Is it really July?

Another fairly disappointing night with an indication of how few moths I could expect in the morning as only 10 moths were potted before I called it a night at 2330hrs. Normally I can manage about 30! I think the large gusty breaths of fresh air would have kept things clinging on for dear life, rather than paying me a visit. So I guess it's the best I could manage!

However, having said it was disappointing there are always highlights and this time the trap yielded my first two Clay for the year. The one on the left was a tatty little devil, so obviously they've been around for a while. The guy on the right looked pretty fresh and much more easy to id!

One of my favourite moths turned up last night too - Buff Arches. One moth that I never fail to find fascinating. It's colour and patterns are truly beautiful, and I cannot fathom how evolution gave it these amazing ornamentations!

Left is a moth that I think I must have overlooked last year due to it's tiny size, but I've caught 3 this year so far. It is a nicely marked little guy called Bryotropha domestica, but is little bigger than the nib of my pen!  This plume moth to the right is causing me a little confusion. There has been a couple of options put forward on back-garden-moths.co.uk. Either Stenoptilia bipunctidactyla or S. milleridactyla. I initially thought it was the regular Emmelina monodactyla, but it was much smaller and doesn't seem quite right. I'd appreciate anyone with experience of these species putting their ideas forward!

Catch report for Saturday 23rd July - 38 moths of 20 species (8 micros; 12 macros)

Agriphila straminella
Bryotropha domestica
Buff Arches
Clay x 2 (New for Year)
Common Rustic agg
Currant Pug
Dark Arches x 10
Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix
Dipleurina lacustrata
Stenoptilia sp. (potentially New for Me)
Eudonia mercurella x 3
Heart and Dart x 4
Marbled Beauty
Nutmeg
Riband Wave
Shuttle-shaped Dart x 4
Swammerdamia pyrella
Uncertain
White-shouldered House-Moth
Willow Beauty

Much more still tonight, so I'm going to try again and see what a difference it makes. However, have just noticed that one of the neighbours has lit a huge bonfire and my garden is downwind!