e-mail: moths@littlesnails.com

mob: 07769 652528

Location (All records unless otherwise stated): TQ 348 248.

Description: Well stocked garden in Lindfield, West Sussex. There are small shrubs, apple trees and herbaceous perennials. Small areas of the garden are allowed to grow wild but these are also planted with spring flowering bulbs. The garden also now has a pond, dug at the beginning of May ’08, and is rapidly becoming established though more vegetation is still needed. Behind the garden is a small river on the other side of which are allotments all of which are tended.

Close by though not in the garden are Ash, Oak, Alder, Birch, Maple, Hazel, Willow, Sallow, Hawthorn and Lime. The allotments are surrounded by hedges containing a variety of plants.

Nearby is a nature reserve with a wide variety of habitats but mostly mixed woodland and water meadow. Open farmland starts within about 200m from the garden.

Trap: Skinner Type with 40W Actinic light source.

Principle reference sources:
Waring & Townsend’s "Field Guide to the Moths of the Britain and Ireland".
Bernard Skinner’s "Moths of the British Isles".
Butterfly Conservation - Sussex Branch’s Moth Galleries
Ian Kimber’s UKmoths.org.uk

Invaluable Assistants: Phoebe (11) and Lucas (8).

2007:
December |  November |  October |  September |  August |  July |  June |  May |  March & April

2008:
January |  February |  March |  April |  May → Dorset |  June |  July

Thursday 28 August 2008

Weather: Very mild, overcast, breezy.

Day 389… The Large Yellow Underwing record has fallen again, it now stands at 149. What little room that was left in the trap was occupied by a fairly similar selection to that of yesterday, but there was another new species, this time a little easier to be confident about its identification, a Black-dotted Groundling.

Last night, soon after it was fully dark (about 21:30) I took a wander around the garden and amongst the moths I found nectaring on various flowers (Verbena bonariensis, Scabious and Buddleia) were 5 Mother of Pearl yet not one in the trap this morning, I can’t help but be intrigued as to what else there is that’s not hanging around. The catch was as follows:

Yponomeutidae

• 2 Golden Argent Argyresthia goedartella Linn.

Gelechiidae

• 1 Black-dotted Groundling Stenolechia gemmella Linn.

Oecophoridae

• 3 Brown House-moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella Stain.
• 2 Long-horned Flat-body Carcina quercana Fabr.

Tortricidae

• 6 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker
• 3 Common Marble Celypha lacunana D. & S.
• 1 Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana Hb.

Pyralidae

• 6 Common Grass-veneer Agriphila tristella D. & S.
• 8 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea Haw.

Geometridae

• 1 Maiden’s Blush Cyclophora punctaria Linn.
• 3 Garden Carpet Xanthorhoe fluctuata Linn.
• 1 Common Carpet Epirrhoe alternata Müll.
• 1 Sharp-angled Carpet Euphyia unangulata Haw.
• 4 Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata Haw.
• 2 Light Emerald Campaea margaritata Linn.

Lymantriidae

• 1 Vapourer Orgyia antiqua Linn.

Arctiidae

• 2 Hoary Footman Eilema caniola Hb.

Noctuidae

• 7 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 149 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Linn.
• 2 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Noctua janthe Borkh.
• 3 Small Square-spot Diarsia rubi View.
• 4 Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum Linn.
• 2 Six-striped Rustic Xestia sexstrigata Haw.
• 12 Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa D. & S.
• 1 Cabbage Moth Mamestra brassicae Linn.
• 1 Common Wainscot Mythimna pallens Linn.
• 1 Copper Underwing Amphipyra pyramidea Linn.
• 1 Angle Shades Phlogophora meticulosa Linn.
• 2 Common Rustic Mesapamea secalis Linn. (or Poss. Lesser Common Rustic Mesapamea didyma Esp.)
• 8 Vine’s Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua D. & S.
• 1 Pale Mottled Willow Paradrina clavipalpis Scop.
• 1 Silver Y Autographa gamma Linn.
• 1 Straw Dot Rivula sericealis Scop.

