e-mail: moths@littlesnails.com

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

2008:
Back to most recent entry. | January | February | March | April | May → Dorset | June | July | August | September | October

Thursday 31 May 2007

Weather: Cool, clear start partly cloudy later, windy.

Day 55… A big improvement on recent nights but still far from ideal.

Out with Lucas to inspect the trap at about 07:30, it was a mild and overcast morning so we were expecting to see a little more than of late and lo and behold there was a reasonable selection of moths for us to examine including a new species (the first for some time): a Shoulder-striped Wainscot. The full catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 Common Marbled Carpet Chloroclysta truncata Hufn.
• 2 Willow Beauty Peribatodes rhomboidaria D. & S.

Arctiidae

• 1 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.
• 2 Buff Ermine Spilosoma luteum Hufn.

Noctuidae

• 11 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 The Shears Hada plebeja Hufn.
• 1 Shoulder-striped Wainscot Mythimna comma Linn.
• 2 Common Wainscot Mythimna pallens Linn.
• 1 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Linn.
• 1 Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum Linn.

Tortricidae

• 1 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker

Shoulder-striped Wainscot

Wednesday 30 May 2007

Weather: Cold, light rain, overcast, windy.

Day 54… I only put the trap out because there was little likelihood of rain - the conditions otherwise were about as poor as you can get at this time of year, the forecast suggested the possibility of a ground frost though I think the cloud cover came early enough to prevent it happening. Catch (if you can call it that) was as follows:

Noctuidae

• 5 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 Vine’s Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua D. & S.
• 1 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.

Monday 28 & Tuesday 29 May 2007

Weather: Possibly the worst, most vile, foul and disgusting Whitsun Bank Holiday in history!

Total washout - maximum daytime temperature on Monday was 7°C and the rain was almost incessant.

Sunday 27 May 2007

Weather: Cool, dry to start rain later, windy.

Day 53… I put the trap out on the hope rather than expectation of a dry night. The rain did hold off until sometime after midnight but it certainly did arrive. Loobi and I weren’t out until about 08:00 and it was absolutely hosing it so I grabbed all the electrical bits, got those inside then took the still assembled trap into the garage where we examined its contents. We found the fore wing of a Puss Moth at the bottom of a fence post near the trap - its owner having presumably provided a substantial meal for a bird also, the Iron Prominent that I saw sitting on the outside of the trap late last night had was no longer there.

The Emperor Moth Larvae continue to thrive - not a single casualty yet and this morning they started moulting for the second time. They seem to be growing at a prodigious rate and are now averaging 6.5 days per instar.

Catch was as follows:

Arctiidae

• 1 Buff Ermine Spilosoma luteum Hufn.

Noctuidae

• 14 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum Linn.

Yponomeutidae

• 1 Plutella porrectella Linn.

Saturday 26 May 2007

Weather: Warm, overcast, humid, still.

Day 52… Last night felt like what could possibly have been the warmest night of the year so far and overcast too. I went out again to have a look at the comings and goings and although it was busy it was nowhere near the intensity of the night before - there did seem to be more moths coming in though.

Bit of a late start today, Loobi and I weren’t out until about 08:30. Not only were we struck by the number of moths we had caught but by the variety of species. It seemed to be mostly micros and geometrids a large number of which flew away as soon as we approached the trap - some we managed to identify but some we didn’t. There were more new species to report too. There was a Dark Arches (an early sighting), a Common Swift (the first representative of the family we’ve seen) and three others that I’ not quite as confident about: a Grey Birch, a Lozotaenia forsterana and (really unsure about this one) a Carpatolechia alburnella. I was also glad to see the return of The Flame though I was fantastically irritated by the fact that I had released it before I realised that the photo I got of it was partially out of focus - it’ll have to do for now though. The catch was as follows:

Hepialidae

• 1 Common Swift Hepialus lupulinus Linn.

Geometridae

• 1 Grey Birch Aethalura punctulata D. & S.
• 1 Common Marbled Carpet Chloroclysta truncata Hufn.
• 1 Sharp-angled Carpet Euphyia unangulata Haw.
• 1 Foxglove Pug Eupithecia pulchellata Steph.
• 2 Common Pug E. vulgata Haw.
• 2 May Highflyer Hydriomena impluviata D. & S.
• 1 Willow Beauty Peribatodes rhomboidaria D. & S.
• 1 Scorched Wing Plagodis dolabraria Linn.

Arctiidae

• 2 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Noctuidae

• 9 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 Dark Arches Apamea monoglypha Hufn.
• 1 The Flame Axylia putris Linn.
• 1 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica Hufn.
• 1 Small Square-spot Diarsia rubi View.
• 1 The Shears Hada plebeja Hufn.
• 2 Vine’s Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua D. & S.
• 1 Common Wainscot Mythimna pallens Linn.
• 1 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Linn.
• 1 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 5 Minor Sp. Oligia Sp.
• 1 Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum Linn.

