High Summer

My weather station recorded a low last night of 2.4 degrees Celsius. We are in July?Peter Hall

Tiger time

Better late than never to the party, hi everyone.

 Last Saturday I discovered a Scarlet Tiger feasting on the underside of one of my Buddleia flowers. This was the first I have ever recorded in my garden or my surrounding  local patch, rather pleased.

In the trap this morning (MV ) I had 75 moths of 23 species. Quality was high though with my first ever Ruby Tiger, a species I was really keen to record.

The second macro lifer out the trap was White Satin.

 In August 2013 I recorded Waved Black, and the second record was lurking this morning.

On the Micro front, I recorded  Lozotaeniodes formosana, like many micros, previously unknown to me. Unfortunately it legged it this afternoon as I tried to snap it and is currently at large in the house somewhere, a pretty moth though.
A nice list boosting session

Upton Warren

A return visit to the Moors Pool reedbeds (after several years for me) saw most of the 'sought-after macros' but slightly disappointing for micros last Tuesday night in reasonable overcast, humid conditions. 2 Double Lobed, 6 Brown-veined Wainscots, 3 Silky Wainscots, 2+ Southern Wainscots, Obscure Wainscot, 2 Crescents, Waved Black, Large Twin-spot Carpet, Pinion-streaked Snout, Round-winged Muslin, 3 Aroga velocellas and 4+ Mompha ochraceelas the pick of 96 species. Steve Whitehouse

Upton Warren: Brown-veined Wainscot

Upton Warren: Crescent

Upton Warren: Double Lobed

Haugh Wood July 20th

I joined up with Robin Hemming and together we ran 5 mv lights at Haugh Wood, in the lower sections away from the persistent breeze. Robin stayed all night and these results are from when I packed up and from my 2 white Robinsons only. I still have minors to do, but macros came to a nice 72 species including plenty of Rosy Footman (18) along with my first Least Yellow Underwing of the year, Minor Shoulder-knot (3), Barred Rivulet (2), Muslin Footman (3) and a new one for me: White-line Snout (2). Micros recorded so far come to 37 species with around another 15 to add later. It wasn't a busy night, but the moths came in steadily, tailing off around 1am when I began to pack up. Hornet workers are out now, so that provided some entertainment. Peter Hall

Haugh Wood: Barred Rivulet

Haugh Wood: Muslin Footman

Haugh Wood: Small Emerald

Haugh Wood: White-line Snout (in a dirty tube)

Garden mothing

Just thought I'd publish my moth species for this year. Normally I would expect to record 300 species of macros and 200 of micros every year. So far in 2015, I have recorded 232 species of macro and 154 species of micro. How is everyone else doing? Over the last couple of years, numbers and species lists have been below average.
Over the weekend of 17th-19th July, I had about 120 species in the garden, NFY were White-line Dart, Waved Black, Shark, Sallow Kitten, Drinker and Oak Eggar, plus lutealis, lunaris, hellerella, Honeysuckle, Gold Triangle, falsella and roborana. Other notable records were Coronet, 2 Varied Coronet, Sycamore, Barred Straw, Small Emerald, Dwarf Cream Wave, Gothic, Rush Veneer and suavella.
Ian Machin

Childswickham garden 16/7/15

Trapping on the night of the 16th I ended up with a very respectable 120 species.
Around 45 of these were micros. There was one migrant of note - Small Mottled Willow. Clay Triple Lines was an unexpected find and a very fresh Recurvaria leucatella was worth a photo.

Small Mottled Willow

Recurvaria leucatella

A week or so ago I found an intriguing folded Honeysuckle leaf which held a small tortrix larva. This emerged the other day as Acleris Forsskaleana. The food plant is usually Acer family trees so I imagine this one was blown or knocked off a nearby maple and ended up pupating where it landed in the Honeysuckle.

