Broad Down - Malvern Hills

A little over a week ago I had the chance to get up to Broad Down on the Malvern Hills. This area is a little south of the Hill Fort at Herefordshire Beacon (British Camp - take your pick). It is unusual for supporting plants that would normally be found on good limestone sites. Birds foot Trefoil, and Wild Thyme are common and there is even a little Rock Rose.

Rock-rose_Helianthemum nummularium

Wild Thyme_Thymus polytrichus

The Thyme in particular supports some moth species that are not widely recorded in the county. I was looking for what used to be called Delplanqueia dilutella. It has now been split into two species D. dilutella and D.inscriptella. The more widespread of the two, in this country was thought to be inscriptella with dilutella having been confirmed from Cornwall and parts of Ireland.
The two species are said to be very similar in appearance, dilutella being usually a little larger and showing a whitish fascia in the sub-basal area of the fore wing.
Photos of previous county records suggested that the moths we see here were likely to be inscriptella but we did not have any specimens to dissect to confirm this.
I managed to disturb a couple of these moths flying low over the Thyme on Broad Down. Visually they showed no sign of a white fascia and on dissection they were a good fit with published images of inscriptella as expected. 
It is highly likely that all VC37 records of dilutella should refer to inscriptella.

Delplanqueia inscriptella_Malvern Hills-Broad Down_220716

These moths are not often seen in the county away from the Malverns, but we do have records from the Wyre, the far North West of the county (possibly wondering individuals from the Clee hills) and the south east (Bredon Hill area and in the shadow of the Broadway escarpment). 
If anyone finds one with any white near the base of the wing, do please hang onto it and let us know!

Oliver Wadsworth.

Apotomis lineana ? Dodford

Caught this micro in my MV last night and immediately knew it was something new for me. My initial thought was Celyphs woodiana because I have a number of old apple trees with mistletoe so it is "on my radar" but after a closer look I dismissed that idea.

Looking at the guide books and internet I am drawn to Apotomis lineana which seems a good fit but there do not appear to be any Worcestershire records.

Is there somthing else I'm missing?

Apologies for the poor pictures. The two on the egg boxes were taken quickly before potting and I was reluctant to take it out of the pot for a better shot as I am good at losing them when I do!

The moth is sitting on the bottom of a 12mm diameter tube to give you an idea of size

Pete Smith
Dodford

White Rocks, Great Doward, 27-07

Robin H trapped for HWT's Wildtrack event last night at the White Rocks reserve on Great Doward.
I tagged along..
Somewhere north of 100 species came to the traps by 1am, when I left. There were plenty of nice moths for people to see in the morning, including the expected Doward species, Clouded Magpie, Blomer's Rivulet, Mocha etc. Ian D showed us a couple of glow-worms also! and plenty of bats were also recorded.
Couple of pics of some pugs I hadn't seen before.

Maple Pug

Triple-spotted Pug

Haugh Wood July 22nd

I made a last minute decision to go and trap at Haugh last night. Fairly slow again, but with some interesting moths turning up. Once the moon had risen it was all stop, so I made a slightly early exit. It also got cooler than expected. Just 61 macro species (plus Minors to do) and 39 micros with a few more to id later on. Of particular interest was the arrival of a pristine Clouded Magpie, followed soon after by a Brussels Lace (both new to the site) and then a Cloaked Carpet. I had an exciting 20 minutes. Other arrivals of interest were Barred Rivulet, Double Lobed, Mocha, White-line Snout, Muslin Footman, Satin Beauty, Ebulia crocealis and Assara terebrella. Very early on I had a Lesser Stag beetle arrive, with the fantastic name of Dorcus parallelipidepus. Peter Hall

Haugh Wood: Dorcus parallelipipedus

Haugh Wood: Clouded Magpie

Haugh Wood: Cloaked Carpet

Haugh Wood: Brussels Lace (sorry for poor image)

Another Angle

Ran 2 traps in the garden last night. One until around 12.30, the other all night. Quite a good list again. 79 macros and so far 31 micros. Nice to get another Garden Tiger (3 this year), yet another Waved Black and unusually a Small Dusty Wave at the light, otherwise it was the usual fayre plus a single Angle-striped Sallow. Large Yellow Underwings are back on the increase after giving me a few days off. And like others report, Dark Arches seem to be well down in numbers. Peter Hall

Bringsty Common: Angle-striped Sallow

 

Sunrise of the 20th

Sunrise on the Wednesday morning of the 20th. One of the  added bonuses of getting up early. The moth traps had a great selection of species, not surprising with the temperature not falling below 20 degrees.
Highlights included Waved Black, Oak Eggar, Leopard moth, Pine Carpet and Crescent Plume.

