Lindfield Moth Diary - March ’08

e-mail: moths@littlesnails.com

Friday 31 March 2008

Weather: Cool, partly cloudy, light wind.

Day 263… Back in action on what promised to be a reasonably good night. So come the morning the contents of the trap were a little bit of a disappointment, a case of more of the same except, and I’m sticking my neck out a bit here, a Lead-coloured Drab. It does seem to fit the descriptions but I'm still firmly of the opinion that life would be so much simpler if there was only one species of Quaker oh, and Rustic too, er… and Chestnut and all the rest. Yes I hear you say, but it wouldn’t be a tenth as much fun or interesting. What is needed is a thorough and definitive website where all the different species that can be confused with one another can be compared side by side as an aid to identification… That to me, sounds like a really good idea, perhaps the Sussex Branch of Butterfly Conservation should do something about it… The catch was as follows:

Noctuidae

12 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
1 Lead-coloured Drab Orthosia populeti Fabr.
6 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
3 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
3 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.
1 The Chestnut Conistra vaccinii Linn.

Lead-coloured Drab(?)

Saturday 29 - Sunday 30 March 2008

Having been laid low by some sort of bug over the weekend I'm kind of glad it coincided with a spell of foul weather of the sort that would have meant I wouldn’t have put the trap out anyway.

Friday 28 March 2008

Weather: Cold, clear most of night, rain around dawn, windy.

Day 262… A night of few moths and those that took the trouble to get caught were not exactly the most surprising or unusual - am I sounding a little too excited?. The catch was as follows:

Noctuidae

5 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
1 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
1 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
1 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.

Thursday 27 March 2008

Weather: Mild and very wet to start, cool and clear later, light wind.

Day 261… A marginal increase in variety last night, even if the trap did get a complete drenching and was still sodden this morning. Highlights were 6 Early Greys (a record for one night) and two very fresh Oak Beauty (same as on this night last year). The catch was as follows:

Oecophoridae

1 March Tubic Diurnea fagella D. & S.

Geometridae

2 Oak Beauty Biston strataria Hufn.

Noctuidae

18 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
5 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
1 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
5 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
6 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.

Wednesday 26 March 2008

Weather: Cool, patchy cloud, light wind.

Day 260… Aha! the first anniversary. I’ve been looking forward to this moment as now, hopefully, we’ll start to see some patterns emerge by being able to compare catches with those of last year, and maybe go some way to proving what a dreadful year 2007 really was for moths. Not a terribly auspicious start though, quite a few moths but not very much variety with which to celebrate. The catch was as follows:

Noctuidae

17 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
5 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
3 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
4 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
1 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.

Tuesday 25 March 2008

After last night’s no show, the chances of catching anything seemed slim, and as another cold wet night was in prospect I didn’t bother trying.

Monday 24 March 2008

Weather: Cold, mostly clear, slight frost light wind.

Day 259… The first night of trapping this spring proved to be a triumph of misguided optimism over reason. I think it’ll take a few days of milder weather before it’s going to be worth putting the trap out again, here’s hoping eh…(?)

Friday 21 - Sunday 23 March 2008

February was, apparently, the sunniest on record, March should, I imagine, be in contention for the most miserable (well probably not, it just feels like it). We’ve had rain, snow, near gale force winds, frosts and unsurprisingly no trapping.

Thursday 20 March 2008

Weather: Cold, clear, slight frost light wind.

Day 258… Oh well… The catch was as follows:

Noctuidae

5 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
1 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.

Wednesday 19 March 2008

Weather: Cold, mostly clear, light wind.

Day 257… There wasn’t a frost at least but, nevertheless, the conditions were still ideal for attracting an entirely uninspiring selection of moths. The catch was as follows:

Noctuidae

8 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
4 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
1 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
2 Twin-spotted Quaker Orthosia munda D. & S.
1 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
1 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.

Tuesday 18 March 2008

Weather: Cold, thin, patchy cloud, slight frost, still.

Day 256… Just the sort of night where catching anything is a bonus and to get another Yellow Horned makes it doubly so. I think you’ll agree this particular Yellow Horned must rate as the world’s most elaborately coiffured moth. The catch was as follows:

Thyatiridae

1 Yellow Horned Achlya flavicornis Linn.

Noctuidae

2 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
1 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
2 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.

Some hair style…

Monday 17 March 2008

Just too wet - still.

Sunday 16 March 2008

Weather: Mild, continual steady rain, still.