Acleris forsskaleana

Oliver Wadsworth

Reslaw Wood July 1st

On July 1st Rick Benson-Bunch and George Davis trapped three Esperia oliviella at Reslaw Wood which I believe is just in Herefordshire very close to the Gloucestershire border. As far as I know these are the first in VC36.
Robin Hemming

Reslaw Wood: Dasycera (Esperia) oliviella

Pine Hawk-moth

Has anyone had a report of Pine Hawk in Herefordshire this year? One battered specimen turned up in my moth trap in Colwall on Tuesday night (along with 15 Elephants - bit of a squash). Phyl King

Another Dot on the map?

Just an update from the garden here. Drizzling like crazy last night and I debated whether to run the light or not and then just before midnight I thought I'd take a quick look and if little happening I'd switch it all off. There were plenty of moths flying around so it stayed on. Reasonable list of macros in the end at 67 species, but micros were in short supply at just 14 species ( total numbers were good, but dominated by Chrysoteuchia culmella, Eudonia lacustrata and Pleuroptya ruralis). NFY were Double Lobed, Cinnabar and a female Oak Eggar. And I had so many Dot moths...35 to be precise. Peter Hall

Bringsty Common: Another Dot on the map

Bringsty Common: Double Lobed (inside a tube)

Bringsty Common: Garden Tiger

Bringsty Common: female Oak Eggar

Bringsty Common: Cinnabar





Bringsty Common July 12th

Bringsty Common: Leopard

I put just the 1 trap out last night because of the rain forecast. When I popped down to take a peak at midnight, I ended up staying for about 90 minutes, there were so many moths about. I now wish I'd put 2 or even 3 out. 43 micro species so far identified with quite a few to look at later in the year and 91 macro species excluding the Minors and Common Rustic potential Lessers. With my grammar school education  I make that 134 species so far. Total moths came to 688, with Heart & Dart topping the list at 61, followed by Large Yellow Underwing at 43 and Uncertain at 42. Most interesting was a single True Lover's Knot. There was a Scarce Silver Line that came and went and no fewer than 7 Triple Spotted Clay. The lawn was seemingly alive with Buff Arches bouncing around the outside of the trap alongside many Acentria ephemerella flapping in the short grass. Migrants were uninspiring with a single noctuella and 2 Silver Y. Peter Hall

Another Small Marbled

My garden trap has been very busy the last two nights with 117 species. Highlight was my second garden record of Small Marbled, plus garden tick Rush Veneer. Many new for the year moths including micros: ochrodactyla, glaucinalis, podana, consociella, and macros: Plain Golden Y, Dunbar, Grey Arches, Small Clouded Brindle, Phoenix, Varied Coronet, Single-dotted Wave, Slender Pug, Miller and Barred Straw. If anyone wants to see the Small Marbled, I'll keep it for a short while-let me know.
Ian Machin

Bird's Wing

Trapped in a friend's garden on edge of Malvern Hills last night. Very pleased to get Waved Black, Shears and my first Bird's Wing. My friend was very impressed with the Garden Tiger. Phyl King

Bird's Wing, Colwall

 

Small Marbled

I was surprised to find this Small Marbled moth in the Robinson this morning. It is the first for the garden at Norchard, and about the fifth or sixth for Worcestershire. While I was photographing it this afternoon I noticed a Hummingbird Hawkmoth feeding on my buddliah. Mike Southall

Bringsty Common July 6th

It was pretty breezy, but as it was so mild, I stuck a trap out just in case. 57 macro species and just 17 micros, but NFY were Single Dotted Wave, Minor Shoulder-knot, Slender Brindle, Pinion-streaked Snout, Lunar-spotted Pinion and a pristine Waved Black.

Bringsty Common: Waved Black

Peter Hall

Comments

I've just deleted another Indian spam comment (we've had 3 now in the past couple of weeks) so have reluctantly decided to restrict comments to blog members only. This shouldn't affect things much at all. Peter Hall

Red-belted Clearwing

What an unlikely find on a window inside the kitchen of a Ross-on-Wye house! Phyl King

Red-belted Clearwing D. Thomson

 

 

Gem

Female Gem to the garden at Norchard last night. Plus another Small Mottled Willow, 2 Silver Y, and 4 Diamond-backs down as migrants. A Dark Spectacle was also caught. Mike Southall

