Has it been so long?

This weather has really had a dramatic effect on my mothing. Probably not the moths, they've no doubt been getting on with it, but the rain and cool temperatures have kept my trap firmly locked in the shed. I gave it a few hours on the 21st when it was slightly drier (only a couple of light showers) and managed a year first Early Thorn and a Hebrew Character.

The 24th seemed fairly warm, so despite the threatening clouds I put the trap out, and glad I did too! There were a few little beasts falpping around at a few points up to 2300hrs, and I managed to pot up a Double-striped Pug and year first Brindled Pug. Some sort of Carpet sp. came and dropped into the trap at 2230 so I'd have to wait till morning to check that one. At this time of year it was most likely going to be a Garden and indeed on emptying the trap there it was sitting patiently on one of the egg boxes. There was also a supporting cast of another DS Pug, Hebrew Character and an Emmelina monodactyla. Certainly the best catch in a long time.

The planned trapping session at Carr Wood has been put off for a second time, but hopefully I'll get out to the wood one night next week, and then do a proper session in early May. There should be something worth the effort by then!!

First day of Spring

Was it a coincidence that the first day of Spring came with lots of sunshine and a nice warm evening? After spotting the Black-necked Grebe I settled back home with more than high hopes for the moth-trap. Earlier in the month, my friend and mothing guru, Ian G, had loaned me an MV bulb and electrics to try out. I finally got round to picking it up, and of course had to give it a test run (if only to see how much it would annoy the neighbours!). So I got it rigged up for a short while in the early evening from 1915 to 2000. In that time an amazing 8 moths came to the light, far more than I'd normally get (that may sound obvious, as this was an 80W MBF bulb, but it still shocked me). Needless to say I then started to hatch plans!

But for the rest of the night I switched back to my usual Actinic/CFL combo, and the results were still great. 21 moths of 8 species. 3 of these were new for the years so I was very pleased.
The best of the bunch has to go to this stunning Oak Beauty. A joy to behold, and Jordan clearly loved this one!

Four of these Agonopterix species turned up. There are two that are difficult to tell apart (A. heracliana & A. ciliella) but without almost certainly comdemming them to death to check their hindwings it's fairly impossible to tell which is which, so for my list they go down as A. heracliana







Another year first that I've wanted to find was this Early Grey. All these moths are fairly common in any garden, but I think they just have that essence of 'spring' that is in the air at this time of year.

Moth year list = 16

Bird Year list = 123

Moth update for end of August and beginning of September

This is just gonna be a quick round up of new species and highlights since my holiday. It's hanging over me, and I refer you to my previous about not having the time, blah, blah blah!

So 28th August came and went with not too much to shout about, although a Mouse Moth was new for the garden (and has turned up in most traps since). The underwings continue to make up most of the trap, but I have only caught singles of Setaceous Hebrew Character this year, unlike last year when I had double figures on some nights. Other highlights included this Angle Shades (top right) and Agonopterix arenella (right)

 
 The following night gave pretty much the same results, with 53 moths of 18 species. Garden Rose Tortrix started to arrive tonight and surely the last Dark Arches of the year gave a final fling. Sallow was also new for the year and only my second caught. Other goodies were Gothic and Old Lady (now looking a bit battered!)

Last day of the month and conditions were looking good. Temperatures were relatively warm, winds were dropped and it was fairly cloudy. As an extra incentive to my winged friends I got hold of a clip-on bulb holder and a compact fluorescent bulb. Given this idea by Skev it turned out to be a good idea, presumably the extra visible light spectrum introduced by the CFL attracts some extras (can't wait to try this method in the summer!). The results were a fairly impressive 120 moths of 31 species including plenty of micros. 4 of these were new for the garden, Epinotia nisella, Eudonia angustea, Acleris emargana and Zeiraphera isertana. Brilliant! New for the year came in the form of Centre-barred Sallow and other goodies included Flame Carpet, Orchard Ermine, Small Dusty Wave and Acleris forsskaleana.

Into September and the combo trap continued to produce the results, although the great conditions helped a lot! 3rd September results were 154 moths of 35 species. Again micros predominated with new for garden in the form of Bucculatrix ulmella, Ectoedemia louisella and Ancylis badiana. New for the year were Straw Dot and Pyrausta aurata (right). Other highlights included Rosy Rustic, Mouse Moth, Brimstone (!), Meal Moth and Caloptilia syringella.

With temperatures cooling slightly towards the weekend, the trap on the 8th September wasn't quite as spectacular, with 60 moths of 24 species. New for garden was Firethorn Leaf-miner and Lobesia littoralis (right). Highlights included Skin Moth, another Bucculatrix ulmella, Eudonia angustea, Mouse Moth and Silver Y.

The following night 9th September gave slightly better results, partly due to the cloudier conditions I think, with 84 moths of 31 species. Highlights were Spruce Carpet, another Firethorn Leaf Miner, Marbled Beauty (another species that hasn't appeared in as many numbers as last year) and another Silver Y.

Broken dreams...

Disaster struck early on Saturday. My clumsy dad knocked the actinic tube off the table and it smashed on the conservatory floor! Oopsy! Of course I didn't see him till Saturday teatime so I didn't have time to replace it.
With the actinic out of action, Sunday saw me bring out the BLB. But as conditions were not ideal I didn't hold out much hope. It was cooler than of late, with a morning temperature of just 10 degrees. The quantity certainly reflected the weather (and the alternative bulb?) but I did manage a bit of quality.

This neatly marked Agriphila latistria is the first for the garden and is the fourth Agriphila on my garden list this year! This Dotted Clay is a new for the year and only the second garden record. It's markings had me foxed for a while, but after reviewing several websites I'm confident this is correct.

This new for the year Small Rivulet is a bit of a late-comer compared to last year. I had caught five already by the same date in 2010! But as I'm discovering, some species have turned up early this year compared to last, whereas some haven't appeared on the list yet that seemed common enough last year. That's what is making this year's recording so interesting!

Other interesting moths to turn up were this Double-striped Pug, which despite its size is a very pretty little moth. This Light Brown Apple Moth was huge, much bigger than those I caught last year. Well in excess of 10mm! Finally, the trap was graced with the cracking Emmelina monodactyla - a great name for a great moth. Me and Jordan always refer to this one as a girl, and we always call her Emmelina! She's been a regular in the garden for both years. Just look at those amazing wings!

Catch report for 7th August 2011 - 26 moths of 17 species (5 micros ; 12 macros)
Agriphila latristria (New for Me)
Agriphila straminella x 5
Campion
Currant Pug
Dark Arches x 2
Dipleurina lacustrata
Dotted Clay (New for Year)
Double-striped Pug
Emmelina monodactyla
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Light Brown Apple Moth
Marbled Beauty
Pale Mottled Willow
Riband Wave
Uncertain
Small Rivulet (New for Year)
Willow Beauty x 5