Wednesday 27 August 2008

Weather: Very mild, overcast, still.

Day 388… It’s very frustrating not trapping when you just know the weather is just right, at least it stayed just right for when we got back. In fact, conditions were so right we managed to break our Large Yellow Underwing record, which now stands at 114. In amongst these prolific moths was a reasonably good selection of other species, nothing too exciting except for our first of the second generation of Light Emerald and the one new species; a Wainscot Smudge, well, as is the case with most of these tiddlers, this is my best guess, based mainly on visual appearance but also relative abundance. The catch was as follows:

Yponomeutidae

• 1 Wainscot Smudge Ypsolopha scabrella Linn.
• 1 Diamond-back Moth Plutella xylostella Curt.

Blastobasidae

• 1 Dingy Dowd Blastobasis lignea Walsingham

Oecophoridae

• 1 Brown House-moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella Stain.

Tortricidae

• 1 Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis corylana Fabr.
• 9 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker
• 1 Red-barred Tortrix Ditula angustiorana Haw.
• 2 Common Marble Celypha lacunana D. & S.
• 2 Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana Hb.

Pyralidae

• 1 Straw Grass-veneer Agriphila straminella D. & S.
• 7 Common Grass-veneer Agriphila tristella D. & S.
• 4 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea Haw.
• 1 Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis Treit.
• 1 Rosy Tabby Endotricha flammealis Zell.
• 1 Grey Knot-horn Trachycera advenella Zinck.

Geometridae

• 1 Maiden’s Blush Cyclophora punctaria Linn.
• 1 Garden Carpet Xanthorhoe fluctuata Linn.
• 1 Sharp-angled Carpet Euphyia unangulata Haw.
• 1 Lime-speck Pug Eupithecia centaureata D. & S.
• 1 Wormwood Pug Eupithecia absinthiata Cl.
• 4 Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata Haw.
• 1 Clouded Border Lomaspilis marginata Linn.
• 1 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.
• 1 Light Emerald Campaea margaritata Linn.

Arctiidae

• 1 Hoary Footman Eilema caniola Hb.

Noctuidae

• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart Agrotis puta Hb.
• 9 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 114 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Linn.
• 1 Lesser Yellow Underwing Noctua comes Hb.
• 5 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Noctua janthe Borkh.
• 1 Small Square-spot Diarsia rubi View.
• 10 Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum Linn.
• 2 Six-striped Rustic Xestia sexstrigata Haw.
• 15 Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa D. & S.
• 2 Copper Underwing Amphipyra pyramidea Linn.
• 3 Common Rustic Mesapamea secalis Linn. (or Poss. Lesser Common Rustic Mesapamea didyma Esp.)
• 1 Uncertain Hoplodrina alsines Brahm
• 4 Vine’s Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua D. & S.
• 2 Straw Dot Rivula sericealis Scop.

Saturday 23 - Tuesday 26 August 2008

Family trip to Devon, didn’t take the trap and the weather wasn’t perfect either but did see one or two beasts of interest.

Friday 22 August 2008

Weather: Mild, mainly overcast, light showers, almost completely still.

Day 387… All a bit disappointing really, the conditions seemed pretty good but not only did we catch few moths than the previous night we had a much smaller number of Large Yellow Underwing too. The catch was as follows:

Tortricidae

• 2 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker

Pyralidae

• 14 Common Grass-veneer Agriphila tristella D. & S.
• 2 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea Haw.

Pterophoridae

• 2 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla Linn.

Geometridae

• 2 Sharp-angled Carpet Euphyia unangulata Haw.
• 2 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.
• 1 Canary-shouldered Thorn Ennomos alniaria Linn.
• 1 Scalloped Oak Crocallis elinguaria Linn.
• 2 Willow Beauty Peribatodes rhomboidaria D. & S.

