7th June ... Garden Moths latest ...

On the chilly side last night with the minimum temp. at just under 8 degrees but with a fresh feel to it.
Plenty of moths though with 27 species recorded plus a year first Nettle-tap that was netted early evening.
My least favourite moth turned up on the Hebe bush flowers,Large Yellow Underwing, the Lepicockroach !
The haul:-
0385 Anthophila fabriciana, Nettle-tap x 1, year first (netted late pm)

Anthophila fabriciana, Nettle-tap

0464 Plutella xylostella, x 1
0647 Hofmannophila pseudospretella, x 2
0998 Epiphyas postvittana, x 3
1428 Aphomia sociella, x 1
1513 Pterophorus pentadactyla, x 1, year first

Pterophorus pentadactyla

1728 Garden Carpet, x 4
1764 Common Marbled Carpet, x 1
1781 Small Waved Umber, x 1
1819 Mottled Pug, x 1
1834 Common Pug, x 5
1860 Green Pug, x 1
1937 Willow Beauty, x 1
2043 Orange Footman, x 1, year first

Orange Footman

2087 Turnip Moth, x 3
2089 Heart and Dart, x 9
2092 Shuttle-shaped Dart, x 7
2102 Flame Shoulder x 1
2107 Large Yellow Underwing, x 1, year first

Large Yellow Underwing

2154 Cabbage Moth, x 1
2221 Mullein, x 1

The Mullein

2306 Angle Shades, x 1
2321 Dark Arches, x 1, year first

Dark Arches

2334 Rustic Shoulder-knot, x 1
2337x Marbled Minor agg. x 3 (prob. Tawny Marbled Minor)

2337x Marbled Minor agg.

2380 Treble Lines, x 1
2384 Vine's Rustic, x 6
2389 Pale Mottled Willow, x 1

29th May 2014 .. More "year first" moths

A good night for the garden traps with 40 species of moth recorded.
Heart and Dart have replaced Shuttle-shaped Dart as the most numerous species in the traps.
Two more Toadflax Brocade were in the traps making 12 for the year and fast approaching last years high count of 17.
The first grass moth was recorded last night, Crambus lathoniellus, and a year first Common Footman which will shortly infest the traps.
Dark Arches x 3 and an Elephant Hawk-moth completed the year newbies ...

1301, Crambus lathoniellus

Below
1991, Elephant Hawk-moth

Below
2050, Common Footman

Below
Dark Arches

12th June 2013 ... Coronet crowns a very windy night

Temperatures of 12 plus degrees and gale force southerly gusts most of the night. These are the nights where anything could turn up in my urban garden so I always have a trap on.
Varied Coronet is fairly common in the garden and regular each year but this is the first record for it's close relative MARBLED CORONET ....

2171 ... Marbled Coronet ... Hadena confusa

Dark Arches made it's 2013 debut ....