Gelechiidae

• 1 Carpatolechia alburnella Zell.

Tortricidae

• 6 Codling Moth Cydia pomonella Linn.
• 1 Epiblema cynosbatella D. & S.
• 3 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker
• 1 Lozotaenia forsterana Fabr.

Pyralidae

• 1 Bee Moth Aphomia sociella Linn.
• 1 Small Magpie Eurrhypara hortulata Linn.
• 1 Scoparia subfusca Haw.

Yponomeutidae

• 1 Plutella porrectella Linn.

Common Swift Dark Arches

The Flame Grey Birch

Lozotaenia forsterana Carpatolechia alburnella

Friday 25 May 2007

Weather: Very mild, partly cloudy, humid, still.

Day 51… Another still, warm night after a very warm sunny day. Ideal conditions for all sorts of new species to be on the wing. I went out to see what might be arriving at about 11:00 last night and I can honestly say that I have never seen so many insects in one place at the same time, and that’s including the giant wood ant’s nests that I’ve seen around Dartmoor. The air was thick with tiny midges and when I surveyed a nearby fence that was illuminated by the trap every square centimetre contained at least one midge, there were thousands of other flies, wasps, beetles and needless to say, a good few moths too. I suppose the warm weather had prompted the mass emergence of the midges from the near by river.

We were out at 06:45 this morning to find the trap pretty well stocked. The floor of the trap and the wooden bar immediately below the lamp had drifts of dead midges piled up like fluff - I guess they’re naturally very short lived - emerge, mate, die…

We only had one new species, a Small Magpie, This and the rest of the catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 Light Emerald Campaea margaritata Linn.
• 3 Common Pug E. vulgata Haw.
• 1 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.

Arctiidae

• 2 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Noctuidae

• 9 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 2 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 Pale Mottled Willow Caradrina clavipalpis Scop.
• 2 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica Hufn.
• 1 Small Square-spot Diarsia rubi View.
• 1 The Shears Hada plebeja Hufn.
• 2 Vine’s Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua D. & S.
• 2 Common Wainscot Mythimna pallens Linn.
• 1 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 2 Minor Sp. Oligia Sp.
• 1 Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum Linn.

Oecophoridae

• 1 Depressaria daucella D. & S.

Tortricidae

• 2 Epiblema cynosbatella D. & S.

Pyralidae

• 1 Small Magpie Eurrhypara hortulata Linn.
• 1 Scoparia subfusca Haw.

Yponomeutidae

• 1 Plutella porrectella Linn.

Small Magpie

Thursday 24 May 2007

Weather: Very mild, clear, still.

Day 50… Except for the fact that the sky was mostly clear during the night it really felt like it should have been ideal conditions: warm, humid and still - what more do they want?.

Lucas and I were not out until 07:00 this morning. And rather surprisingly there wasn’t a great number of moths to report. We did get some new species (only one of which was a "macro" - The Miller) the three others were all "micros" and identified (or not - as the case may be) with hugely varying degrees of confidence.

Thanks (yet again) to Sam bayley for identifications and corrections. I’m particularly pleased about the misidentified common carpet, caught on 18 May, that was actually the much more interesting Sharp-angled Carpet. I’ve changed as many as I can but I think I'm probably too lazy to correct everything. From now on though, I’ll will start to refer to any Minor Sp. (Oligia Sp.) (and similarly inseperable species) as just that. Reiterating my gratitude to Sam, I have to say it’s his knowledge of the micros that I find most incredible. I really dont’t know where to begin with some of them - at least with the "macros" even if I can’t work out exactly what it is I’m looking at I’ll always have some sort of rough idea - but when a new species of "micro" turns up I’m not even going to know what family it’s in! The catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 Light Emerald Campaea margaritata Linn.
• 1 Common Marbled Carpet Chloroclysta truncata Hufn.
• 1 Maiden’s Blush Cyclophora punctaria Linn.

Arctiidae

• 1 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Noctuidae

• 1 The Miller Acronicta leporina Linn.
• 6 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica Hufn.
• 1 The Shears Hada plebeja Hufn.
• 1 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Linn.

Oecophoridae

• 1 Depressaria daucella D. & S.

Tortricidae

• 1 Epiblema cynosbatella D. & S.
• 1 Celypha lacunana D. & S.

Pyralidae

• 1 Scoparia subfusca Haw.

The Miller Scoparia subfusca

Depressaria daucella Celypha lacunana

Wednesday 23 May 2007

Weather: Mild, clear, still.

