Last Weekend

A weekend camping trip into Herefordshire found us close to Haugh Wood and although our mothing activities were fairly relaxed we did run a 15 watt actinic on the  campsite and carried out some daytime netting.

After 12 years moth recording I finally trapped not one, but two Garden Tigers, both a bit worn but great to see nevertheless. Brussels Lace was another good macro I don’t often see and the actinic recorded over 60 species, almost certainly a campsite record for us.

Daytime netting was less productive but I did have Pammene gallicana in Haugh Wood, a new species for me and fairly scarce in the county.

Seeing Fleabane in flower at Broadmoor Common, I looked for feeding signs of Ptocheuusa paupella but without success. However, as we were passing close to Castlemorton Common on the way home we stopped off to search there, a known site for the species. The distinctive feeding signs, raised florets in the flower head, were very easy to find and a few were taken to hopefully rear through to adults. Sam did well to also pot a small micro she saw on the Fleabane, a pristine Apodia bifractella.

Patrick Clement

Campsite with Haugh Wood behind.

One of two Garden Tigers

Brussels Lace

Pammene gallicana

Ptocheuusa paupella, feeding signs.

Apodia bifractella