2321 ... Dark Arches ... Apamea monoglypha

Trap results ...
0229 ... Monopis obviella ... Yellow-backed Clothes Moth ... 1
409a ... Argyresthia trifasciata ... Triple-barred Argent ... 1
0647 ... Hofmannophila pseudospretella ... Brown House-moth ... 2
0648 ... Endrosis sarcitrella ... White-shouldered House Moth ... 2
0808 ... Platyedra subciunerea ... Mallow Groundling ... 1
1174 ... Epiblema cynosbatella ... Yellow-faced Bell ... 1
1176 ... Epiblema trimaculana ... Triple-blotched Bell ... 1
1728 ... Garden Carpet ... Xanthorhoe fluctuata ... 2
1808 ... Sandy Carpet ... Perizoma flavifasciata ... 1
1920 ... Scalloped Hazel ... Odontopera bidentata ... 1
1931 ... Peppered Moth ... Biston betularia ... 1
1976 ... Privet Hawk-moth ... Sphinx ligustri ... 1
1980 ... Eyed Hawk-moth ... Smerinthus ocellata ... 1
2087 ... Turnip Moth ... Agrotis segetum ... 4
2089 ... Heart and Dart ... Agrotis exclamationis ... 7
2092 ... Shuttle-shaped Dart ... Agrotis puta ... 4
2102 ... Flame Shoulder ... Ochropleura plecta ... 1
2126 ... Setaceous Hebrew Character ... Xestia c-nigrum ... 2
2154 ... Cabbage Moth ... Mamestra brassicae ... 1
2157 ... Light Brocade ... Laconobia w-latinum ... 1
2160 ... Bright-line Brown-eye ... Laconobia oleracea ... 3
2171 ... Marbled Coronet ... Hadena confusa ... 1 ... garden first
2223 ... Toadflax Brocade ... Calophasia lunula ... 1
2283/4. Dark/Grey Dagger agg. ... Acronicta tridens/psi ... 2
2321 ... Dark Arches ... Apamea monoglypha ... 1
2334 ... Rustic Shoulder-knot ... Apamea sordens ... 2
2339 ... Tawny Marbled Minor ... Oligia latruncula ... 1
2380 ... Treble Lines ... Charanyca trigrammica ... 1
2384 ... Vine's Rustic ... Hoplodrina ambigua ... 2
2441 ... Silver Y ... Autographa gamma ... 1
2450 ... Spectacle ... Abrostola tripartita ... 1

9th June 2012 .. Traps back on

The last two nights have seen gale force winds ripping through the garden, but last night was calm albeit a little on the chilly side by dawn.
Not a great deal in the traps this morning, just a Dark Arches to add to the year tally, along with a year first Udea olivalis.

Dark Arches

The forecast for tonight is not very encouraging, heavy rain showers.
So I'm hoping they pass us by as it would be nice to get a garden first moth as a birthday present.
Yes, today is my birthday, but I NEVER disclose my age .....

24th Nov 2011...Yet another Arches

Overnight min temp, 8.1 deg. Windy all night with a light rain shower in the early hours.
Looks like we are stuck with this wind for a few days.
Last nights catch included yet another Dark Arches, that's 3 nights on the trot. This one is fresher looking than the previous two.
Two Light Brown Apple Moths and a Winter Moth made up the catch.
All moths were in the traps, nothing was seen on the walls during patrols which bucks the trend of late.

DARK ARCHES

WINTER MOTH

23rd Nov 2011 ...another late Dark Arches

overnight min temp... 6.4  deg...breezy, clear
Yet another Dark Arches caught....I was beginning to think that maybe my release point was too close but on inspection, this one is definitely not the moth from last night.
Surely this is the last...it's almost December !

DARK ARCHES

SATELLITE

The previous few Satellites have had orange spots, so it was a nice change to see a white spotted example.

22nd Nov 2011...Dark and Grey

Overnight min temp...1 deg
Last night was a mixed bag weather wise...Light rain early evening, then temperatures of +10deg until 8 pm when the sky cleared and temperatures plummetted to ONE degree.
A year first Grey Shoulder-knot was very welcome as I had my last one in 2009. Another very late Dark Arches turned up with a Dark Chestnut.
On the micro front...surprisingly, no Light Brown Apple Moths but a solitary Monopis obviella was found on the shed wall.

DARK ARCHES

GREY SHOULDER-KNOT

DARK CHESTNUT

MONOPIS OBVIELLA

Garden tally to date....436
251 macro, 185 micro

29th Oct 2011...Warm & windy

Overnight min temp 12 deg
Warm, windy
1 x Shuttle-shaped Dart
1 x Angle Shades
1 x Lesser Yellow Underwing
1 x Turnip Moth
1 x Dark Arches

DARK ARCHES

1 x Silver Y
1 x Large Wainscot
2 x Yellow-line Quaker
2 x Green-brindled Crescent

1 x Emmelina monodactyla
1 x Monopis obviella
2 x Epiphyas postvittana

LEAF DWELLER
Any ideas ??
Our micro recorder thinks maybe a tortrix, Clepsis consimilana, but is not happy with the abdomen colour of the larva.
It does not mine, but grazes between two leaves
PIC 1...shows two honeysuckle leaves stuck together with silk




Honeysuckle leaves


PIC 2.... shows the upper side of the smaller leaf after separation.
The larva (around 9mm in length) silk and frass is visible.