Day 49… A clear warm(ish) night. Hopefully it could have been quite productive. The lack of wind and a zero probability of rain prompted me to set the trap in the most exposed part of the garden, allowing it to be visible from as wide an area as possible in the hope of luring the maximum number of moths.

Out at 06:50 with Lucas - he was late up! My immediate realisation was that putting the trap where I did meant that from well before our inspection the sun had been shining directly on it. This I’m sure was a factor in explaining the disappointing catch. Last night when I went out to check on proceedings there were numerous moths around and about the trap (the only one of which that I could positively identify was a Pale Tussock) this morning though, there wasn’t a single moth on the outside of the trap or the perspex covers. A positional rethink is in order…

Not a single new species to report either. The catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 Willow Beauty Peribatodes rhomboidaria D. & S.

Notodontidae

• 1 Chocolate-tip Clostera curtula Linn.

Arctiidae

• 2 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Noctuidae

• 7 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 3 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica Hufn.

Tortricidae

• 1 Epiblema cynosbatella D. & S.

Tuesday 22 May 2007

Weather: Mild, overcast, light breeze.

Day 48… The weather forecast predicted rain for last night but it failed to materialise, though it was heavily overcast for most of the night. The temperature was higher than on recent nights so hopefully this marks a general upturn in conditions.

Loobi and I were out at 06:45 yet again just in time to witness the escape of a couple of pugs before they could possibly be identified. Generally there were more moths than we’ve seen lately and some more new species too. The most obvious was a Light Emerald, there was also a Common Marbled Carpet, a Setaceous Hebrew Character and three Vine’s Rustics. There was also a micro that looked very much like the Tortrix we caught the other day, this one I think is possibly something like Epiblema cynosbatella - how’s that for decisiveness?

The catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 Light Emerald Campaea margaritata Linn.
• 1 Common Marbled Carpet Chloroclysta truncata Hufn.
• 1 Sharp-angled Carpet Euphyia unangulata Haw.
• 2 Common Pug E. vulgata Haw.
• 1 Willow Beauty Peribatodes rhomboidaria D. & S.

Arctiidae

• 3 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.
• 1 Buff Ermine Spilosoma luteum Hufn.

Noctuidae

• 8 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 Small Square-spot Diarsia rubi View.
• 3 Vine’s Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua D. & S.
• 1 The Rustic Hoplodrina blanda D. & S.
• 1 Bright-line Brown-eye Lacanobia oleracea Linn.
• 2 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum Linn.

Tortricidae

• 2 Codling Moth Cydia pomonella Linn.
• 1 Epiblema cynosbatella D. & S.

Light Emerald Common Marbled Carpet

Setaceous Hebrew Character Vine’s Rustic

Epiblema roborana?

Monday 21 May 2007

Weather: Cool, overcast, light breeze.

Day 47… A similar night to the previous one, a little cloudier and a little more air movement.

Monday morning and out at 06:45 with Lucas to find yet another slightly disappointingly populated trap. Again though we had a new species turn up, this time, The Shears. When I went out to the trap last night to see what was around I saw what I was pretty convinced was a Clouded Boarder fluttering around but it rather irritatingly failed to hang around ’til the morning.

After a day of little feeding and relative inactivity the Emperor larvae have this morning all started their first moult. The second instar larvae can easily be distinguished by their greeny-yellow faces and tubercles as opposed to the black of their first instar siblings.

The catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 Brindled Pug Eupithecia abbreviata Steph.
• 2 Common Pug E. vulgata Haw.
• 2 Willow Beauty Peribatodes rhomboidaria D. & S.

Arctiidae

• 3 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.
• 1 Buff Ermine Spilosoma luteum Hufn.

Noctuidae

• 6 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica Hufn.
• 1 The Shears Hada plebeja Hufn.
• 1 Marbled Minor Oligia strigilis Linn.

The Shears

Sunday 20 May 2007

Weather: Cool, thin high cloud, still.

Day 46… Another of those cool relatively clear nights we have come to expect so little of.

Out at 07:45 again to examine the trap with Loobi to find another lightweight haul. But, of course, there was something new yet again - a Common Wainscot. Other than that though, not much to report. Catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 Brindled Pug Eupithecia abbreviata Steph.
• 1 Foxglove Pug Eupithecia pulchellata Steph.
• 1 Common Pug E. vulgata Haw.

Notodontidae

• 1 Chocolate-tip Clostera curtula Linn.

Arctiidae

• 2 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Noctuidae

• 1 Knot Grass Acronicta rumicis Linn.
• 3 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 The Rustic Hoplodrina blanda D. & S.
• 1 Common Wainscot Mythimna pallens Linn.
• 1 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Linn.

Tortricidae

• 1 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker

Common Wainscot

Saturday 19 May 2007

Weather: Mild, partial cloud, windy.

