Lifer!

OK, last night was a bit more like it! A few new species for the year and best of all, a lifer! Unfortunately due to circumstances, I wasn't able to photograph the latter but it leaves me something to look forward to!

Last nights garden list -

Common Pug - 4
Yellow-barred Brindle - 1
Chocolate Tip - 1 (Lifer!)
Scalloped Hazel - 1
Grey Pine Carpet - 1 (first of the year)
Green Carpet - 1
Orange Footman - 1 (new for garden year list)

Grey Pine Carpet

I also ran a 6W Heath Trap overnight at a local private woodland, and added a few more species to the year list:

Marbled Brown - 5
Nut-tree Tussock - 2
Green Carpet - 1
Small Phoenix - 1
Great Prominent - 1
Pale Tussock - 2 (new for year)
Orange Footman - 1
Tawny-barred Angle - 2 (new for year)

Tawny-barred Angle

A wet night

It was pretty wet here last night, in common with most of the previous day, but obviously a couple of things ventured out to investigate the odd blue light... Not much, but it was nice to see something larger than a pug after so many days.

1 x LBAM
1 x Emmelina mondactyla
1 x Brimstone
1 x Waved Umber
1 x Scalloped Hazel - new for this year's garden list

Scalloped Hazel

A new moth for the garden

So exciting! A new species for the garden all-time list amongst a rather pathetic total (this time last year I was getting around 20 species a night, and they called that a bad year...!)

1 x Twenty-plumed Moth
1 x Brindled Pug
1 x Common Pug
1 x Emmelina monodactyla
1 x Least Black Arches (NFG)

Least Black Arches

(not the best pic as it is very dark today with all the rain...)

The Trickle Continues

This morning the trap held one more new species for my year list, although judging by the state of the individual, it wasn't its first foray into the night.

2 x Scorched Carpet
1 x Yellow-barred Brindle (NFY)
1 x Nut-tree Tussock
7 x Brindled Pug
1 x Double-striped Pug

and while doing some random stuff in the garden later in the day, on the fence

1 x Common Pug (melanic form)

Yellow-barred Brindle

...and another new one...

I had hoped for a better catch last night, given that it was generally overcast and the minimum temp in double figures, but at least I got another new one for my garden year list...

5 x Brindled Pug
2 x Nut-tree Tussock
1 x Bee Moth (male)
1 x Green Carpet
1 x Emmelina monodactyla
1 x Twenty-pumed Moth
1 x Red Twin-spotted Carpet (NFG)

There was also a micro which I haven't yet got an id on and another carpet, which may have been Garden, but it flew away and out of net range as soon as I opened the trap...

Bee Moth

Two new ones...

...for the year.

After a day of decent weather (and before the cold wet week we are due gets underway) I hoped there'd be something around.

2 x Twenty-plumed Moth
5 x Brimstone
1 x Green Carpet (NFY)
2 x Emmelina monodactyla
1 x Iron Prominent
1 x Flame Carpet
2 x Brindled Pug
1 x Bee Moth - female - (NFY)
1 x Nut-tree Tussock 

and only 7 Cockchafers...

Green Carpet

Moths in the garden...

After a decent day of weather, nice to see some moths in the garden again...

2 x Brindled Pug
2 x Brimstone
2 x Waved Umber
1 x Scorched Carpet (new for the year)

The number of moths, though, was exceeded by the number of Cockchafers.

Scorched Carpet

Woodland trapping

The garden trap has been virtually empty of late, just the odd Hebrew Character, so last night we ran a couple of traps in a local wood on behalf of the RSPB.  The traps were a 20W Actinic Heath and a 50W MV Skinner, both left all night, with a few additional moths netted during the course of the evening.

The full list, aggregated for both traps:


Iron Prominent - 1
Marbled Brown - 2 (NFY)
Brimstone - 2
Water Carpet - 1 (NFY)
Orange Footman - 2 (NFY)
Brown Silver-line - 5 (NFY)
Great Prominent - 9 (Lifer)
Red Twin-spot Carpet - 1 (NFY)
Maiden's Blush - 3 (NFY)
Nut-tree Tussock - 6
Oak-tree Pug - 1 (NFY)
Angle Shades - 2
Coxcomb Prominent - 3 (NFY)
Least Black Arches - 2
Lesser Swallow Prominent - 1 (NFY)
Nematopogon swammerdamella - 1(NFY)
Small Phoenix - 2 (NFY)
Clouded Drab - 1
Scalloed Hazel - 1 (NFY)
Scalloped Hook-tip - 1 (NFY)
Engrailed - 1
Early Thorn - 1
Common Quaker - 1
Silver Y - 1 (NFY)
Red-green Carpet - 1
Grey Birch - 1 (Lifer)

plus 4 pugs yet to be identified !

 Coxcomb Prominent

 Great Prominent

 Marbled Brown

Water Carpet

Very quiet...

After a few cold wet nights with virtually nothing at the trap, at least last night I had a new species for the year.

2 x Hebrew Character
1 x Common Pug

Common Pug

Lifer!

After a wet windy day, a wet windy night for the weekly GMS session. A very low catch, but it included a lifer for me!

1 x Brown House Moth
2 x Hebrew Character
1 x Brindled Pug
1 x Pale Pinion

Pale Pinion

Best night so far!

After the warmest day of the year so far, I was hoping for some good moths, and in spite of the fact that it rained pretty much from midnight til dawn, I wasn't disappointed!

2 x Early Thorn
1 x Twenty-plume Moth
2 x Nut-tree Tussock
1 x Brimstone
2 x Common Quaker
1 x Hebrew Character
2 x Brindled Pug
1 x Early Grey
1 x Iron Prominent (first for year)
1 x Flame Carpet (first for year)
1 x Waved Umber (all-time garden first!)

Waved Umber

Is it summer?

No, probably not, but a few swallows and the sunshine might suggest otherwise. At least some decent weather is encouraging a few new moths to emerge.

During the day, I found an Incurvaria masculella hiding under a leaf, first for the year.

Last night's catch included a new species for my garden.

1 x Early Thorn
1 x Twenty-plume Moth
2 x Common Quaker
1 x Lunar Marbled Brown
3 x Nut-tree Tussock (including one of a very dark form I've not seen before...)
1 x Emmelina monodactyla
1 x Double-striped Pug
1 x Hebrew Character
2 x Early Grey

Lunar Marbled Brown*

*flew away before I could get a decent pic :(

Brimstone...

I've been hoping for these to start, so the here's my first one of the year...

1 x Double-striped Pug
1 x Brindled Pug
3 x Common Quaker
1 x Clouded Drab
1 x Twenty-plume Moth
1 x Brimstone

Brimstone

Low count but...

...one new species for the year!

1 x Emmelina monodactyla
2 x Brindled Pug
1 x Nut-tree Tussock

Nut-tree Tussock

Lifer!

So nice after several nights of low catches not worth mentioning to see a new species in my garden that I've never seen before anywhere!

1 x Early Thorn
2 x Streamer
1 x Brindled Pug
1 x Hebrew Character
2 x Double-striped Pug
1 x Common Quaker
1 x Early Grey
1 x Muslin Moth

Muslin Moth