July catch up Part 1

Almost a month since my last post so not too sure where to start. I guess a quick review of garden traps would be the best place. July sort of improved midmonth so the trap was out almost every other night with some good results

12th July - 79 of 36 species with highlights being a garden first Eucosma hohenwartiana, and year firsts in the form of Scalloped Oak and Bud Moth




13th July - 62 of 23 species with highlights being year first Grey Dagger agg. and Engrailed






Things then started to improve with 15th July bringing 124 of 46 species, but a fairly boring catch with the only first being new for year Common Rustic.

16th July - 93 moths of 36 moths with highlights being year first Udea prunalis and Bird-cherry Ermine and a return of an Elephant Hawk





17th July - a much better night with 174 of 54 moths, highlights being year firsts of Agriphila straminella, Smoky Wainscot, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Buff Arches, Barred Straw, Catoptria pinella, Paraswammerdamia nebulella, Water Veneer, Batia unitella and Gothic! Phew!

 21st July - possibly my most exciting find...a Scarlet Tiger in the garden. Apparently it's a first for Derbyshire, but is in all likelihood going to be an escape from someone imported plants? Who knows, but I shall bask in its beautiful markings nonetheless and thank it for gracing my little patch! (PS: it's not dead, it's just a bit cold! It flew off happily the following evening)

I also managed two further garden firsts. This Shark was a very surprising find at the bottom of the trap, and this Scoparia basistrigalis was an interesting spot amongst the other Scopariids, easy to spot when placed next to ambigualis but not sure I'd pick it out otherwise!

In addition to these beauties, I also got year firsts in the form of Varied Coronet, Eucosma cana and Codling Moth

Rest of July to follow soon...

Catch up - Monday and Friday nights

After a bonanza on Monday night I was left spending all my spare time on Tuesday photographing and listing. I was then away on the Isle of Wight for a disastrous trip which involved my truck breaking down and having to spend all day waiting for the (very knowledgable and friendly) guys from Stag Lane Motors to tow me back to their garage and hopefully get it fixed.

So, finally I have managed to id all my micros from Monday, 7 new ones for me, a new for Garden record (Bird-cherry Ermine) and a further 6 new species for the year.

Here are the new visitors:

Bucculatrix thoracella	Batia unitella	Apodia bifractella
Horse Chestnut Leaf-Miner	Scoparia subfusca	Helcystogramma rufescens
Pine Leaf-mining Moth

This Bird-cherry Ermine (left) was the first for my garden following a record from elsewhere last year. This Rosy Rustic (right) was my second garden record and the first for this year. This moth is a real cracker, but the photo doesn't do it justice (don't I say that about most of my photos?)


Catch report for Monday 1st August 2011 - 236 moths of 62 species (36 micros; 26 macros)
Acleris forsskaleana x 2
Acrobasis consociella (New for Year)
Agapeta hamana
Agriphila straminella x 47
Agriphila tristella x 4
Apodia bifractella (New for Me)
Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix
Batia unitella (New for Me)
Bird-cherry Ermine x 2 (New for Garden)
Blastobasis adustella x 2 (New for Year)
Bright-line Brown-eye
Brimstone x 2
Brown House-Moth x 7
Bryotropha affinis x 3
Bryotropha domestica x 3
Bryotropha senectella
Bryotropha terrella x 2
Bucculatrix nigricomella
Bucculatrix thoracella (New for Me)
Bud Moth x 3
Campion
Carcina quercana
Catoptria pinella
Chrysoteuchia culmella
Clepsis consimiliana x 3
Codling Moth
Common Carpet x 3
Common Footman
Common Rustic agg x 7
Copper Underwing
Dark Arches x 8
Diamondback Moth
Dipleurina lacustrata x 31
Dun-bar
Eudonia mercurella x 7
Flame Shoulder
Heart and Dart
Helcystogramma rufescens (New for Me)
Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner (New for Me)
Large Yellow Underwing x 9
Lesser Yellow Underwing x 3 (New for Year)
Marbled Beauty x 24
Marbled Minor agg.
Mottled Rustic
Orchard Ermine (New for Year)
Pine Leaf-mining Moth (New for Me)
Pseudargyrotoza conwagana
Riband Wave x 10
Rosy Minor
Rosy Rustic (New for Year)
Ruby Tiger x 4
Scoparia ambigualis x 6
Scoparia subfusca (New for Me)
Shuttle-shaped Dart
Single-dotted Wave
Small Phoenix
Trachycera advenella x 2 (New for Year)
Udea lutealis x 2
Uncertain
Water Veneer x 3
Willow Beauty x 4
Yellow Shell

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Friday night wasn't quite such a roaring success as Monday, with temperatures down, and clearer skies. I was also out on the town for the night which meant that I wasn't patrolling the sheds and sheets so only a few were potted when i came home a little intoxicated!

87 moths of 20 species (6 micros; 14 macros) was a poor showing, but highlights included my second record this year of Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, this very well marked Pale Mottled Willow, and a not so well marked Shaded Broadbar. Micros included two more Agriphila tristella.