Day 45… It was a mild night but a very windy one too. Bearing in mind the not exactly ideal conditions I positioned the trap in the most sheltered part of the garden and kept my fingers firmly crossed.

Slightly later out this morning - it’s Saturday! - at 07:45 (Lucas had by then been waiting patiently for me for about half an hour). The trap was very thinly populated but yet again, we still managed to get some more new species, six, including two as yet unidentified micros. Of those that were identifiable we had a Buff Ermine, a Satin Wave, a Marbled Minor and a Middle-barred Minor. Of the two micros, I have frankly no idea what they are, one is presumably a Tortrix of some sort but as for the other, it is without doubt one of the fifteen hundred or so species of micro but which one I haven’t a clue…

Possibly the oddest thing about last night’s catch was the lack of Heart & Darts! Catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 Common Carpet Epirrhoe alternata Steph.
• 1 Satin Wave Idaea subsericeata Haw.

Arctiidae

• 1 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.
• 1 Buff Ermine Spilosoma luteum Hufn.

Notodontidae

• 1 Chocolate-tip Clostera curtula Linn.

Noctuidae

• 1 Pale Mottled Willow Caradrina clavipalpis Scop.
• 1 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica Hufn.
• 1 The Rustic Hoplodrina blanda D. & S.
• 1 Middle-barred Minor Oligia fasciuncula Haw.
• 1 Tawny Marbled Minor O. latruncula D. & S.
• 1 Marbled Minor O. strigilis Linn.
• 2 Powdered Quaker Orthosia gracilis D. & S.

Tortricidae

• 1 Epiblema cynosbatella D. & S.

Gelechiidae

• 1 Teleiodes luculella Hb.

Buff Ermine Satin Wave

Middle-barred Minor Marbled Minor

Tortrix Sp? Teleiodes luculella

Friday 18 May 2007

Weather: Mild, partial cloud, very light breeze.

Day 44… A bit more attention paid to the weather forecast and what was predicted was more or less exactly what happened (for a change!). After Thursday’s catch last night’s should hopefully, be a good one too.

Lucas and I were out inspecting at 06:45 again. And rather surprisingly there weren’t many moths in the trap - I was really expecting lots this morning - maybe they actually prefer heavy rain! Nevertheless I’m happy to be able to say we still caught some new species. The most obvious of these was a pair of Peppered Moths, we also had three Common Carpets as well as a Marbled Brown (I’ll try to get a better photo next time). The other photo (which I didn’t get last time) is of a well worn Cabbage Moth. It’s most frustrating when species that dont’t hang around to have their photo taken fail to turn up again, yesterday’s Garden carpet or Flame for instance and we’re still waiting to see another Scalloped Hook-tip too. Patience is a virtue I suppose.

By the way, I reported the Harlequin Ladybird to the The Harlequin Ladybird Survey and the sighting was confirmed by them as another record of this new arrival. The catch was as follows:

Drepanidae

• 1 Oak Hook-tip Drepana binaria Hufn.

Geometridae

• 2 Peppered Moth Biston betularia Linn.
• 1 Sharp-angled Carpet Euphyia unangulata Haw.
• 2 Common Pug Eupithecia vulgata Haw.
• 1 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.

Arctiidae

• 2 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Notodontidae

• 1 Marbled Brown Drymonia dodonaea D. & S.
• 1 Iron Prominent Notodonta dromadarius Linn.

Noctuidae

• 6 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 2 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica Hufn.
• 1 Cabbage Moth Mamestra brassicae Linn.
• 2 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Tawny Marbled Minor Oligia latruncula D. & S.
• 2 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.

Peppered Moth Sharp-angled Carpet

Marbled Brown Cabbage Moth

Thursday 17 May 2007

Weather: Very mild, steady rain throughout night, still.

Day 43… I can only presume I suffered some sort of selective deafness when I listened to the weather forecast on the radio yesterday. What I heard were these words: overcast or cloudy and very warm, the words I failed to hear were, and I’m guessing here: rain, persistent and heavy. I set the trap out in the expectation of a really good night’s mothing, oblivious of the impending deluge.

Yet again Lucas and I were out inspecting the very rain sodden trap at 06:45 this morning. Everything was wet or damp - the egg trays had gone rather floppy and water was running everywhere at the bottom of the trap. Sadly, lying upside down in the wet were a Chinese Character, a terribly bedraggled Scorched Wing and one other completely unidentifiable, probable geometrid. Elsewhere in the trap were a remarkable number of moths, beetles and caddis flies. Other new species we found were a Large Yellow Underwing, two Foxglove Pugs and what I think is a Small Square-spot, a The Flame and a Garden Carpet (both of which escaped into the very wet undergrowth before I could get a photo), a possible The Rustic (this is another of those species which is tricky to distinguish from other, similar species - in this case The Uncertain and Vine’s Rustic) and finally what is possibly a Crambus Sp. of some sort.