Bringsty Common July 19th

980 moths of 94 macros and 60 micros recorded, with around 20 still to id, leaving a garden total of somewhere between 170 and 180 species last night. I ran 3 traps. What a lovely moth evening with balmy temperatures and that full moon obliged by hiding behind clouds for at least some of the night. I invited some of the Commoners to attend, and they enjoyed themselves very much, staying until around 1.30. I was tucked up in bed by 4am..  Peter Hall

Lured

I finally had success with those pesky pheromone lures. This time a single Red-belted Clearwing to the MYO lure, here in my garden today on Bringsty Common at around 2pm. Peter Hall

 

Least Carpet

There was a single Least Carpet in the garden trap last night when I went down to check it over around midnight. Unfortunately by this morning it had decided to move on to pastures new. Only checking the database this morning did I realise it has not been recorded in Hereford as yet...until last night. Whilst we all brace ourselves for Tuesday's hot night, last night I had a good haul of moths with 68 macro species and 34 species of micro (with a few still to id). The first Dun-bar arrived, which for me is a key indicator of "late" summer. The previous night at Brockhampton the first Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing arrived which filled me with a deep depression! NFY and of note, Dingy Shears and Dotted Clay Peter Hall

Hartlebury Common again

The Suspected was recorded on the common on friday night and I suspect this is the first record of the species for the heathland site.
My nearby garden trap produced my first Satin Beauty, also signs of Autumn with a Straw Underwing. A Black-clouded Longhorn Beetle was a first for my trap.

The Suspected



Hartlebury Common, 15th July

Rosy Footman

Bordered Pug

Four of us trapped at Hartlebury last night and although initially breezy with well broken cloud, conditions improved and we had a good selection of moths with over 100 species in my two traps.

Macros included Plain Wave, Oak Eggar, White Satin, Small Scallop and Vapourer Moth while good specimens of Rosy Footman and Bordered Pug were chosen for photographs.

A good night for micros with a handful still to determine - the best from my traps being Chionodes distinctella (2 individuals caught) and Ptycholomoides aeriferana.

Patrick Clement

Chionodes distinctella

Ptycholomoides aeriferana

Another Ruddy one

A bit like London buses, another Ruddy Carpet last night, this time at Haugh Wood, the first record there for 16 years. Despite the warm and humid conditions, it was slow going at the wood although the end total after my usual 3 hour stint with 2 mv lights, wasn't a disaster. 63 macros plus Minors to id later and 29 micro species with a number still to look more closely at. I had a single Orange Footman turn up, in immaculate condition which made me look more than twice at it. But that's what it was. Mid-summer moths like Scalloped Oak and Bordered Beauty put in appearances. Topping the macro list for numbers were Buff Footman at 58, followed by Common Emerald with 26, then Common Footman on 21. Micros were dominated by Archips xylosteana with 66 individuals followed by Epiblema (Notocelia) uddmaniana (26).

Meanwhile back home I ran a single mv light and caught almost as many species and the trap was almost full in the morning. 57 macros (plus Minors) and 31 micros with some more to id later. The mid-summer theme continued with Lunar-spotted Pinion, Slender Brindle, second generation Early Thorn and Common Rustic all turning up. Nothing unusual this time in the trap. Topping the lists were Uncertain (33), Heart & Dart (16) and for micros, Eudonia lacustrata (45) and then Chrysoteuchia culmella still appearing on good number on 32. Peter Hall

Haugh Wood: Assara terebrella

Haugh Wood: Bordered Beauty

Haugh Wood: Ruddy Carpet

Bringsty Common: Small Emerald

 

Whitchurch update

Bit of a quiet week here, although a few new ones for the garden, including Triple-spotted Clay, Sharp-angled Carpet and this nice Varied Coronet. Best of the rest Cloaked Carpet and Small Scallop. 1st Garden Tiger of the year last night!

Varied Coronet

Blakedown Update

Couple of nice records over the last week. Firstly a Chamomile Shark caterpillar on Scentless Mayweed on my patch last Monday. I have found further evidence of feeding but no more larvae thus far.

And this morning was delighted to find my first ever Rosy Footman in the garden trap.

Halesowen 9th July

Just two from over 90 species recorded in the garden trap last night.

Plum Fruit Moth, Grapholita funebrana

I had to smile when I saw this Plum Fruit Moth in the trap this morning because, although I rarely see the adult moth, the larvae normally spoil about 10% of our plums each year. This year is different however as we have no developing fruits due to the very cold April so the moths will have to look elsewhere.

