A quick catch up from over the weekend. I trapped both nights as I'm off on holiday next week and needed to get my fix of mothing in whilst the weather was promising. I also managed to replace my Actinic tube, so we're back in business! And Saturday proved that Actinic beats BLB hands down with 4 new for the garden and one new for the year.
This smashing Limespeck Pug was on my list since last year when I caught one elsewhere so I'm chuffed that I've got one on the garden list now! It's such a fine looking fellow! This tiny moth is Caloptilia syringella, another new for the garden.
Another new nicro for the garden list. This one is Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix. Right is a moth I saw in Devon last year, by chance a female (like this one) was flapping around the campsite. It's one I never expected to see in the garden, so I'm very pleased with this record!
Finally, this Garden Rose Tortrix was new for the year. Last year I caught nine, so I guess there'll be more of these to come!
Catch report 13th August 2011 - 123 moths of 42 species (20 micros; 22 macros)
Agriphila inquinatella x 5
Agriphila straminella x 14
Agriphila tristella x 12
Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix x 2
Blastobasis adustella
Brimstone
Brown House-Moth x 2
Bryotropha domestica
Caloptilia syringella (New for Garden)
Campion
Carcina quercana
Catoptria falsella
Celypha striana
Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix (New for Garden)
Chrysoteuchia culmella x 2
Clay
Common Carpet
Common Marbled Carpet
Common Rustic agg x 6
Copper Underwing agg. x 2
Dark Arches x 3
Dipleurina lacustrata x 2
Double-striped Pug
Emmelina monodactyla
Eudonia mercurella
Garden Carpet x 3
Garden Rose Tortrix (New for Year)
Large Yellow Underwing x 20
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing x 6
Light Brown Apple Moth
Limespeck Pug (New for Garden)
Marbled Beauty x 4
Orange Swift (New for Garden)
Riband Wave
Scoparia ambigualis
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Shuttle-shaped Dart x 2
Spectacle
Square-spot Rustic x 2
Twenty-plumed Moth
Willow Beauty x 11
Yellow Shell
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Sunday was slightly cooler than Saturday with a little more breeze, so when I went out to pot up whatever moths there were I had quite a surprise. As I stood watching I could hear the flapping of something BIG in the hedgerow over the trap. It got louder and then started crashing round the sheds. I shone the torch on it and thought initially it must be some sort of Hawk-moth due to it's size. My heart was in my mouth as it came tantalisingly close to the trap but swung off at the last minute, so I got myself a large pot and chased after it. I lost it in the beans, but then it came round the back of me and round to the light again this time landing in the hedge. I quickly potted it and after a short while it calmed down and I could get a look at it!
A bit battered admittedly - but a brilliant record of Old Lady! Look at the size of it compared to Jordan's hand...
The only other couple of highlights were Lesser Yellow Underwing almost lost in its larger cousins. This Flounced Rustic (right) is only the second garden record so it was a nice sight after going through eggbox after eggbox of Willow Beauties, 19 in total!
Catch report for 14th August 2011 - 72 moths of 25 species (10 micros; 15 macros)
Agriphila inquinatella x 3
Agriphila straminella x 7
Agriphila tristella x 9
Amblyptilia acanthadactyla
Blastobasis adustella
Brimstone
Campion
Copper Underwing agg.
Currant Pug x 3
Dipleurina lacustrata
Double-striped Pug
Emmelina monodactyla
Eudonia mercurella
Flounced Rustic (New for Year)
Garden Carpet x 2
Garden Rose Tortrix
Large Yellow Underwing x 5
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing x 3
Lesser Yellow Underwing
Marbled Beauty x 3
Old Lady (NEW FOR ME!)
Scoparia ambigualis x 2
Shuttle-shaped Dart
Square-spot Rustic x 2
Willow Beauty x 19
Droughts, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes - they're all natural disaster events that have happened previously, yes they have a catastrophic aftermath, but it is, after all, nature. I learned of a scheme just today where the effects of a limestone river drying up during the dry season, through the very natural phenomenon of the water finding it's way through the cracks and fissures underground instead of running on the surface like a 'proper river', were being "remedied" by concreting the river bed. Tourism was the reason - it won't look good if the river isn't there! Can you imagine the effects of ensuring the river is flowing all year?
