Garden mothing

Ran garden trap last night and quite a few early arrivals included Waved Umber, Water Carpet, Streamer and Purple Thorn. Best micro was ocellana. 14 species wasn't a bad haul.

Bringsty Common March 30th

Unable to go farther afield, I ran one trap in the garden on an unusually mild night, although it got a little breezy later into the night with an odd shower thrown in. Minimum temperature was 11.1 around 2am. 20 species recorded, of which 4 were micro-moths. Most surprising was a Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella. Phyl, is this the earliest record for Herefordshire?

The trap contained the usual crew. Brindled Beauty numbers are on the up. My first Lunar Marbled Brown of the year. Early and Purple Thorn and then singletons of Alucita hexadactyla, Acleris hastiana and Diurnea fagella. Peter Hall

Bringsty Common: Nomophila noctuella

 

Monkwood Leaf Mines I

Last mid-October Oliver Wadsworth kindly accompanied me around Monkwood NR looking for leaf mines on a variety of trees and shrubs. Alder and Sallow leaves (and other species) were then stored on slightly damp kitchen roll in see-through containers outside in a cold but dry rabbit hutch in the garden.


The various containers were all brought into the garage for a week in early February and the majority then moved again into a warm office mid-month. Two superb but visually quite different male Phyllonorycter rajellas (one below) emerged on 21st February.

Next day a Phyllonorycter hilarella was next to come out of Sallow. (see below)

A Phyllonorycter dubitella followed from Sallow on 25th February (see below).

 Also on the 26th a typically dark male Phyllonorycter stettinensis emerged from Alder followed by an orange form female on the 27th. (both below)

Finally two superb Phyllonorycter klemannellas both with deep orange 'crests' came out of the alder on 1st and 2nd of March. (one below)

Photographs of most adult moths by Patrick Clement. The process is still on going with 3 more species emerging by mid-March part II to follow

Halesowen, 18th March

 Two from the garden trap last night. The first Diamond-back of 2017, which is about as good as it gets for migrants here - since 2006 anyway!
Also an early White-pinion Spotted.

Patrick Clement

Diamond-back Moth, Plutella xylostella

White-pinion Spotted, Lomographa bimaculata

Agonopterix ocellana

Agonopterix ocellana

Slightly worse for wear having been around all winter, I think this is only my second record of the species in my garden here at Halesowen. Caught last night in the actinic trap.

Patrick Clement

Bringsty Common March 15th

Freshly back from my long trip to the sub-continent, and enthusiastic after a lovely Spring day, I decided to run one moth trap down the garden. Temperatures dropped quickly and the 17 achieved late afternoon quickly became 10 at dusk and finally dropping to 3.4 a short while before dawn.

I recorded 14 species, with Clouded Drab topping the frequency list at 32, followed by Common Quaker at 18 and Hebrew Character with 16. Small Quaker (8), Early Grey (5), Oak Beauty (5), Red Chestnut (4), White-marked (3), Twin-spotted Quaker (2) and then individuals of Shoulder Stripe, March, Grey Shoulder-knot, Pale Pinion and Brindled Pug. If my maths is correct 98 moths in total. Peter Hall

Bringsty Common: Egg boxes quite "busy"

Bringsty Common: Red Chestnut

Bringsty Common: Shoulder Stripe

Bringsty Common: Small Quaker

 

Pine Beauty

Pine Beauty

Returning home from Chaddesley Wood, I checked the garden trap and was pleased to find a Pine Beauty on the rain guard. Just my second record for the garden, presumably attracted by my neighbour's Scots Pine.

Patrick Clement

Chaddesley Woods NR

A first outing of the year on the 10th March to Chaddesley for Patrick Clement, Stuart and myself under clouding skies, calm and 12.5 degrees C at dusk. 22 species were recorded by 22:30 including highlights of The V-Pug, 6 Shoulder Stripe and 7 Red Chestnut.

The V-Pug by Patrick Clement

Twin-spotted Quaker, several Engrailed and Yellow Horned, 2 Ypsolopha ustella and 6 Semioscopis avellanella. Numbers of Noctuids remained low with only a single Satellite. Other notables were Small Brindled Beauty, 2 Oak Nycteolines, 2 Brindled Pugs and a large gathering of March Moth around the far trap.

Semioscopis avellanella by Steve Whitehouse

Shoulder Stripe by Steve Whitehouse

The Engrailed by Patrick Clement

Red Chestnut by Steve Whitehouse



Acleris Cristana

Another variation from  Norchard, Worcs from last March. Things starting to pick up here with 5 Oak Beauty's this morning, and the first Clouded Drab of the season.