All in all we caught forty-five moths representing twenty-two different species which has to be one of the best nights yet - amazing given the conditions. It really shows what we might see on a night that is both warm and dry.

Incidentally, the photo above is the first Harlequin Ladybird I’ve ever seen. I spotted it in the garden this morning, oh dear… The catch was as follows:

Drepanidae

• 1 Chinese Character Cilix glaucata Scop.

Geometridae

• 2 Foxglove Pug Eupithecia pulchellata Steph.
• 1 Scorched Wing Plagodis dolabraria Linn.
• 1 Garden Carpet Xanthorhoe fluctuata Linn.
• 1 Unidentifiable

Sphingidae

• 1 Lime Hawk-moth Mimas tiliae Linn.

Arctiidae

• 2 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Notodontidae

• 1 Buff-tip Phalera bucephala Linn.

Lymantriidae

• 1 Pale Tussock Calliteara pudibunda Linn.

Noctuidae

• 10 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 The Flame Axylia putris Linn.
• 3 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica Hufn.
• 3 Small Square-spot Diarsia rubi View.
• 3 Vine’s Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua D. & S.
• 1 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba Linn.
• 2 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 2 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
• 4 Powdered Quaker O. gracilis D. & S.

Tortricidae

• 2 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker
• 1 Codling Moth Cydia pomonella Linn.

Yponomeutidae

• 1 Plutella porrectella Linn.

Chinese Character Foxglove Pug

Scorched Wing Large Yellow Underwing

Vine’s Rustic Small Square-spot

Plutella porrectella

Wednesday 16 May 2007

Weather: Mild, overcast and damp, still.

Day 42… There was obviously some rain during the night but not much and it was a good deal milder than the previous night. So, (fingers crossed) there might just be a slight improvement on Tuesday’s catch. One can but hope.

Lucas had me out of the door at 06:45 sharp this morning - he was determined that the night would be productive and was very keen to get out and see what we had caught. Well, it was safe to say we had caught more than we did on Tuesday and after spending far too long trying to identify some of the catch I think we’ve got two new ones too. These are (and I’m not sure about either one) a Satyr Pug and a Green Carpet although the moth in the photo is patently not green, the green colouring apparently fades soon after emerging. A third moth which I’m also not sure about is what looked at first like another Dioryctria abietella but on closer examination seems somewhat different - the markings a very much less clearly defined. The Dioryctrias are all apparently fairly similar so until I get a more precise identification I’m putting it down as Dioryctria Sp.

Drepanidae

• 1 Oak Hook-tip Drepana binaria Hufn.

Geometridae

• 1 Green Carpet Colostygia pectinataria Knoch
• 1 Satyr Pug Eupithecia satyrata Hb.
• 2 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.

Arctiidae

• 1 Muslin Moth Diaphora mendica Cl.
• 1 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Noctuidae

• 9 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 2 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica Hufn.
• 1 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Powdered Quaker Orthosia gracilis D. & S.

Tortricidae

• 1 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker

Pyralidae

• 1 Bee Moth Aphomia sociella Linn.

Green Carpet Satyr Pug

Bee Moth

Tuesday 15 May 2007

Weather: Cold, clear, very thin mist by dawn, still.

Day 41… The weather yesterday was quite chilly and wet with a cold north-westerly blowing. Late in the afternoon the skies cleared and the wind dropped, as a consequence, the temperature fell markedly, one or two degrees colder and we’d probably have had a ground frost.

Out to check the trap with Lucas at 06:45 to find what was probably our most remarkable catch yet - absolutely nothing! (That’s actually a lie - there was a caddis fly of some sort.) Though I am relieved to be able to report that later, when I was dismantling the trap to put it away I did find a solitary Heart & Dart. I presume that the species we are now seeing, being those that fly in the late spring or summer are less inclined to fly in cold weather than the early spring species.

I keep forgetting to mention that thanks to Sam Bayley I now know what the unidentified Tortrix caught on 7 May was. It wasn’t a Tortrix at all, but a Pyralid - Dioryctria abietella. Still not sure about the other little fellow though. Also I’d just like to mention that the Emperor larvae are thriving on apple, which is a relief. At the rate they’re going though, I think we’re going to need an entire orchard to satisfy their voracious appetites. To the catch:

Noctuidae

• 1 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.

Monday 14 May 2007

Weather: Mild, overcast with light rain at first, heavy rain later and windy.

Day 40… Having just been reassured by the BBC’s entirely accurate weather forecasting service that the night would remain dry with heavy rain not arriving until 09:00 this morning I set the trap out. OK, it was very windy but I hoped that would calm and the night would turn out to be fairly productive.