Arctiidae

• 1 Hoary Footman Eilema caniola Hb.

Noctuidae

• 6 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 43 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Linn.
• 3 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Noctua janthe Borkh.
• 11 Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum Linn.
• 1 Six-striped Rustic Xestia sexstrigata Haw.
• 5 Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa D. & S.
• 1 Marbled Beauty Cryphia domestica Hufn.
• 1 Copper Underwing Amphipyra pyramidea Linn.
• 1 Common Rustic Mesapamea secalis Linn. (or Poss. Lesser Common Rustic Mesapamea didyma Esp.)
• 7 Straw Dot Rivula sericealis Scop.

Thursday 21 August 2008

Weather: Mild, occasional heavy showers, windy.

Day 386… Looking at the records for this time last year, I couldn’t help being more than a little surprised by the similarity of the upward trend in the plots for Large Yellow Underwing with numbers for this year and last year being an almost exact match day by day, with a sudden upward trend over the past few days. Extrapolating the data it wasn’t too difficult to predict that the number in the trap this morning should be around about the sixty mark. When Loobi and I opened the trap this morning, it didn’t look like there was too much in there but, huddled behind every egg-tray and out of sight were dozens and dozens of you know whats, after a careful count we found 90 in total. So maybe, the stats don’t quite work in that they slightly underestimated the numbers we’d get this morning but they certainly gave us a good idea of what we were in for. Despite all this it was a little disappointing to find no new species amongst the 180 or so moths in the trap, there again had it not been for just four species we’d only have caught about fifty moths. The catch was as follows:

Hepialidae

• 1 Orange Swift Hepialus sylvina Linn.

Yponomeutidae

• 2 Hawthorn Moth Scythropia crataegella Fabr.

Blastobasidae

• 1 Dingy Dowd Blastobasis lignea Walsingham

Oecophoridae

• 2 Brown House-moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella Stain.

Tortricidae

• 3 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker
• 4 Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana Hb.

Pyralidae

• 1 Straw Grass-veneer Agriphila straminella D. & S.
• 12 Common Grass-veneer Agriphila tristella D. & S.
• 3 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea Haw.
• 1 Wax Moth Galleria mellonella Linn.

Pterophoridae

• 1 Beautiful Plume Amblyptilia acanthadactyla Hb.
• 2 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla Linn.

Geometridae

• 1 Flame Carpet Xanthorhoe designata Hufn.
• 1 Garden Carpet Xanthorhoe fluctuata Linn.
• 1 Common Carpet Epirrhoe alternata Müll.
• 2 Sharp-angled Carpet Euphyia unangulata Haw.
• 1 Cypress Pug Eupithecia phoeniceata Ramb.
• 1 Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata Haw.
• 2 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.

Noctuidae

• 3 Shuttle-shaped Dart Agrotis puta Hb.
• 20 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 90 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Linn.
• 10 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Noctua janthe Borkh.
• 1 Least Yellow Underwing Noctua interjecta Hb.
• 4 Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum Linn.
• 2 Six-striped Rustic Xestia sexstrigata Haw.
• 1 Copper Underwing Amphipyra pyramidea Linn.
• 1 Dark Arches Apamea monoglypha Hufn.
• 1 Common Rustic Mesapamea secalis Linn. (or Poss. Lesser Common Rustic Mesapamea didyma Esp.)
• 1 Flounced Rustic Luperina testacea D. & S.
• 2 Vine’s Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua D. & S.
• 1 Pale Mottled Willow Paradrina clavipalpis Scop.
• 3 Straw Dot Rivula sericealis Scop.

Wednesday 20 August 2008

Weather: Mild, mainly overcast, one or two very light showers, very light wind.