Larva, approx 9mm long

I have put it in a pot with some fresh leaves so maybe next spring the finished article will hopefully make an appearance.
I have never tried to rear larvae before...any tips ?

5th Oct 2011

overnight min temp...10.1 deg, blowing a gale ! light rain at times.
I put the traps on, not expecting to catch anything with near gale-force gusts and intermittent rain.
It turned out to be a surprisingly good night, 60 moths of 18 species were recorded, among them a Dark Arches 2nd generation.
16 x Shuttle-shaped Dart
2 x Willow Beauty
4 x Large Yellow Underwing
9 x Lesser Yellow Underwing
8 x Pale Mottled Willow
2 x Angle Shades

ANGLE SHADES

2 x Large Ranunculus
4 x Black Rustic
1 x Red-green Carpet
1 x Mallow
2 x Lunar Underwing
1 x Sallow
2 x Dusky-lemon Sallow



SALLOW and 2 x DUSKY-LEMON SALLOW

1 x Setaceous Hebrew Character
1 x Blair's Shoulder-knot
1 x Dark Arches

DARK ARCHES

1 x Eudonia angustea
2 x Emmelina monodactyla.

Our micro recorder sent me the results of a batch for gen det and 6 new garden species were added:-
12th Aug...1281...Dichrorampha simpliciana
13th Aug...0757...Recurvaria nanella
30th Aug...1138...Epinotia nisella
30th Aug...0303...Parornix anglicella
  2nd Sep...0789...Bryotropha domestica
23rd Sep...1051...Acleris logiana

2011 Garden Total: 421 species...242 macro, 179 micro.

21st May 2011...The Dark side

Well it had to happen sooner or later. Traps full of Dark Arches and those flying pigs, Large Yellow Underwings, both of which were added to the garden year list last night.

Considering the intensity of the wind, the total was quite good.
DARK ARCHES 2321 HEDYA NUBIFERANA 1083SILVER-GROUND CARPET 1727 GREEN PUG 1860

LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING 2109

MONOPIS OBVIELLA 0229 21st May :-

14 x Large Nutmeg

11 x Heart & Dart

2 x Shuttle-shaped Dart

3 x Garden Carpet

1 x Buff-tip

3 x Marbled Minor agg.

1 x Treble Brown Spot

1 x Varied Coronet

1 x Bright-line Brown-eye

1 x Silver-ground Carpet

2 x Turnip Moth

2 x Green Pug

2 x Common Pug

1 x Freyer's Pug

8 x Vine's Rustic

2 x Setaceous Hebrew Character

1 x Flame Shoulder

1 x Large Yellow Underwing * year first

1 x Sandy Carpet

2 x Common Wainscot

1 x Dark Arches * year first

1 x Rustic Shoulder-knot

1 x Brimstone Moth
2 x Epiphyas postvittana

3 x Aphomia sociella

3 x Platyedra subcinerea

1 x Endrosis sarcitrella

1 x Hedya nubiferana ** garden first

1 x Monopis obviella ** garden first

Garden Total to date :-

173 species.....117 macro, 56 micro

20th June....Sandy Carpet in Biggleswade ?????