Aethes rubigana

I was pleased to see Aethes rubigana again, first recorded here in 2015, hopefully attracted to my introduced Burdock plants. It is probably breeding in the seedheads though I have not wanted to disturb them so far.

Patrick Clement

Kinver Edge, Staffordshire, 8th July.

There were six traps on a warm night and although a few spots of rain had no affect, a stiff breeze probably prevented a good night turning into a great night and I was disappointed not to see the hoped for Ypsolopha lucella, we may have been a little early.
There were still plenty of moths though, my catch totalled 86 species including some nice fresh specimens to photograph.    Patrick Clement

Ypsolopha lucella, Kinver 2010

Agonopterix nervosa

Pammene fasciana

Sycamore

Plain Wave

Gypsonoma dealbana

Black Meadow, Chaddesley, 6th July

A visit proposed by Steve to target Epinotia signatana, a species previously recorded from the site but one we had not seen. Netting at dusk produced a bonus in the form of Argyresthia ivella and several Yarrow Plumes, Gillmeria pallidactyla. We ran just one trap each, positioned by the stands of blackthorn at the edge of the meadow, and recorded a good selection of moths totalling around 90 species in a couple of hours. Mission was accomplished with 5 individuals of the target species, plus Monochroa lutulentella, Apotomis capreana, Ypsolopha nemorella. Macros included several Blacknecks, 2 Rufous Minor.
Patrick Clement & Steve Whitehouse

Argyresthia ivella

Monochroa lutulentella

Yarrow Plume, Gillmeria pallidactyla

Epinotia signatana

Black Meadow

Blackneck

Queenswood 08/07/16

Hi,
Trapped with Robin H at Queenswood last night, as part of a 'bioblitz'. We blitzed the moths anyway, with 117 species by the time I left at 2AM. Robin stayed overnight and undoubtedly found lots more in the morning. I checked the garden trap when I got home and was rewarded with a Pinion-streaked Snout, which is a new one for Whitchurch I think.

Blue-bordered Carpet

Pinion-streaked Snout

Piniphila bifasciana

Scoparia basistrigalis

Willow Tortrix

Brockhampton Estate

As the night was forecast to be mild, dry but breezy I decided to venture over the road onto the Brockhampton Estate, trapping in my usual spot near to Holy Dingle. It certainly didn't feel especially busy and I managed about 6 chapters of my book during quieter times. However, the end tally surprised me as I recorded 73 macro species (317 moths) and to date 37 micro species (215 moths) with quite a lot to id later on. Of interest to me were Blomer's Rivulet of course (14), lots of Barred Red (14), my first Slender brindle of the year (although there was another in the garden trap this morning), Satin Beauty (1), White Satin (1) and just a solitary Triple-spotted Clay (compare that to the garden last night where I had 6). Just looking at the penultimate egg tray and underneath was a pleasant surprise. It was a Ruddy Carpet. After John's excellent posting, this was really nice. About to pot it for a photo, a Large Yellow Underwing collided with it as only they can and off it went into the ether. I stayed an extra half hour just in case it returned and was rewarded with it flying back in just as I was giving up hope. Peter Hall

Brockhampton Estate: Ruddy Carpet

Moths from the Far East (well Bringsty Common)

I think last night was the first night with reasonable numbers for the year. In total I caught 465 moths with the split being 66 macro species (271 moths) and so far 25 micros (194 moths) with a good half dozen or so micros still to id (plus Minor aggs). So with luck I will break the hundred barrier for the first time this year. I'm still getting good numbers of Triple-spotted Clay (4) and so far all of my Burnished Brass have been either without the band linking the 2 metallic strips or at best a very narrow one, meaning they are all chrysitis rather than the new stenochrysis, which is supposedly in the UK. Most of the Golden Y's here have been Beautiful, rather than Plain, but I recorded my second Plain of the year last night and it helpfully sat next to a Beautiful, so I've uploaded it as a comparison, which may help people. Topping the numbers game was again Chrysoteuchia culmella at 74, followed by Eudonia (Dipleurina) lacustrata with 23. Lower numbers of Heart & Dart (16) and Large Yellow Underwings (16) for a nice change, with the most abundant macro being the Uncertain (21) and my first Rustics appeared last night also (2). Nice records (for me at least) was my first Suspected (1) of the season and another Minor Shoulder-knot (1). I find Yellow Shells will start coming to light around now (although they have been out and about for quite a while) and caught my first in the moth trap last night. Peter Hall

Bringsty Common: Burnished Brass

Bringsty Common: Minor Shoulder-knot

Bringsty Common: Mottled Rustic

Bringsty Common: Triple-spotted Clay

Bringsty Common: Beautiful Golden Y (left), Plain Golden Y (right)