Day 385… It feels like things are getting a little bit back to normal, firstly and most importantly I’ve managed to catch up with myself with the writing of this diary and secondly we had a good night with the moths and some interesting species for a change. A couple of Cypress Pug and a Yellow-barred Brindle would have enough to satisfy me but we had three new species too. The first of these and certainly the easiest to identify was a Wax Moth, this is a species which as far as I’m concerned really makes a mockery of the term "micro" it being, with the obvious exception of the Large Yellow Underwing, one of the largest moths in the trap this morning. The other two new species were a touch more problematic, one is I believe, a Yellow-triangle Slender, though it apparently requires gen. det. to be sure it’s not, the only recently described, New Oak Slender. The final new species I’m pretty confident is a Marbled Conch, which reminds me, one of my slight gripes with "Porter’s Vernaculars" is what I perceive as the over-use of the adjective "Marbled", especially amongst the tortricids, surely there must be alternatives, blotchy? dappled? pied?… As I was looking up the Marbled Conch in the book, I had already resigned myself to the certainty of it being a "Marbled" something or other even before I had found it. The catch was as follows:

Gracillariidae

• 1 Yellow-triangle Slender Caloptilia alchimiella Sc.

Yponomeutidae

• 1 Hawthorn Moth Scythropia crataegella Fabr.

Blastobasidae

• 1 Dingy Dowd Blastobasis lignea Walsingham

Oecophoridae

• 2 Brown House-moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella Stain.
• 2 White-shouldered House-moth Endrosis sarcitrella Linn.

Tortricidae

• 1 Marbled Conch Eupoecilia angustana Hb.
• 2 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker
• 1 Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana Hb.

Pyralidae

• 1 Inlaid Grass-veneer Crambus pascuella Linn.
• 2 Straw Grass-veneer Agriphila straminella D. & S.
• 3 Common Grass-veneer Agriphila tristella D. & S.
• 2 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea Haw.
• 1 Common Grey Scoparia ambigualis Treit.
• 1 Garden Pebble Evergestis forficalis Linn.
• 3 Mother of Pearl Pleuroptya ruralis Scop.
• 1 Wax Moth Galleria mellonella Linn.
• 1 Grey Knot-horn Trachycera advenella Zinck.

Pterophoridae

• 1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla Linn.

Geometridae

• 1 Riband Wave Idaea aversata f. remutata Linn.
• 2 Flame Carpet Xanthorhoe designata Hufn.
• 2 Sharp-angled Carpet Euphyia unangulata Haw.
• 2 Cypress Pug Eupithecia phoeniceata Ramb.
• 1 Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata Haw.
• 1 Yellow-barred Brindle Acasis viretata Hb.
• 1 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.

Arctiidae

• 1 Hoary Footman Eilema caniola Hb.

Noctuidae

• 2 Shuttle-shaped Dart Agrotis puta Hb.
• 6 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 29 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Linn.
• 8 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Noctua janthe Borkh.
• 1 Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum Linn.
• 1 Six-striped Rustic Xestia sexstrigata Haw.
• 1 Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa D. & S.
• 1 Marbled Beauty Cryphia domestica Hufn.
• 2 Copper Underwing Amphipyra pyramidea Linn.
• 4 Common Rustic Mesapamea secalis Linn. (or Poss. Lesser Common Rustic Mesapamea didyma Esp.)
• 6 Vine’s Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua D. & S.
• 1 Pale Mottled Willow Paradrina clavipalpis Scop.
• 1 Straw Dot Rivula sericealis Scop.

Tuesday 19 August 2008

Weather: Mild, showery rain, very windy.

Day 384… I’ve begun to have wistful memories of "Summer ’07", at least by last August things had started looking up a bit. The only positive thing that can be said of last night’s weather was that it was just a little warmer than it’s been over the past few nights but everything we caught in the trap was surely only blown in there by accident. The only thing of any great interest was our first [Lindfield] White-point of the year, possibly a native rather than immigrant? The catch was as follows:

Blastobasidae

• 1 Dingy Dowd Blastobasis lignea Walsingham

Tortricidae

• 7 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker
• 1 Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana Hb.