Today is Lucas’s birthday (I really wanted to get him a good moth book but couldn’t find anything suitable - any suggestions?) and he was therefore otherwise engaged first thing so I went out to inspect the trap at about 07:45. At about 06:45 - when we got up - I had dashed out in the pouring rain to put a cover over the trap in a vain attempt to keep it dry. When it came to it there really wasn’t very much to report anyway, certainly nothing new, just a small selection of the more hardy and resilient species.

The one really good thing to report though is that this morning Phoebe noticed that the Emperor Moth eggs had all hatched and the tiny larvae were busy devouring their egg shells. I’m hoping they’ll take apple as this is in plentiful supply, if not apple then bramble - not quite as plentiful but easy to procure stocks. The catch was as follows:

Arctiidae

• 2 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Noctuidae

• 5 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 2 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica Hufn.
• 1 Nut-Tree Tussock Colocasia coryli Linn.
• 4 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Powdered Quaker Orthosia gracilis D. & S.

Sunday 13 May 2007

Weather: Cool, clear start, light rain later, light breeze.

Day 39… At last! a night suitable for putting the trap out, not only that but conditions last night seemed pretty good too, the rain during the night was not ideal but it came well after midnight so probably didn’t keep too much away.

Busy day ahead and an early start was needed, Phoebe and Lucas were out with me at 06:45 (Not bad for a Sunday! - OK the newly acquired guinea pigs needed feeding as well and they might just have been a bigger draw). The trap was fairly well stocked too, most notably by a lovely fresh Lime Hawk-moth - much to Lucas’s delight. Nothing else that we haven’t seen before though. Catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 May Highflyer Hydriomena impluviata D. & S.
• 1 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.

Sphingidae

• 1 Lime Hawk-moth Mimas tiliae Linn.

Notodontidae

• 1 Iron Prominent Notodonta dromadarius Linn.
• 1 Buff-tip Phalera bucephala Linn.

Arctiidae

• 2 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Noctuidae

• 17 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 2 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica Hufn.
• 1 Nut-Tree Tussock Colocasia coryli Linn.
• 1 Bright-line Brown-eye Lacanobia oleracea Linn.
• 2 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Angle Shades Phlogophora meticulosa Esp.
• 1 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
• 1 Powdered Quaker O. gracilis D. & S.

Tortricidae

• 1 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker

Lime Hawk-moth

Thursday 10 to Saturday 12 May 2007

Weather: Dreadful.

When it hasn’t been pouring with rain it’s been blowing a gale. Nuff said….

Wednesday 9 May 2007

Weather: Mild, wet, still.

Didn’t set the trap last night as it was pouring with rain when I went to put it out and it would have been impossible to keep all the electrical connections dry. The annoying thing is though, I should think it would have been a fairly productive night as conditions would have been just right, if a little damp. Loobi was pretty disapointed too.

Tuesday 8 May 2007

Weather: Cool, clear then overcast, light to moderate breeze.

Day 38… No rain last night, less windy but yesterday’s rain and the sky clearing towards the end of the day inevitably resulted in a much cooler night.

Out with Loopi at about 06:50 to find a relatively sparsely populated trap (except for the nine Cockchafers). Two new species (I think). The first, and easy to identify, were two Treble Lines and the second was (I’m really not sure about this - it could just be another Grey Pine carpet) a May Highflyer - the coloration doesn’t match the books but the marking patterns do seem to. Catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 May Highflyer Hydriomena impluviata D. & S.

Notodontidae

• 1 Pebble Prominent Eligmodonta ziczac Linn.
• 1 Buff-tip Phalera bucephala Linn.

Arctiidae

• 1 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Noctuidae

• 3 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 2 Pale Mottled Willow Caradrina clavipalpis Scop.
• 2 Treble Lines Charanyca trigrammica Hufn.
• 1 Bright-line Brown-eye Lacanobia oleracea Linn.
• 2 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
• 1 Hebrew Character O. gothica Linn.
• 1 Powdered Quaker O. gracilis D. & S.

Tortricidae

• 1 Codling Moth Cydia pomonella Linn.

Treble Lines May Highflyer

Monday 7 May 2007

Weather: Mild, overcast, sporadic light rain, windy.

Day 37… After our successes of recent nights another windy night brings with it pretty low expectations. I positioned the trap directly below the canopy of an apple tree in the hope this might shelter it from the forecast rain. As it happened there was very little rain during the night - it didn’t really get heavy until the morning when Lucas and I were examining our catch!

