Friday 5 June 2015

Slightly disappointing last week...

There had been a planned trapping session on a local heathland - yes, there is some in South Bucks - on Saturday night, but after a week of warm and dry, the weather decided to produce all it's saved up rain and wind, so the session was called off.

However, we had still managed to visit the heathland in the day, and the micro moth list comprised Cydia ulicetana, Glyphipterix thrasonella, Ancylis uncella, Bactra lancealana and Phylloporia bistrigella with Common Heath, Light Brocade, Brown Silver-line and Common Wave fulfilling the macro list.

The weekly 6w woodland heath trap was actually run twice this week, having missed out the previous week. The new-for-year species were Eulia ministrana, Pebble Hook-tip, Tawny-barred Angle, Muslin Moth and Green Silver-lines. Also on the site were newly-emerged examples of Red-necked Footman and Cinnabar.

The garden trap was poorly populated, with Mompha subbistrigella and Maiden's Blush being the only two new ones.

Sunday 24 May 2015

A much better week!

First off, I left a light on a timer at a private woodland site. I managed to pick the coldest and clearest night of the week so the total score was 19 moths of 14 species; new for the year list were Common Swift, Ancylis badiana, Crambus lathoniellus, Sandy Carpet, Iron Prominent, Pale Tussock, Orange Footman and Flame Shoulder.



Also found was the larval case of Psyche casta on a Deadly Nightshade leaf.



My garden actinic did rather better over a couple of nights, mainly because of far more conducive conditions. The year list was boosted by White-shouldered House Moth, Epinotia immundana, Notocelia cynosbatella, Oak Hook-tip, Chinese Character, Common Marbled Carpet, White-spotted Pug, Heart & Dart, Shuttle-shaped Dart and a brace of Treble Lines.



Also randomly in the car was an Argyresthia goedartella and whilst out on a walk to the pub, Alabonia geoffrella.

Saturday 9 May 2015

My week in moths...

No trips out this week, so not much to report, although at least my GMS catch last night were all new species for my year list...

Light Brown Apple Moth, Yellow-barred Brindle, Scorched Carpet, Scalloped Hazel, Common Pug and Purple Thorn.


I have seen quite a few micros flying around in the daytime, mostly when I don't have a net with me, but at least a couple of not-in-the-garden moths were Gracillaria syringella (not new for the year list, this was called Caloptilia last year...) and Elachista rufocinerea.

I'm hoping to have one away trip this week...

Sunday 3 May 2015

Some year ticks at least...

A light on Tuesday gave me my first ever Frosted Green for the garden, together with Brindled and Double-striped Pugs, Hebrew Character and Streamer. During the same day, Adela reaumurella and Caloptilia syringella - which seems to have changed it's name to Gracillaria syringella - were also year firsts.

A handful of lights on a very cold very clear - but at least rain and wind free - night in a regular woodland site added Waved UmberSwallow Prominent and Acleris cristana for the year.



As the flying moths were so few, we looked around for other stuff; cocoons of Buccalatrix thoracella on Lime, adult Horse Chestnut Leaf-miner (Cameraria ohridella) present on a Horse Chestnut (oh dear), mines of one of the Psychoides species on Hart's Tongue (no larvae visible) and the chrysalis of presumably an Endothenia species inside a teasel head, which I have retained to hopefully hatch. We also found the larval case of what we believe to be Taleporia tubulosa, a "bagworm".

A daytime trip on Saturday found a few micros; Incurvaria pectinea, Incurvaria masculella, Nematopogon swammerdamella, Grapholita jungiella and Cydia succedana were new for the year.

An evening session on the same site, which only lasted an hour or so due to the early onset of rain, added Semioscopis steinkellneriana (also a lifer for me), Common Wave, Scalloped Hook-tip, Brown Silver-line, Red Twin-spot Carpet, V-Pug, Pebble Prominent and Knot Grass.

Saturday 25 April 2015

A quiet week...

The nights have been either very cold or very wet this week, so not too many moths making an appearance.

I have been treated to Brown House Moth and Case-bearing Clothes Moth indoors this week :(

The garden trap has been on twice, with a total score of Lunar Marbled Brown (only the second in 4 years), Clouded Drab, Common Quaker, Hebrew Character and Amblyptilia acanthadactyla.

The 6W woodland trap only got 2 Nut-tree Tussocks and an Engrailed.

Next week looks like it's going to be more of the same; I do have two big trips in the diary, but they may both be rained off :(

Saturday 18 April 2015

This weeks mothing.

