3
0874 ... Blastobasis lacticolella ... London Dowd ... 1 ... YF
0998 ... Epiphyas postvittana ... Light Brown Apple Moth ... 2
1174 ... Epiblema (now Notocelia) cynosbatella ... Yellow-faced Bell ... 1 ... YF
1276 ... Dichrorampha plumbagana ... Silver-lined Drill ... 1 ... (netted by Louie)
1428 ... Aphomia sociella ... Bee Moth ... 3
1728 ... Garden Carpet ... Xanthorhoe fluctuata ... 4
1738 ... Common Carpet ... Epirrhoe alternata ... 1 ... YF
1819 ... Mottled Pug ... Eupithecia exiguata ... 1
1834 ... Common Pug ... Eupithecia vulgata ... 4 ... YF
1860 ... Green Pug ... Pasiphila rectangulata ... 1 ... YF
1867 ... Treble-bar ... Aplocera plagiata ... 1 ... YF
1883 ... Yellow-barred Brindle ... Acasis viretata ... 1
1906 ... Brimstone Moth ... Opisthograptis luteolata ... 1
1931 ... Peppered Moth ... Biston betularia ... 1
2060 ... White Ermine ... Spilosoma lubricipeda ... 1
2089 ... Heart and Dart ... Agrotis exclamationis ... 2
2092 ... Shuttle-shaped Dart ... Agrotis puta ... 3
2126 ... Setaceous Hebrew Character ... Xestia c-nigrum ... 2 ... YF
2154 ... Cabbage Moth ... Mamestra brassicae ... 1
2166 ... Campion ... Hadena rivularis ... 1 ... YF
2278 ... Poplar Grey ... Acronicta megacephala ... 1
2279 ... Sycamore ... Acronicta aceris
2334 ... Rustic Shoulder-knot ... Apamea sordens ... 3
2380 ... Treble Lines ... Charanyca trigrammica ... 2
2384 ... Vine's Rustic ... Hoplodrina ambigua ... 1

22nd June 2012 .. Ill wind

9.6 deg overnight low .... Very windy
Laid up with a rotten chest infection at the mo and had to cancel a weekend in York and Whitby.
The wind was ripping through the garden last night but I flicked on the trap near the house where it offers a little shelter.
20 moths were noted in spite of the strong wind.

0240 Tinea pellionella 1 (in house)
0787 Bryotropha terrella 2
0874 Blastobasis lacticolella 1 year first (Below)

0998 Epiphyas postvittana 2
1474 Ephestia parasitella ssp unicolorella 2
1728 Garden Carpet 1
1827 Freyer's Pug
1834 Common Pug 2
2087 Turnip Moth 1
2089 Heart & Dart 2
2321 Dark Arches 3
2322 Light Arches 2
2333 Large Nutmeg 1

17th Nov 2011...Garden

overnight min temp..7 deg, clear, slight breeze and heavy dew later.
A poor night for the garden with just one Blastobasis lacticolella.




BLASTOBASIS LACTICOLELLA

 Matt and I set up a sheet in Home Wood for a couple of hours and left a battery operated twin actinic/blacklight overnight.
December Moths and Winter moths were recorded on the sheet with Feathered Thorn, Spruce Carpet, plus Ypsolopha ustella.
The trap was checked this morning, absolutely soaked with the heavy dew.
Scarce & Mottled Umber, lots of Sprawler, Feathered Thorn, Winter Moth and Chestnut were noted.

MOTTLED UMBER from Home Wood

YPSOLOPHA USTELLA from Home Wood

22nd May 2011...Micros rule ok

It was the micros that grabbed the limelight last night, with 4 new ticks for the garden list.
I didn't get too involved with the micros last year so I am expecting quite a few common garden "firsts"

AGLOSSA PINGUINALIS 1421....year first "Large Tabby"

CLEPSIS SPECTRANA 0993...garden first "Cyclamen Tortrix"

CELYPHA STRIANA 1063....year first, common in garden last year.

BLASTOBASIS LACTICOLELLA 0874... year first for this familiar micro 22nd May:-

6 x Large Nutmeg

9 x Heart and Dart

1 x Flame Shoulder

3 x Vine's Rustic

1 x Uncertain

3 x Mottled Rustic

1 x Willow Beauty

3 x Marbled Minor agg.

2 x Setaceous Hebrew Character

2 x Green Pug

1 x Common Pug

1 x Cinnabar

3 x Dark Arches

2 x Shuttle-shaped Dart

2 x Turnip Moth

1 x Blastobasis lacticolella * year first

2 x Aphomia sociella

2 x Epiphyas postvittana

1 x Emmelina monodactyla

2 x Platyedra subcinerea

1 x Aglossa pinguinalis * year first

2 x Ephestia parasitella f. unicolorella

1 x Clepsis consimilana

1 x Celypha striana * Year first

1 x Clepsis spectrana ** garden first

TALLY :-

177 species......117 macro, 60 micro