Day 255… After referring to the BBC’s weather website I was assured it was to be an almost completely dry night. By the morning I was becoming concerned that the river might break its banks and wash the trap away! After squelching through the mud in the pouring rain this morning to see what had been captured, I found an uninspiring collection of the seasonal usuals, quite a few , especially Small Quakers, but certainly nothing new. The catch was as follows:

Oecophoridae

1 March Tubic Diurnea fagella D. & S.

Noctuidae

30 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
9 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
1 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
1 Twin-spotted Quaker Orthosia munda D. & S.
6 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.

Saturday 15 March 2008

Weather: Mild, damp, occasional drizzle, misty, still.

Day 254… Another fine night for moths (but not necessarily for people) which did the trick and brought them out in similar numbers to those of last night. It occurred to me that yesterday’s Tawny Pinion was only the second member of the genus Lithophane that we’ve seen (the first being Blair’s Shoulder–knot (Lithophane leautieri) which we saw back in the autumn). And then, what happens? - We get another one! a Grey Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri) - just like busses I guess… I have to confess that I nearly didn’t notice it, assuming it was an Early Grey and only giving it a second glance while I was emptying the trap (doh!). The catch was as follows:

Oecophoridae

1 March Tubic Diurnea fagella D. & S.

Tortricidae

1 Acleris notana Donovan

Pterophoridae

2 Beautiful Plume Amblyptilia acanthadactyla Hb.

Geometridae

1 March Moth Alsophila aescularia D. & S.
1 Dotted Border Agriopis marginaria Fabr.
1 Shoulder-stripe Anticlea badiata D. & S.

Noctuidae

29 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
9 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
2 Twin-spotted Quaker Orthosia munda D. & S.
8 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
1 Grey Shoulder-knot Lithophane ornitopus ssp. lactipennis Dadd

Grey Shoulder-knot

Friday 14 March 2008

Weather: Mild, light drizzle most of the night, still.

Day 253… I was fairly optimistic when I put the trap out last night, OK everything was already sopping wet and I knew the trap would get a good soaking too but it just felt like it was going to be a good night. And it was, 64 moths and 14 species including a new species, the first for this month; a Tawny Pinion, a relatively uncommon moth by all accounts. We also had a new form (or aberration depending on your source) of a familiar species, a Twin-spotted Quaker f. immaculata (A No-spotted Quaker?). The catch was as follows:

Oecophoridae

3 March Tubic Diurnea fagella D. & S.

Tortricidae

1 Acleris literana Linn.

Pterophoridae

1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla Linn.

Geometridae

1 March Moth Alsophila aescularia D. & S.
1 Shoulder-stripe Anticlea badiata D. & S.

Noctuidae

26 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
10 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
3 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
1 Twin-spotted Quaker Orthosia munda D. & S.
1 Twin-spotted Quaker Orthosia munda (f. immaculata) Stdgr.
11 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
1 Tawny Pinion Lithophane semibrunnea Haw.
1 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.
1 The Chestnut Conistra vaccinii Linn.
2 Dark Chestnut Conistra ligula Esp.

Tawny Pinion Twin-spotted Quaker f. immaculata

Thursday 13 March 2008

Weather: Cool, mostly clear, light wind.

Day 252… Calmer winds than of late and clear skies equals a not very exciting night of mothing. There really doesn’t seem to be a lot going on at the moment, with very few exceptions the catch is always just a slightly varied selection of the same set of moths, and more often than not, 13 or 14 Small Quakers in amongst them. The catch was as follows:

Oecophoridae

2 March Tubic Diurnea fagella D. & S.

Tortricidae

1 Rhomboid Tortrix Acleris rhombana D. & S.

Geometridae

1 Dotted Border Agriopis marginaria Fabr.

Noctuidae

14 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
4 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
2 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
1 The Chestnut Conistra vaccinii Linn.

Wednesday 12 March 2008

Weather: Cool, clear spells with intermittent showers, very windy.

Day 251… Suffering a bit as I was from moth withdrawal I grabbed the opportunity of a dry night, ignored the impending near gale force winds, and whipped the trap out. Not much to show for it but there was something at least. The catch was as follows:

Geometridae

1 Dotted Border Agriopis marginaria Fabr.

Noctuidae

4 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
1 Twin-spotted Quaker Orthosia munda D. & S.
4 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
1 The Chestnut Conistra vaccinii Linn.

Sunday 09 - Tuesday 11 March 2008

Pretty dire weather really, what was (supposedly) the worst storm of the winter proved to be a bit tame, nevertheless it still proved to be too wet and windy to contemplate any trapping.

Saturday 08 March 2008

Weather: Cool, clear at first, overcast later, windy.