Small Mottled Willow

Two here at Norchard Worcs,

last night, making seven for the season so far. A Rush Veneer was the only other migrant. Mike Southall

Lunar Hornets



Last August I spotted an old established Sallow on a nearby Worcester housing estate which appeared to have some ancient-looking black holes near the base. Two weeks ago it looked the same but yesterday a quick visit immediately revealed a mating pair of Lunar Hornet Clearwings in cop about a metre up the main trunk. I 'rescued' them from potential danger - being a busy pathway and watched them on a stick in a jar for over two hours before they separated naturally. Kept them cool and calm overnight and returned them today once the rain stopped. A closer inspection of the tree found loads of fresh frass on one side about 10 inches above the ground, some complete exuvia cases and many more fragmented ones proving several adults had already emerged this summer. A few years ago a well known sallow at Weston-Super Mare, which had produced many LHM over a long period was found to have been petro-torched by some ignorant soles believing they were wasps or hornets............so I will try not to draw too much attention to this Worcester colony as there are still many idiots amongst us who have no respect whatsoever for nature!





Worcester: Female Lunar Hornet Clearwing

Worcester: Sallow tree base

Worcester: Lunar Hornet Clearwings
 



Hurcott, Wed 1st July

An interesting night at Hurcott where the temperature was still 19.5° at 2.00 a.m. We were plagued by flies, unsurprisingly, the closer to the water the worse it was, but a very good haul of micros - can't make my mind up if that was due to the excellent weather conditions or the site, maybe both. Just a taste below.

A visit by four police officers, following reports of 'bright lights and strange goings on' was added interest, my third such 'brush with the law' when out moth-ing. Aren't they young these days, thought they were school kids on works experience. I'm not getting old am I?   Patrick Clement

Bucculatrix cidarella

Pammene regiana

Monopis obviella

Box Worm in Childswickham

The night of the 29th broke all my garden records - I am on C130 sp. with a few still to determine.
The main excitement was this fine moth - 1409a Cydalima perspectalis - the Asian Box Worm moth. A shame it is such a pest of Box trees.
New to Britain in 2008 but it is now turning up more regularly. Mine is, I think, the 4th for Gloucestershire. It has not yet been seen in Worcestershire.

Oliver Wadsworth.

Bringsty Common update

Bringsty Common: Sycamore

I ran 3 mv lights in the garden last night for a change and lit up the common. Well I think the moon may have done that anyway. I'm sure it reduced the catch considerably. I ran it like I was out and about, monitoring continuously then going through and packing up around 01.30 rather than leave running all night. Mainly for the purpose of catching more of the micros, which have usually flown off come morning-time (at least by the time I get up). By the time I finished packing up it was starting to get light in the East anyway.

I can't believe I'm still counting (thanks Mister Wilton), but the tally came to 1075 moths, of 150 species split 54 micros and 96 macros, with some Pugs still to id and a range of micros, mainly Coleophorids and Cnephasia's. Despite the good numbers, nothing to excite much, but it was good to see a Sycamore for the second night running. Triple-spotted Clays continue to do well and a rarity - a Small Dusty Wave at the mv light rather than the house window. Peter Hall

Busy, busy at Haugh Wood

I think we've all been excited about this brief warm spell and with temperatures forecast to drop no lower than 20, and with Robin elsewhere, I ran 2 mv lights at Haugh last night. I chose a slightly different location to where we've been trapping this season mainly due to the moon and breeze. When I began packing up at 01.30, it was still 18, so warm enough to get most things that can fly, to get airborne. 87 species of macro (with Pugs and Minors to add on later), with Light Emerald topping the frequency at 86 individuals, of varying sizes and colour, closely followed by Small Yellow Wave at 79. It was busy and micros in abundance for a nice change, currently at 36 species but with quite a lot to id later in the year. Of particular interest for me at least was a single Poplar Lutestring, Rosy Footman just beginning to emerge (3) and the most Red-necked Footman moths in a single night at 5...busy wandering around aimlessly as they do. Peter Hall

Haugh Wood: Alabonia geoffrella

Haugh Wood: Rosy Footman

Haugh Wood: Tortrix viridana