Bringsty Common March 30th

 What an amazing day after such a long and cold winter. It stayed warmer into the night than forecast and the moths responded.  22 species and listed in no particular order: Frosted Green (1), Early Thorn (2), Small Quaker (19), Common Quaker (10), Twin-spotted Quaker (1), March (5), Engrailed (1), Shoulder Stripe (2), White-marked (4), Early Grey (2), Water Carpet (2), Oak Beauty (1), Pale Pinion (1), Clouded Drab (3), White-spotted Pug (1), Brindled Beauty (1), Early Tooth-striped (1), Brindled Pug (1), Chestnut (4), Diurnea fagella (1), Acleris literana (1) and 2 Caloptilia yet to be determined. The White-spotted Pug is early, so just to be absolutely certain, I've retained it for a closer loook. Peter Hall

Bringsty Common: Pale Pinion

 

 I took a pheremone lure, (MOL) to Grafton Wood (the Hereford one) today. In a brief period of sunshine one moth came in, a Pammene giganteana. Quite a distinctive moth when it was fulttering around the trap as it has silvery white hindwings with a black border. This is a particularly dark individual, most have a prominent white horseshoe mark. Peter informs me that this is the first county record since 1988!

Tuesday looks like a much better day weatherwise so I will have another go then, and maybe find a brighter individual.

Not much in my Hereford garden but the Powdered Quakers have started to arrive this week.

Bringsty Common update

I ran a Robinson trap here in the garden on the 23rd and caught the usual batch of moths plus a single female Lead-coloured Drab. This is the first record for me of this species here and then on the 25th, I caught my second one, this time a male. Spurred on by Penny's Scarlet Tiger larval records I gave my comfrey a better search and despite it being quite a small amount of comfrey, counted 111 larvae on it, mostly basking in the sunshine. Peter Hall

Bringsty Common: Lead-coloured Drab female

Bringsty Common: Lead-coloured Drab male

 

Trench Wood 23rd March

The first proper survey with MV lights was helped by cloud rolling in at 20:15. The Lead-coloured Drab colony is obviously still doing well with 4 in by 23:20. A Dotted Chestnut, 6 Red Chestnut, 2 Shoulder Stripe, 2 Engrailed, March Moth, Early Thorn, 4 Oak Beauty, Early Grey, 8 Twin-spotted Quaker, 2 Brindled Pug, a Yellow Horned, one Acleris cristana and lots of Diurnea fagella.

Scarlet Tiger Larvae Mansell Gamage

 I am seeing Scarlet Tiger larvae in my garden now, on comfrey.

Micros in mid March at Berkeley Pendesham

The garden Robbo 'all-nighter' on 15th had Diurnea fagella, Agonopterix alstromeriana plus what I call the 'Bourneville and White Chocolate' version of Acleris cristana all NFY along with

2 Beautiful Plumes.

Bringsty Common March 15th

Last night was quite good for moths and moth numbers. I have no idea why, it was 6 degrees by midnight. Here's the list (in no particular order): March moth (4), Hebrew Character (15), Yellow Horned (4), Twin-spotted quaker (2), Shoulder Stripe (1),  Early Grey (7), Small Quaker (35), Clouded Drab (4), Common Quaker (5), Herald (1), Chestnut (5), Oak Beauty (5), Red Chestnut (5), Pale Brindled Beauty (1), Dotted Border (3), Agonopterix alstromeriana (1) and Agonopterix ciliella (1). This last one is a male and I'll confirm via dissection later, but it is reddish, larger than usual heraclianas and has 5 nice lines on the hindwing cilia. I get it here quite regularly. I make that 17 species.  Peter Hall

Bringsty Common: March moth

Bringsty Common: Shoulder Stripe

Bringsty Common: Herald

Bringsty Common: Yellow Horned

Bringsty Common: Agonopterix alstromeriana

Bringsty Common: Small Quaker

 

Bringsty Common March 9th 2021

 A slightly warmer night and the wind didn't pick up until after midnight and so the window of opportunity meant I recorded 8 species in the garden and I think most were in the trap by midnight. In no particular order, Yellow Horned (4), Oak Beauty (4), Satellite (1), Common Quaker (7), Small Quaker (3), Hebrew Character (1), Chestnut (1) and Small Brindled Beauty (1). On the garage wall acouple of days ago an Early Grey and in my study today, yet another Mompha sturnipennella. Peter Hall

Bringsty Common: Oak Beauty

Bringsty Common: Satellite

Bringsty Common: Small Brindled Beauty

Bringsty Common: Small Quaker

Bringsty Common: Yellow Horned

 

 

The State of Britain’s Larger Moths 2021 report

 The State of Britain’s Larger Moths 2021 report is now available here.

Regards

Peter

Elephant Hawk-moth Mark/Recapture project

Please read the attached pdf file about this project and let Martyn know if you want to join in the fun

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15CiK6v6cgftqKmskA2WyqOLqR1LV_Ma1n6zEqcsif0Q/edit

 Regards

Peter on behalf of Martyn Davies