Day 250… The cool, mostly clear conditions only served to reduce the numbers of moths that were lured into the trap. What we did catch was a mixture of the usuals for the time of year with one fairly notable exception, a Shoulder-stripe, not terribly unusual I know, but it was only the second we’ve caught and it is a striking looking moth. It is also high time March had a photo and if the weather forecast is to be believed I’m not sure I’m going to be doing any trapping for the next few days, in which case there’s little chance that anything else is going to brighten this place up for a while! The catch was as follows:

Oecophoridae

1 March Tubic Diurnea fagella D. & S.

Geometridae

1 Dotted Border Agriopis marginaria Fabr.
1 Shoulder-stripe Anticlea badiata D. & S.

Noctuidae

14 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
7 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
2 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
1 Twin-spotted Quaker Orthosia munda D. & S.
4 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
1 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.

Shoulder-stripe

Friday 07 March 2008

Weather: Mild, overcast, increasingly windy.

Day 249… The pre-dawn rain that was forecast was late in arriving which came as a relief as the trap avoided another soaking. Lots and lots of moth in the night’s catch - biggest of the year so far - though, yet again and a little disappointingly, there was nothing new. I’ve just spent a little too long establishing the identity of one of the two tortricids and concluded it was another Sallow Button, which if that is what it is, means it’s a little late as it is apparently an autumn flying species (I guess it’s post hibernation). The catch was as follows:

Oecophoridae

2 March Tubic Diurnea fagella D. & S.
1 Agonopterix heracliana Fabr.

Tortricidae

1 Rhomboid Tortrix Acleris rhombana D. & S.
1 Sallow Button Acleris hastiana Linn.

Pterophoridae

1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla Linn.

Geometridae

2 March Moth Alsophila aescularia D. & S.
1 Pale Brindled Beauty Apocheima pilosaria D. & S.
2 Dotted Border Agriopis marginaria Fabr.

Noctuidae

34 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
13 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
2 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
5 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
4 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.

Thursday 06 March 2008

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

Day 248… Big improvement in the conditions brought in a bit more variety, nothing new though. I was a bit disappointed when a larger and very darkly marked March Tubic turned out to be just that. The catch was as follows:

Oecophoridae

1 March Tubic Diurnea fagella D. & S.

Pterophoridae

1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla Linn.

Geometridae

1 March Moth Alsophila aescularia D. & S.
1 Pale Brindled Beauty Apocheima pilosaria D. & S.

Noctuidae

12 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
15 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
1 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
7 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
1 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.

Wednesday 05 March 2008

Weather: Cold, clear, frosty, light wind.

Day 247… Pretty much a repeat of yesterday’s performance but with a few slight changes in the line-up. The catch was as follows:

Noctuidae

14 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
1 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
2 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
1 Twin-spotted Quaker Orthosia munda D. & S.

Tuesday 04 March 2008

Weather: Cold, clear, frosty, light wind.

Day 246… Given the far from ideal conditions, I wouldn’t have been in the least surprised if the trap had been entirely empty this morning. Admittedly there wasn’t much variety but at least some moths had bothered to show up. The catch was as follows:

Noctuidae

13 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
1 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
1 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
2 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.

Monday 03 March 2008

Weather: Chilly, light cloud cover, fairly windy.

Day 245… A cooler night but at least the wind seemed to have abated a little. Nevertheless the Orthosia show continues undiminished I’m pleased to say. The catch was as follows:

Oecophoridae

1 March Tubic Diurnea fagella D. & S.

Noctuidae

13 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
6 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
1 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
8 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
1 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.

Sunday 02 March 2008

Weather: Mild, clear to start becoming overcast, windy.

Day 244… Still windy, but the moths don’t seem to care too much. Not quite as many this morning but a bit more variety than yesterday. The catch was as follows:

Oecophoridae

1 March Tubic Diurnea fagella D. & S.

Tortricidae

1 Winter Shade Tortricodes alternella D. & S.

Geometridae

2 Pale Brindled Beauty Apocheima pilosaria D. & S.
1 Oak Beauty Biston strataria Hufn.

Noctuidae

5 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
4 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
1 Clouded Drab Orthosia incerta Hufn.
2 Twin-spotted Quaker Orthosia munda D. & S.
5 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.

Saturday 01 March 2008

Weather: Mild, steady rain, clearing later, very windy.

Day 243… Because of the very windy and wet conditions I placed the trap in a more sheltered spot and it seemed to pay off, nothing new but a fair few moths nonetheless. After yesterday’s catch I thought the Dotted Borders might well be coming to the end of their season as it was a very worn specimen we caught, this morning’s one though, was as fresh as the proverbial daisy. The catch was as follows:

Tortricidae

1 Winter Shade Tortricodes alternella D. & S.

Pterophoridae

1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla Linn.

Geometridae

1 Dotted Border Agriopis marginaria Fabr.

Noctuidae

25 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
5 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
4 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
1 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.