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

Black Rustic, that's the summer gone.

The first Black Rustic appeared in the traps this morning which is the official start to autumn, you don't need a calendar ...

Black Rustic

Around 50 Cameraria ohridella were relishing the warm, humid conditions and finding a Lyonetia clerkella amongst them was no mean feat.
A new for year micro, Catoptria falsella, stood out in the crowd of Agriphila geniculea ...

Catoptria falsella

Little else to get excited about.
150 - 200 Large Yellow Underwing has become the norm lately and I won' be sorry to see the back of them

My least liked moth ..Large Yellow Underwing

Pick of the rest ...
2 x Rosy Rustic
1 x Common Marbled Carpet
3 x Light Emerald
1 x Small Blood-vein
1 x Angle Shades
2 x Old Lady
1 x Snout
1 x Silver Y
1 x Mouse Moth
1 x Lime-speck Pug
1 x Pyrausta aurata
1 x Nephopterix angustella

Small Blood-vein

Lime-speck Pug

Nephopterix angustella

22nd May 2014 ... 4 more year ticks

The latest additions to the year list ...

Above ... Straw Dot
Below ... Lime-speck Pug

Below ...
Epiblema trimaculana

Below ...
Orange Footman

Below ...
Large Yellow Underwing

16th June 2013 ... Cockroach Moth is back !

My least favourite moth is on the wing. It crashed into my trap last night, blundering its way through the egg boxes, unsettling the contents in the process.
Unfortunately it is the first of hundreds, in fact I recorded 99 of these despicable creatures in one evening in a previous life. On a brighter note, the local sparrows like them for breakfast, so any that are hiding around the trap vicinity ......... Large Yellow Underwing ... year first.

2107 ... Large Yellow Underwing ... Noctua pronubana

Now for the nice moths ...
0229 ... Monopis obviella
409a ... Argyresthia trifasciata
0647 ... Hofmannophila pseudospretella
0648 ... Endrosis sarcitrella  x 14
0779 ... Bryotropha affinis x 2
0787 ... Bryotropha terrella x 2
0808 ... Platyedra subcinerea x 2
0892 ... Mompha subbistrigella
0998 ... Epiphyas postvittana x 9
1174 ... Epiblema cynosbatella
1216 ... Enarmonia formosana ... Cherry-bark Moth ... YF

1216 ... Cherry-bark Moth ... Enarmonia formosana

**** ... Dichrorampha sp. TBD
1301 ... Crambus lathoniellus
1361 ... Pyrausta aurata
1428 ... Aphomia sociella x 5
1474 ... Ephestia unicolorella ssp woodiella
1707 ... Small Dusty Wave
1728 ... Garden Carpet x 5
1769 ... Spruce Carpet

1769 ... Spruce Carpet ... Thera britannica

1776 ... Green Carpet
1781 ... Small Waved Umber
1906 ... Brimstone Moth x 3
1931 ... Peppered Moth
1937 ... Willow Beauty
1994 ... Buff-tip
2009 ... Maple Prominent ... YF

2009 ... Maple Prominent ... Ptilodon cucullina

2061 ... Buff Ermine
2069 ... Cinnabar
2087 ... Turnip Moth
2089 ... Heart and Dart x 6
2107 ... Large Yellow Underwing ...YF
2126 ... Setaceous Hebrew Character x 3
2154 ... Cabbage Moth
2279 ... Sycamore
2306 ... Angle Shades
**** ... Marbled Minor agg. x 3
2384 ... Vine's Rustic
2480 ... Buttoned Snout
PUGS
Freyer's
Common
Grey
Green
Plus others ?

1860 ... Green Pug ... Pasiphila rectangulata

18th Oct 2012 ... Garden Traps + Great Diving Beetle

Some interesting finds in the garden traps last night.
A Great Diving Beetle, Dytiscus marginalis was taken from the trap and put into the small fish pond, the fish being too big to be prey for this fearsome creature.
Pictured below, this is a female which lacks the large suction pads on the front legs found on the male.

It soon made itself at home, the above photo shows it coming up for some fresh air.
Whether it stays in the pond or not is another question as the food supply may not be sufficient, apart from it being a little lonely.

There were quite a lot of moths about, enjoying the 10+ deg. night. A late Pyrausta aurata was found on the wall near the trap and the first Satellite of the autumn arrived at The Dells.

The Moths :-
2 .. 0229 .. Monopis obviella
3 .. 0648 .. Endrosis sarcitrella
4 .. 0998 .. Epiphyas postvittana
1 .. 1361 .. Pyrausta aurata
4 .. 1524 .. Emmelina monodactyla
1 .. 1728 .. Garden Carpet
5 .. 1937 .. Willow Beauty
1 .. 1961 .. Light Emerald
6 .. 2107 .. Large Yellow Underwing ( why not ?)

6 .. 2109 .. Lesser Yellow Underwing
9 .. 2126 .. Setaceous Hebrew Character
1 .. 2232 .. Black Rustic
2 .. 2240 .. Blair's Shoulder-knot
1 .. 2245 .. Green-brindled Crescent

1 .. 2256 .. Satellite

2 .. 2267 .. Beaded Chestnut ... enigma variations, 
(A & M , .... hindwings checked, cheers)

1 .. 2270 .. Lunar Underwing
4 .. 2306 .. Angle Shades
1 .. 2384 .. Vine's Rustic

24th May ... Garden Traps

Overnight min. temp. 10.9 deg. fresh easterly breeze.
4 more newcomers for the year list.
Yellow-barred Brindle, Rustic & Large Yellow Underwing, plus one micro, Phtheochroa rugosana.


