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.