Friday 31 May 2019

Mullein

I grow Verbascum thapsus (Great Mullein) in the garden here on Bringsty Common exclusively for Mullein moth caterpillars to feed on. It never seems to fail and this year I am blessed with 31 caterpillars on most of the 6 plants here and they are from first instar through to 3rd instar at the moment and the plants are just starting to looka bit ragged from the feeding. Peter Hall
Back garden Bringsty Common


 

Thursday 23 May 2019

White-barred Clearwing

Spurred on by a sighting in North Bucks a few days ago, I went to the site at Dymock Forest armed with my TIP lure and managed to attract 5 males in total. Looking at other records for the site, I may have been slightly early for peak numbers, but nice to see it there nonetheless. Peter Hall
Dymock Forest: White-barred Clearwing

Dymock Forest: White-barred Clearwing
 

Sunday 19 May 2019

Bringsty Common May 17-18th 2019

Bringsty Common: Shuttle-shaped Dart
Bringsty Common: Purple Bar

Bringsty Common: Broken-barred Carpet

Bringsty Common: Cream Wave


Slightly warmer night temperatures coaxed out the moth trap again, although it is a bit hit and miss if the moon appears. The last 2 nights have produced 46 species of Macromoth and to date 4 species of Micro with a couple to look at more closely. Not too bad overall.
Here's a list for the past 2 days:

Vernacular Taxon
Twenty-plume Alucita hexadactyla
  Anania fuscalis
Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata
Brindled Pug Eupithecia abbreviata
Broken-barred Carpet Electrophaes corylata
Brown Silver-line Petrophora chlorosata
Buff Ermine Spilosoma lutea
Chocolate-tip Clostera curtula
Clouded Border Lomaspilis marginata
Clouded-bordered Brindle Apamea crenata
Common Carpet Epirrhoe alternata
Common Pug Eupithecia vulgata
Common White Wave Cabera pusaria
Cream Wave Scopula floslactata
Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta
Green Carpet Colostygia pectinataria
Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica
Iron Prominent Notodonta dromedarius
Knot Grass Acronicta rumicis
Least Black Arches Nola confusalis
Lime Hawk Mimas tiliae
Maiden's Blush Cyclophora punctaria
May Highflyer Hydriomena impluviata
Muslin Diaphora mendica
Notocelia cynosbatella  
Nut-tree Tussock Colocasia coryli
Oak-tree Pug Eupithecia dodoneata
Orange Footman Eilema sororcula
Pale Tussock Calliteara pudibunda
Pebble Hook-tip Drepana falcataria
Peppered Biston betularia
Poplar Hawk Laothoe populi
Purple Bar Cosmorhoe ocellata
Red Twin-spot Carpet Xanthorhoe spadicearia
Rustic Shoulder-knot Apamea sordens
Scalloped Hazel Odontopera bidentata
Scoparia ambigualis  
Seraphim Lobophora halterata
Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum
Shuttle-shaped Dart Agrotis puta
Silver Cloud Egira conspicillaris
Silver-ground Carpet Xanthorhoe montanata
Small Phoenix Ecliptopera silaceata
Spectacle Abrostola tripartita
Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica
Vine's Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua
Waved Umber Menophra abruptaria
White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda
White-pinion Spotted Lomographa bimaculata
White-spotted Pug Eupithecia tripunctaria

Wednesday 1 May 2019

Bucculatrix cristatella

Bucculatrix cristatella is a very small dull grey moth that is rarely seen as an adult. The feeding signs of the larvae are quite subtle too. We have very few records of the moth but it is one species that is almost certainly under-recorded.

Feeding signs on Yarrow
Signs can be found now on new growth Yarrow fronds. Look for browned tips to the leaves and then for the pale white-ish ribbed cocoon and the smaller white silk blobs that are the remains of temporary moulting habitations. There are other causes of the brown leaf ends so you really need a cocoon to be sure of the record.
B.cristatella - Cocoon on Yarrow.
To give you some idea of scale, the cocoon is about 3mm long.



Oliver Wadsworth