9, Shuttle-shaped Dart
6, Pale Mottled Willow
3, Least Black Arches
3, Grey Dagger agg
3, Common Pug.
2, Brimstone Moth
2, Turnip Moth
2, Scalloped Hazel
2, Garden Carpet
2, Common Swift
1, Waved Umber
1, Yellow-barred Brindle, year first (Below)

1, Pale Tussock
1, Small Waved Umber
1, Peppered Moth
!, Double-striped Pug
1, Mottled Pug
1, Lychnis
1, Large Yellow Underwing. year first (Below)
Louie...Is this a "Fox Underwing " ?

1, Early Grey
1, Angle Shades
1, Buttoned Snout
1, Rustic, year first (Below)

5, Epiphyas postvittana
4, Platyedra subcinerea
4, Aphomia sociella
3, Argyrotaenia ljungiana
3, Endrosis sarcitrella
3, Emmelina monodactyla
2, Syndemis musculana
2, Evergestis forficalis
2, Hofmannophila pseudospretella
2, Tinea trinotella (Below)

2, Bryotropha affinis
1, Alucita hexadactyla
1, Phtheochroa rugosana, year first (Below)

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

3rd Sept.... Giving it LARGE !!!

Do you have a particular moth that you actually dislike ? I do, the Large Yellow Underwing. They are crashing into your traps in numbers right now, flailing around and generally stampeding everything else present. Maybe I dislike them because they remind me of the large cockroaches we used to get in Australia, especially the reddish-brown varieties. At this time of year it is easier to weigh the damn things rather than count them ! After my routine inspection of my two traps last night, having sustained several hits to the skull, I decided to systematically remove and pot them up just to see how many of the little monsters were present. I usually estimate the numbers at around 30 to 50 but I have been well short of the actual amount of these Trap Bullies. I removed 63 from the trap near the house and 36 from the trap near the bushes by the garden shed for a total of 99 actually trapped. I also removed a further 27 from the walls and shrubs and took them away to a release point near the railway embankment. SO, that's 126 L.Y.U's out of the way. I will set the two traps in the same locations tonight and will be interested to see how many more "Cockroach Moths" appear.
..............................................................................................................................................................................
The beautiful, and much maligned......LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING......(^_*)

ANGLE SHADES

VINE'S RUSTIC

FLAME SHOULDER

ENDOTROICHA FLAMMEALIS Last nights haul:-

99 Large Yellow Underwing (in traps)

31 Setaceous Hebrew Character

24 Vine's Rustic

17 Turnip Moth

16 Orange Swift

12 Double-striped Pug

10 Square-spot Rustic

8 Common Wainscot

7 Flounced Rustic

7 Willow Beauty

5 Lesser Yellow Underwing

5 Brimstone Moth

3 Shuttle-shaped Dart

3 Copper Underwing

3 Garden Carpet

2 Marbled Beauty

2 Light Emerald

Feathered Gothic (probably a re-visit from the previous night)

Latticed Heath ( ...........................DITTO...................................)

Yellow Shell

Cabbage Moth

Mouse Moth

Rosy Rustic

Flame Shoulder

Centre-barred Sallow

Angle Shades

Small Dusty Wave

Nothing new for my garden list and I am still 33 short of the Caldecot Trap (maybe more as I haven't seen the results for the past two nights) My total for macro moths in my garden now stands at 182.

4th June.. Charge of the Light Brocade

June kicks off with some interesting moths, 4 garden firsts and 3 FFY's.
CINNABAR MOTH

COMMON MARBLED CARPET

LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING

LEAST BLACK ARCHES

BUTTONED SNOUT to be confirmed.........Thanks Andy & Melissa for confirmation

PRIVET HAWKMOTH

LIGHT BROCADE

ORANGE FOOTMAN

WILLOW BEAUTY

FIGURE of 80 A great nights trapping in the garden, with 30 macros plus PUGS. The Buttoned Snout needs confirmation and some micros need identifying. Last nights results:-

22 x Heart & Dart highest count

10 x S.S.Dart

5 x Large Nutmeg

4 x Lime Hawkmoth
4 x Marbled Minor agg.

4 x Rustic Shoulder-knot

3 x Treble Lines

2 x Willow Beauty FFY

2 x Brimstone Moth

2 x Pale Mottled Willow

2 x Light Emerald

2 x Buff Ermine

2 x Cinnabar Moth

2 x Bright-line Brown-eye

Buttoned Snout Garden first (if confirmed) Thanks Andy & Melissa for confirmation

Garden Carpet

Privet Hawkmoth Garden first

Light Brocade Garden first

Large Yellow Underwing FFY

Flame Shoulder

Common Marbled Carpet

Least Black Arches

Clouded Silver

Small Waved Umber

Waved Umber

Vine's Rustic

Orange Footman 2nd for year

Common Swift

Common Wainscot FFY

Figure of 80 Garden first

PLUS SEVERAL PUGS !

Micros:-

4 x Bee Moth

3 x Codling Moth

8 x L.B.Apple Moth

2 x Brown Housemoth

2 x Epiblema cynosbatella

more unidentified..................