My usual sites were explored this week; still a bit cold at night with the clear skies, and the wind hasn't helped but quite a few new species for the year list (these in bold). The numbers are across all sites.

Lunar Marbled Brown - 6
Hebrew Character - 16
Chestnut - 5
Eriocrania subpurpurella - 10+
Twin-spotted Quaker - 2
Common Quaker - 16
Brindled Pug - 4
Water Carpet - 4
Brimstone - 1
Clouded Drab - 4
Streamer - 1
Frosted Green - 12
Lesser Swallow Prominent - 1
Small Quaker - 2
Pine Beauty - 1
Early Thorn - 1
Brindled Beauty - 2
Nut-tree Tussock - 2
Powdered Quaker - 1
Double-striped Pug - 2
Engrailed - 1
Early Grey - 1

Also an Endocrania sp. that has been "sent off" for id, something in the Olethreutinae part of the spectrum (if it can be id'd from a photo), the larva of one of the Endothenia sp. in a teasel head, and come larval cases of Colephora laricella.

 Brindled Beauty
 Coleophora laricella case
 Frosted Green
 Lunar Marbled Brown
 Lesser Swallow Prominent
Powdered Quaker

Saturday 11 April 2015

My week in moths

Well, spring definitely seems to have arrived - at last - in South Bucks. The days have warmed up, although there have still been frosts at night.

I've run 4 traps, one in a parkland setting, 2 in the garden and one in a woodland.

Not a vast amount of moths, but at least there were new ones on each night for my year list.

Common Quaker and Hebrew Character were the most-caught, with 11 and 19 respectively across the sites.

The new species were Red Chestnut (in fact, a lifer for me), Double-striped Pug, Agonopterix ocellana, Streamer and Pine Beauty (only the second ever in the garden).

 Pine Beauty
Red Chestnut

Also appearing were Small Quaker, Early Grey, Engrailed, Oak Beauty, Clouded Drab, Emmelina monodactyla and Diurnea fagella.

Saturday 14 March 2015

COAM in Spring

This year I and my mothing partners are going to concentrate on the Chiltern Open Air Museum site, just on the Bucks side of the border with Herts.

Although last night was the coldest of the week, we put out 3 traps (2MV and an Actinic - which only caught 1 moth). There would have been 4, but my MV bulb had mysteriously broken over the winter. Luckily I have more, just not with me.

Anyway, pending the correct numbers of each species from Rob, who kept the list:

1 x Yellow Horned
14 x Common Quaker
6 x Hebrew Character
6 x Clouded Drab
2 x Twin-spotted Quaker
2 x Small Quaker
1 x Chestnut
1 x March Moth
1 x Oak Beauty
1 x Agonopterix heracliana

Most of these are new for the site, mainly because I didn't start trapping there until May last year.

 Common Quaker
 Twin-spotted Quaker
Yellow Horned

Thursday 12 March 2015

First Micros of the Year

After deciding that spring was, on balance, starting to begin, I put the trap out again last night.

As it is now officially March, the best-represented species was the March Moth (3) but I also managed 4 micro species with 2 each of Emmelina mondactyla and Amblyptilia acanthadactyla; lurking in the leaf debris at the bottom was a single Agonopterix heracliana and outside the trap a Diurnea fagella.



Friday 27 February 2015

It has begun!

...at last. Moths have started to appear about these parts. Not many, but moths...

Last week I found a Satellite, and on Wednesday night, after a lovely warm spring day, the trap went on in the garden which trebled the year list with a March Moth and a Chestnut.

This morning, our 6W woodland trap held three very torpid Dotted Borders, which surprised us given the layer of frost that had to be scraped off the car.

So here we go :)

Thursday 29 January 2015

End of Year Round-up

I haven't posted on here for ages as the moths have been as rare as my words, although a holiday in Southern Italy in September was quite fruitful, especially if I left the hotel balcony light on during the night.

Anyway, having got my records together for the county recorder, I was pleased to be told that I had in my garden in August a 2nd Record for the County with a Cydia amplana:


I was beaten to First by only a few days, but there does seem to have been a bit of an influx into the home counties.

This was beaten though by a 1st for County Lampronia fuscatella caught with a friend at our regular woodland weekly trap.


Oh, OK, with another friend in Dorset in July we caught a 1st for mainland UK Southern Grass Emerald, but it wasn't in South Bucks, so it can't appear here.

To sum my year up, my garden catches were down to about 60% of the species and 50% of the numbers of the previous year, although having access to a couple of woodland sites and some away-from-home mothing on the South and West coasts, the quality has been good :)

Here's to the new season when it starts...