We were out at about 07:45 and to our amazement we found a trap with a much improved selection of moths as compared to the last few nights. We had five new species, two of which were micros, which I spent far too long failing to identify. Of those that we could identify we had a slightly tattered Oak Hook-tip, a Pebble Prominent (what a great Latin name!) and a stick (as identified by Lucas) or a Buff-tip (as pointed out by me). These three were sufficiently exciting for Lucas for him to be not in the least disappointed by yet another Hawk-moth-less night. As for the two micros, I have a hunch one is a Stigmella Sp. and the other is some sort of Tortrix - possibly an Epiblema Sp. - (this one’s now been identified - see 15 May) they both seem fairly distinctive but I’ve searched the UKmoths web-site with no luck. Catch was as follows:

Drepanidae

• 1 Oak Hook-tip Drepana binaria Hufn.

Geometridae

• 1 Maiden’s Blush Cyclophora punctaria Linn.
• 1 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.

Notodontidae

• 1 Pebble Prominent Eligmodonta ziczac Linn.
• 1 Iron Prominent Notodonta dromadarius Linn.
• 1 Buff-tip Phalera bucephala Linn.

Arctiidae

• 1 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Noctuidae

• 7 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 2 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 5 Pale Mottled Willow Caradrina clavipalpis Scop.
• 1 Nut-Tree Tussock Colocasia coryli Linn.
• 2 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Bright-line Brown-eye Lacanobia oleracea Linn.
• 3 Small Quaker Orthosia cruda D. & S.
• 2 Powdered Quaker O. gracilis D. & S.

Nepticulidae?

• 1 Stigmella Sp.?

Tortricidae

• 1 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker

Pyralidae

• 1 Dioryctria abietella D. & S.

Pebble Prominent Buff-tip

Oak Hook-tip Dioryctria abietella

Stigmella Sp.(?)

Sunday 6 May 2007

Weather: Cool, clear start to night overcast by dawn, still then breezy.

Day 36… A clear, chilly start to the night but it was mild and almost misty by first thing in the morning. The wind, having died down during the day yesterday had returned by the morning but was now blowing from the south-west - a change in the weather to come I should think.

Out at 08:00 with Lucas, hoping for some more variety than we’ve had of late. As the breeze had abated last night I placed the trap in a more exposed part of the garden allowing the light to be seen over a wider area. Oh dear, another disappointment - what I thought might be a better night realised only twelve moths (not sure it was worth the electricity). No new species either. The catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 Maiden’s Blush Cyclophora punctaria Linn.

Arctiidae

• 1 Muslin Moth Diaphora mendica Cl.

Noctuidae

• 3 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Nut-Tree Tussock Colocasia coryli Linn.
• 3 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Bright-line Brown-eye Lacanobia oleracea Linn.
• 1 Common Quaker Orthosia cerasi D. & S.
• 1 Small Quaker O. cruda D. & S.

Saturday 5 May 2007

Weather: Cool, partial cloud, breezy.

Day 35… A slightly warmer night probably because the strong breeze eased somewhat so maybe a better night in prospect.

Out to inspect with Loobi at 07:45 this morning, only to find that the trap’s contents were little more inspiring than they were yesterday. We had a few more moths but yet again it was a night without a new species to see. We did however get a record number of Cockchafers (5 - whoopee!). The catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 3 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.

Noctuidae

• 2 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 2 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 6 Pale Mottled Willow Caradrina clavipalpis Scop.
• 2 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Bright-line Brown-eye Lacanobia oleracea Linn.
• 1 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.

Tortricidae

• 1 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker

Friday 4 May 2007

Weather: Cold, initially overcast clearing later, breezy.

Day 34… A really chilly night - no where near being frosty but cold nonetheless. This really stiff easterly breeze was still blowing but had eased somewhat by dawn. It’s safe to say conditions were far from ideal.

Early inspection again today (06:45) and it was all very disappointing, the first time for a long time that we didn’t see a new species - even the Cockchafers stayed away last night! Catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 Maiden’s Blush Cyclophora punctaria Linn.

Arctiidae

• 1 Muslin Moth Diaphora mendica Cl.

Noctuidae

• 1 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 4 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 Pale Mottled Willow Caradrina clavipalpis Scop.
• 2 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.

Thursday 3 May 2007

Weather: Cool, partly cloudy by dawn, breezy.

Day 33… A cool night that started crystal clear but became partially cloudy during the night, the easterly breeze was still blowing keeping conditions far from perfect for a good night of mothing.

Lucas and I were out very early today to inspect the trap (it’s Jo’s birthday today so there were plenty of other things to attend to beside moth inspecting). It really didn’t take us long either - sixteen moths and just one new species; a Mottled Beauty. Last night was also the first night since 15 April that we didn’t see a representative of the Notodontidae. Catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 2 Brindled Pug Eupithecia abbreviata Steph.
• 2 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.
• 1 Willow Beauty Peribatodes rhomboidaria D. & S.

Arctiidae

• 1 Muslin Moth Diaphora mendica Cl.
• 1 White Ermine Spilosoma lubricipeda Linn.

