Number of species:
This month: 76

 

Wednesday 30 September 2009

 

No trap.

 

Tuesday 29 September 2009

 

Clear, 7°C, still.

I don’t think we can really expect to see very much while these cool clear nights continue, four moths on a September night is really a bit below par in my book.

Noctuidae

 

Monday 28 September 2009

 

No trap.

 

Sunday 27 September 2009

 

Clear, 6°C, still.

With these chilly nights and moth numbers falling it’s difficult to avoid the feeling that the lean months of autumn and winter are only just around the corner.

Oecophoridae

Noctuidae

 

Saturday 26 September 2009

 

No trap.

 

Friday 25 September 2009

Atethmia centrago

Centre-barred Sallow - Atethmia centrago

 

Clear, 6°C, still.

A night of few moths, we did get our first CBS of the year though.

Tortricidae

Noctuidae

 

Thursday 24 September 2009

 

No trap.

 

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Clepsis consimilana

Frosted Orange - Gortyna flavago

 

Overcast, 14°C, breezy.

A Frosted Orange was the star attraction in last night’s catch.

Yponomeutidae

Tortricidae

Crambidae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Tuesday 22 September 2009

 

Overcast, 14°C, light breeze.

I might have been wrong to be surprised by the Shuttle-shaped Dart we caught a week or so ago but today’s , admittedly very tatty and worn, Heart and Dart goes down as our latest record for this species by nearly a month and it is nearly two months after we saw the last one last year.

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Monday 21 September 2009

 

No trap.

 

Sunday 20 September 2009 (National Moth Night #2)

Clepsis consimilana Thera britannica

Privet Twist - Clepsis consimilana

Spruce Carpet - Thera britannica

 

Overcast, 14°C, light breeze.

The target for this year’s National Moth Nights was all migrant species, except for the possibility that some of the Large Yellow Underwings might have wandered over from The Continent we didn’t see any at all. Last night’s highlights were a couple of second generation individuals; a Privet Twist and a Spruce Carpet.

Tortricidae

Crambidae

Pyralidae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Saturday 19 September 2009 (National Moth Night #1)

Archips podana Hydraecia micacea

Large Fruit-tree Tortrix - Archips podana

Garden Rose Tortrix - Acleris variegana

Campaea margaritata Orgyia antiqua

The mysteriously spotted Light Emerald

Vapourer - Orgyia antiqua

 

Overcast, 14°C, light breeze.

Earlier this week an experiment was launched with the aim of establishing the degree to which moths will disperse from the locality in which they bred. To this end, large numbers of moths were released from various locations around the British Isles, every moth with a coloured mark painted onto one of its forewings, a different colour for each release site, the idea being that if anyone finds one of these moths they are to alert the appropriate authority. When I opened the trap this morning I was absolutely thrilled to find the Light Emerald (pictured above, lower left), clearly marked, sitting inside. After a lengthy exchange of e-mails with Mark Tunmore, the experiment’s coordinator and Michael Blencowe in which I pointed to the fact that between the marks was a hole or tear in the wing, we concluded that this particular moth couldn’t have been one of the marked ones. The location of the spots on the forewing was correct but colour was wrong (the nearest possible match for this colour was the one used for those moths released in Cheshire). Eventually Colin Pratt suggested that the marks might have been made when, as the moth emerged from its pupa, its wing may have been damaged causing a "leak" of the liquid that it uses to pump them up. I guess I’ll never know what the actual story is but it will certainly go down as a huge coincidence.

Other than the Mystery Emerald we had a fairly good catch which included our first Vapourer and Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (which was terribly tatty and not worth photographing) of the year.

Tortricidae

Alucitidae

Geometridae

Lymantriidae

Noctuidae

 

Friday 18 September 2009

Dryobotodes eremita

Brindled Green - Dryobotodes eremita

 

Mostly overcast, 11°C, very breezy.

A Brindled Green was the highlight of an otherwise pretty ordinary catch.