Best nights "mothing" for a while, with temperatures only dropping to 12 deg C .... 41 species of macro moths were recorded which is a record number. The explaination for the blog heading, to anyone not familiar with this part of Bedfordshire, SANDY is our neighbouring town, about 3 miles up the A1 from Biggleswade.
...........................................
SANDY CARPET (garden first)

BARRED YELLOW (garden first)

MEAL MOTH (garden first for this cracking micro)

GREY PINE CARPET (first for year)

UNCERTAIN (I think !) another first

an early COMMON FOOTMAN (first for year)

DARK ARCHES

LIGHT ARCHES (first for year)

SMALL BLOODVEIN (first for year)

COMMON EMERALD (first for year) RESULTS:-

12 x Heart & Dart

10 x Willow Beauty

5 x Garden Carpet

5 x Marbled Minor agg

4 x Common Marbled Carpet

4 x Large Yellow Underwing

4 x Green Pug

4 x Flame

3 x Turnip Moth

3 x Brimstone Moth

3 x Uncertain **

2 x Wormwood Pug

2 x Common Pug

2 x Barred Yellow **

2 x Broad-barred White

2 x Peppered Moth

2 x Dark Arches

2 x Grey/Dark Dagger

2 x Pale Mottled Willow

2 x Setaceous Hebrew Character

2 x Rustic Shoulder-knot

2 x Privet Hawkmoth

Lime Hawkmoth

Elephant Hawkmoth

Common Emerald *

Riband Wave *

Vine's Rustic

Small Dusty Wave

Flame Shoulder

Sycamore

Small Bloodvein *

Silver Y

Light Arches *

Large Nutmeg

Cinnabar

Buff Ermine

Small Square-spot

Small Waved Umber

Common Footman *

Sandy Carpet **

Grey Pine Carpet *

.....................................

Small Magpie

Brown Housemoth

3 x E. mono's

5 x L B Apple moth

3 x Bee Moth

Meal Moth **

* first for year

** garden first

18th June....SNOUT ABOUT

SNOUT first for year

PHTHEOCHROA RUGOSANA a beautiful little micro and a regular visitor

BUFF ERMINE

FLAME

DARK ARCHES

Temperature low enough for a Brass Monkey to look for a Welder. 6 to 8 degC all week, but the traps had a fair return considering.

Results:-

10 x Heart & Dart

4 x Garden Carpet

2 x Brimstone Moth

Bright-Line Brown-Eye

Snout (first for year)

Treble Brown Spot

Marbled Minor agg

Grey/Dark Dagger

Flame

Vine's Rustic

Willow Beauty

Silver Y

Turnip Moth

....................................

2 x Bee Moth

2 x LB Apple Moth

3 x Emmelina Monodactyla

1 x Brown Housemoth

1 x Garden Pebble

1 x Phtheochroa rugosana

+ one micro ID pending......................

12th June........Ticking along nicely

Last nights better weather saw 100 moths of 40 species in and around the traps. While Shuttle-shaped Darts have tailed off, Heart & Dart are now my most numerous visitor by a long chalk, and the "Kamikaze" Large Yellow Underwings are starting to dive-bomb both me and my traps.
HEART and DART very familiar yet striking moth

IRON PROMINENT

GARDEN PEBBLE. a garden first for this micro

DARK ARCHES first for year

VARIED CORONET first for year

PURPLE BAR a garden first

LARGE TABBY 1st record for this large micro

SYCAMORE another garden first

One of two PRIVET HAWKMOTH in the funnel trap

Results :-

20 x Heart & Dart

6 x Willow Beauty

6 x Marbled Minor agg

5 x Large Yellow Underwing

4 x Common Pug

4 x Vine's Rustic

2 x Light Emerald

2 x Rustic Shoulder-knot

2 x Green Pug

2 x Treble Brown-spot

2 x Pale Mottled Willow

2 x Common Wainscot

2 x Privet Hawkmoth

2 x Garden Carpet

2 x Common Swift

2 x Shuttle-shaped Dart

2 x Dark Arches

Wormwood Pug

Setaceous Hebrew Character

Lime Hawkmoth

Buff Ermine

Varied Coronet

Purple Bar

Brimstone Moth

Common Marbled Carpet

Peppered Moth

Iron Prominent

Large Nutmeg

Silver Y

Flame Shoulder

Sycamore

.............................

5 x Bee Moth

4 x L.B.Apple moth

3 x Crambus lathoniellus

3 x Emmelina monodactyla

2 x Brown House-moth

1 x Small Magpie

1 x Large Tabby

1 x Garden Pebble