Pyralidae

• 2 Straw Grass-veneer Agriphila straminella D. & S.
• 3 Common Grass-veneer Agriphila tristella D. & S.
• 1 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea Haw.
• 2 Small Purple and Gold Pyrausta aurata Scop.

Pterophoridae

• 1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla Linn.

Geometridae

• 2 Sharp-angled Carpet Euphyia unangulata Haw.
• 1 Lime-speck Pug Eupithecia centaureata D. & S.
• 1 Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata Haw.
• 1 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.
• 1 Scalloped Oak Crocallis elinguaria Linn.

Noctuidae

• 11 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 22 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Linn.
• 4 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Noctua janthe Borkh.
• 1 Six-striped Rustic Xestia sexstrigata Haw.
• 1 Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa D. & S.
• 1 White-point Mythimna albipuncta D. & S.
• 2 Common Rustic Mesapamea secalis Linn. (or Poss. Lesser Common Rustic Mesapamea didyma Esp.)
• 1 Uncertain Hoplodrina alsines Brahm
• 1 Vine’s Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua D. & S.
• 1 Straw Dot Rivula sericealis Scop.

Monday 18 August 2008

Weather: Cool, steady rain after midnight, windy.

Day 383… Withdrawal symptoms after just one night prevented me from not putting the trap out even though the forecast was no better than it was for the night before. It felt slightly milder than of late but it was also much windier. There wasn’t anything of any great note in the trap other than what appears to be another flavour of Grey Poplar Bell. The catch was as follows:

Lyonetiinae

• 1 Apple Leaf Miner Lyonetia clerkella Linn

Blastobasidae

• 1 Dingy Dowd Blastobasis lignea Walsingham

Tortricidae

• 1 Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis corylana Fabr.
• 4 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker
• 1 Grey Poplar Bell Epinotia nisella Cl.
• 2 Marbled Piercer Cydia splendana Hb.

Pyralidae

• 2 Straw Grass-veneer Agriphila straminella D. & S.
• 4 Common Grass-veneer Agriphila tristella D. & S.
• 1 Elbow-stripe Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea Haw.
• 1 Small Purple and Gold Pyrausta aurata Scop.

Pterophoridae

• 1 Beautiful Plume Amblyptilia acanthadactyla Hb.
• 2 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla Linn.

Geometridae

• 1 Garden Carpet Xanthorhoe fluctuata Linn.
• 1 Common Carpet Epirrhoe alternata Müll.
• 1 Sharp-angled Carpet Euphyia unangulata Haw.
• 1 Lime-speck Pug Eupithecia centaureata D. & S.
• 3 Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata Haw.
• 5 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.
• 1 Willow Beauty Peribatodes rhomboidaria D. & S.

Noctuidae

• 1 Turnip Moth Agrotis segetum D. & S.
• 3 Shuttle-shaped Dart Agrotis puta Hb.
• 10 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 13 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Linn.
• 5 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Noctua janthe Borkh.
• 1 Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum Linn.
• 1 Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa D. & S.
• 2 Common Rustic Mesapamea secalis Linn. (or Poss. Lesser Common Rustic Mesapamea didyma Esp.)
• 1 Uncertain Hoplodrina alsines Brahm
• 6 Vine’s Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua D. & S.
• 2 Straw Dot Rivula sericealis Scop.

Sunday 17 August 2008

Weather: Cool, wet, light breeze.

The forecast suggested we were due more rain than we actually received, nevertheless the amount of rain still vindicated my decision not to put the trap out.

Saturday 16 August 2008

Weather: Cool, clear at first clouding over by morning, breezy.

Day 382… Really not the sort of weather you’d expect or hope for in mid August and another disappointing catch resulted. The most interesting thing we found was a Rush Veneer, another immigrant, but like the others we’ve seen more by luck than by judgement I’d think. The catch was as follows:

Lyonetiinae

• 1