Tortricidae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Thursday 17 September 2009

 

No trap.

 

Wednesday 16 September 2009

 

No record.

Another moderate night of more of the same. The Shuttle-shaped Dart came as a bit of a surprise but when I looked at the records it wasn’t in the least unusual, it has just been about a month since the last time we saw one, we recorded them up to 13 October in ’07.

Tortricidae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Tuesday 15 September 2009

 

Overcast, rain after midnight, 12°C, breezy.

Lots of Large Yellow Underwings but that was really about it.

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Monday 14 September 2009

 

Clear, 9°C, breezy.

Moderate, average, mediocre - that about sums it up I reckon.

Yponomeutidae

Tortricidae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Sunday 13 September 2009

Omphaloscelis lunosa

Lunar Underwing - Omphaloscelis lunosa

 

Thin cloud cover, 13°C, light wind.

At last, the first LU of the year, well it’s only five days later than last year but nearly two weeks later than our first in 2007.

Tortricidae

Crambidae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Saturday 12 September 2009

 

Mainly clear, 10°C, light breeze.

Frankly, just a little underwhelming.

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Friday 11 September 2009

 

Partly cloudy, 16°C, breezy.

Much better, warmer and more moths, nothing too exciting, no new species but our second Pinion-streaked Snout was good to see.

Yponomeutidae

Oecophoridae

Tortricidae

Crambidae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Thursday 10 September 2009

 

Partly cloudy, 8°C, still.

The weather forecast was for a much warmer night, neither the warmth nor many moths actually materialised.

Crambidae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Wednesday 09 September 2009

Tinea semifulvella Hydraecia micacea

Fulvous Clothes - Tinea semifulvella

Rosy Rustic - Hydraecia micacea

 

Cloudy at first, clearing, 9°C, fairly windy.

A late(ish) second generation Engrailed and the autumn’s first Rosy Rustic were trumped for highlight of the day by our first Fulvous Clothes, a great name but not quite as good as some of the others Clothes variants in 230’s and 240’s in Jim Porter’s essential and wonderous list.

Tineidae

Tortricidae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Tuesday 08 September 2009

Phyllonorycter geniculella Hypatima rhomboidella

Sycamore Midget - Phyllonorycter geniculella

Square-spot Crest - Hypatima rhomboidella

Amphipyra tragopoginis Amphipyra tragopoginis

Rusty Dot Pearl - Udea ferrugalis

Mouse Moth - Amphipyra tragopoginis

 

No record.

Didn’t make a not of the weather again, bit slack, not a bad night though, two new species, a Sycamore Midget and Square-spot Crest, our first MM since ’07 and another RDP which, this time, I did manage to get a shot of.

Gracillariidae

Oecophoridae

Gelechiidae

Tortricidae

Crambidae

Pterophoridae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Monday 07 September 2009

 

No trap.

 

Sunday 06 September 2009

 

Clear, 9°C, full moon, breezy.

A fair few LYU but not really very much else.

Crambidae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Saturday 05 September 2009

 

No trap.

 

Friday 04 September 2009

 

Partly cloudy, light showers, 14°C, windy.

A busy night, the two highlights, in amongst all the Large Yellow Underwings being another Webb’s Wainscot and a Leek Moth which I have recently discovered is a proposed Red Data Book species…

Tortricidae

Crambidae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Thursday 03 September 2009

 

No trap.

 

Wednesday 02 September 2009

Acrolepiopsis assectella Archanara sparganii

Leek Moth - Acrolepiopsis assectella

Webb’s Wainscot - Archanara sparganii

 

Overcast with a little light rain 16°C little wind.

A busy night, the two highlights, in amongst all the Large Yellow Underwings being another Webb’s Wainscot and a Leek Moth which I have recently discovered is a proposed Red Data Book species…

Yponomeutidae

Oecophoridae

Tortricidae

Crambidae

Geometridae

Noctuidae

 

Tuesday 01 September 2009

 

No trap.

 

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