This moth is always Poplar

Getting a Hawk is always a heart-thumping moment, so it was great to see the year's second Poplar Hawk in the trap this morning. And a lovely fresh one at that. This is only the 3rd for the garden too, so a nice surprise to find. I do love it's fantastic anti-predator colouration which doesn't quite go as far as the brazen Eyed Hawk but remains subtle and matches the rest of it's delicate grey smokiness. I was pleased at capturing its 'face' in the photo of it perched on my finger. A real classy moth!

I have to report the sad demise for a new garden micro I'm afraid. I got so excited at seeing a Caloptilia species land on the perspex that I was a bit too heavy handed in potting him up...and managed to squish him slightly. As the photo shows it was only minor body damage but it was enough to finish the poor guy off! Still he goes down with the great accolade of being a Ripley garden first - you may be gone, but you will always be in our thoughts Caloptilia stigmatella...RIP.

Other good moths for the night were year firsts of Small Phoenix, Common Rustic and Mother of Pearl in addition to the second Ruby Tiger of the year (albeit rather battered) and Early Thorn.
There was also a distinct lack of the terrible twosome - Heart and Dart & Dark Arches.










The full list consists of 58 moths of 35 species (16 Micros/19 Macros)

Agriphila straminella x4
Bee Moth x2
Blastodacna hellerella
Brown House-Moth x2
Cabbage Moth
Caloptilia stigmatella (New for me)
Campion
Celypha lacunana x2
Celypha striana
Chrysoteuchia culmella x3
Clepsis consimiliana
Common Footman
Common Rustic agg x3 (NFY)
Dark Arches x5
Dipleurina lacustrata x3
Double Square-spot
Dun-bar
Early Thorn
Eudonia mercurella x2
Heart and Dart
Large Yellow Underwing x3
Marbled Beauty
Marbled Minor agg.
Mother of Pearl x2
Neosphaleroptera nubilana
Poplar Hawk-Moth
Ruby Tiger
Scalloped Oak
Scarce Footman
Scoparia ambigualis x3
Small Phoenix (NFY)
Smoky Wainscot
Twenty-plumed Moth
Uncertain x2