Noctuidae

• 1 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 2 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 1 Pale Mottled Willow Caradrina clavipalpis Scop.
• 3 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
• 1 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.

Tortricidae

• 1 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker

Willow Beauty

Wednesday 2 May 2007

Weather: Mild, clear and breezy.

Day 32… A mild night and not as breezy, though still very clear - the moon was so bright it was almost daylight at 23:00.

When I switched the lamp off this morning I wandered down the garden for a sneaky-peak into the trap to see if anything interesting had turned up, and to my utter amazement there was was a, truly spectacular, female Emperor Moth. I immediately went back to alert anyone who was interested that there might just be something worth seeing and was accompanied five minutes later by Phoebe, Lucas and Jo - all of whom thought it was well worth the trip (to the bottom of the garden). I have never seen one before coming to light (in fact I had only seen one female before in the wild - I’ve seen day-flying males over heathland in Devon though). It proved terribly exciting for Lucas, who kept babbling about it all the way to school. We discovered that she laid about sixty eggs on one of the egg-trays too, so if they’re viable we’re now responsible for a lot of baby Emperors!

We also caught what I believe to be a Cabbage Moth - this is one of those species that can easily be confused with others but it flew away before it allowed itself to be inspected more closely. It did look identical to the image of it in Skinner and on the UKmoths website, so I’m going to say it was one for the sake of convenience. We also had a tiny little micro that I think was Dichrorampha plumbana. Yet another interesting moth we caught was a melanic form of the Pale Tussock called concolor, I’ve put the two photos together for comparison. Catch was as follows:

Saturniidae

• 1 Emperor Moth Saturnia pavonia Linn.

Geometridae

• 1 Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata Linn.
• 1 Grey Pine Carpet Thera obeliscata Hb.

Lymantriidae

• 1 Pale Tussock Calliteara pudibunda linn. ab. concolor Stdgr.

Arctiidae

• 1 Muslin Moth Diaphora mendica Cl.

Noctuidae

• 1 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 1 Pale Mottled Willow Caradrina clavipalpis Scop.
• 1 Cabbage Moth Mamestra brassicae Linn.
• 1 Tawny Marbled Minor Oligia latruncula D. & S.
• 3 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
• 1 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.

Tortricidae

• 1 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker
• 1 Codling Moth Cydia pomonella Linn.
• 1 Dichrorampha plumbana Scop.

Emperor Moth Emperor Moth & Lucas

Pale Tussock (melanic form) Pale Tussock (normal form)

Dichrorampha plumbana

Tuesday 1 May 2007

Weather: Another cool, clear and breezy night.

Day 31… A little milder than last night but the sky was cristal clear and the moon at 23:00 was significantly brighter than the lamp on the trap.

Only had the pleasure of Lucas’s company this morning, we were out at 07:00 to find a sparsely populated trap but there was still quite a variety. Three new species too, admittedly two of these were micros and it’s highly likely we have trapped them before but they’ve not been spotted or have flown away before being identified. I think I’m going to have to make an "executive decision" as regards micros - I’ve got a particularly busy work schedule coming up and the time it takes to identify the tiddlers will be difficult to spare - we’ll have to see…

Today’s new species were a Knot Grass, a Codling Moth - this little fellow took an age to identify, I used the UKmoths website, started at the begining of the listings for Tortricidae and finally came to this one which is 13 from the end of about 250! Not only that, but when I did identify it, I got the distinct feeling I should have known what it was already - it’s not like I don’t have any experience of Codling Moths, we have after all got apple trees in the garden, the problem is it’s the larvae we see (or eat) and not the moths. The other new moth was Adela reaumurella a type of "longhorn moth", a female, the males have much longer antennae. The catch was as follows:

Geometridae

• 1 Brindled Pug Eupithecia abbreviata Steph.

Notodontidae

• 1 Chocolate-tip Clostera curtula Linn.

Lymantriidae

• 1 Pale Tussock Calliteara pudibunda Linn.

Arctiidae

• 2 Muslin Moth Diaphora mendica Cl.

Noctuidae

• 1 Grey Dagger Acronicta psi Linn.
• 1 Knot Grass A. rumicis Linn.
• 2 Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis Linn.
• 3 Shuttle-shaped Dart A. puta Hb.
• 2 Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta Linn.
• 1 Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica Linn.
• 1 Clouded Drab O. incerta Hufn.
• 1 Early Grey Xylocampa areola Esp.

Incurvariidae

• 1 Adela reaumurella Linn.

Tortricidae

• 1 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker
• 1 Codling Moth Cydia pomonella Linn.

Codling Moth Adela reaumurella

Knot Grass

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

2008:
Back to most recent entry. | January | February | March | April | May → Dorset | June | July | August | September | October