A week of seconds

Mothing has been pretty rubbish this past week, so I haven't had much to post about.

Quality over quantity with garden second yearly records of Delicate, L-album Wainscot & Palpita vitrealis.

An Elachista was retained for dissection.

Just the one ne for year species all week! A massive drought ensues.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 590 species

 

14/09/24 - Lunar Underwing 1 [NFY] 

Clancy's Rustic

Delicate

Elachista sp tbc

L-album Wainscot

Lunar Underwing

Palpita vitrealis

The last trapping effort before 4 nights off!

I ran my trap once more on back to back nights last Sunday/Monday and recorded a diminishing amount of species to my actinic trap.

Since then it has been far too cold to bother running it, some mornings down to 4c.

 

New for years have slumped dramatically as we slowly say good bye to summer moths, and welcome the autumn variety (much like the spring to summer lull).

Best moths were two new for the year species, an incredibly late year first fresh Pyrausta purpuralis and a proper autumn moth, the nicely toned Brindled Green.

The weather is set to turn warm, and summer might be back next week!

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 589 species

 

08/09/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Micro Moths

 

Pyrausta purpuralis 1 [NFY]

 

09/09/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

 

Brindled Green 1 [NFY]

Pyrausta purpuralis

Brindled Green

 

 

A welcome garden addition

A new garden moth graced my trap on the 6th of September, the migrant silky white Palpita vitrealis.

Having seen my first for the UK only last year at nearby Chippenham Fen, it was fantastic to add it to the garden list, moth species no.860 for the garden.

Other moths of note were year firsts of Acleris sparsana & Phyllonorycter harrisella and only the 2nd Rush Veneer of the year, what a poor year for them here!

A tiny Stigmella was retained, which will probably turn out to be either samiatella or tiliae.

Other than that, it was the usual late summer early autumn species show.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 587 species

 

06/09/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Micro Moths

Acleris sparsana 1 [NFY]

Palpita vitrealis 1 [NFG]

Phyllonorycter harrisella 1 [NFY]

Stigmella samiatella or tiliae 1 tbc

Stigmella samiatella or tiliae

Acleris sparsana

Nomophila noctuella

Palpita vitrealis

Phyllonorycter harrisella

Butterflies at night

What a strange ole' night it was on the 5th, Butterflies... loads of them flapping around the actinic trap come the morning, in fact there were at least 20 around the garden. 

 

Butterflies can and will migrate at night if the warm airflow is heading towards land, and this is what happened, with thousands reported on the coast for at least 24 hours.

 

I certainly have never experienced anything quite like it before (bar the odd butterfly turning up rarely). 

 

Moths were pretty good, and there were around 40 species of the usual cavalry.

 

These did include two whackers, the first Blue Underwing of the year and an Old Lady nestled in the outer egg tray, as I had photographed them before I just took some quick night time snaps of the moths in situ. 

A second Clancy's Rustic was nice, as was the 2nd Vapourer Moth of the year.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 584 species

 

05/09/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Blue Underwing 1 [NFY]

Old Lady 1 [NFY] 

Vapourer Moth

Blue Underwing

Blue Underwing

Clancy's Rustic

Old Lady

Red Admirals at Night!

Red Admirals at Night!

And then September went rather slow!

For a couple of nights anyway, with species around the 25-30 mark a night it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't astounding either.

New for year species dropped a fair bit, and I only added 1 on the 2nd and 1 on the 3rd. 

 

Barred Hook-tip was nice to get, a species that I missed last year.

The night after yielded the other species of Ethmia that are usually regular here, Ethmia dodecea. Quite a late first for the year record as well.

Other than that it was fairly quiet after the first of the month excitement.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 582 species

 

02/09/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Barred Hook-tip 1 [NFY]

03/09/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Micro Moths

Ethmia dodecea 1 [NFY]

Phyllonorycter ulmifoliella 1 [NFY] 

Barred Hook-tip

Ethmia dodecea

Galleria mellonella

September Starts Super!

The first night of the month was extremely monumental for my garden moth list.

For so late on in the year, it was great to add 3 new garden moths (normally the new additions fall between May and August, being the time for peak diversity).

All new species were rather unexpected, the first being a cracker of a Dotted Clay, a moth I took just under a month previous in Norfolk, and comparec to this fresh example it was rather tatty.

The second new one was Anarsia spartiella. There is very little of all stated foodplants in the area, let alone the county, probably a blow in from the Brecks towards the east.

Eudonia truncicolella was the most expected of the bunch, having taken it a couple of times at the nearby fen, but it still remains a fairly scarce visitor to the traps.

These three fabulous species were backed up by a further 3 new for year additions.

Other moths of note included several dark morpha of Scrobipalpa ocellatella, a much more contrasty Caloptilia honoratella, and a really fresh Aproaerema anthyllidella.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 580 species

 

01/09/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Dotted Clay 1 [NFG]

Micro Moths

Anarsia spartiella 1 [NFG]

Ancylosis oblitella 1 [NFY]

Bactra sp 1 [NFY] 

Eudonia truncicolella 1 [NFG]

Platytes cerussella 1 [NFY]

Scrobipalpa ocellatella

Scrobipalpa ocellatella

Anarsia spartiella

Ancylosis oblitella

Aproaerema anthyllidella

Bactra sp

Caloptilia honoratella

Dotted Clay

Eudonia truncicolella

Platytes cerussella

Chippenham Fen - Field Trip - 28/08/24

At the tail-end of August, I ran some traps at Chippenham Fen once more.

It was another warm night, with a little breeze at times, the forecast was 0% precipitation, but of course it had to rain again, a common feature with the forecast this year it appears.

Luckily it wasn't much and I persevered.

60 species of macro moths and 67 species of micro moths were recorded over 4 hours.

Best moths included a late Silver Barred (Although these regularly go into September now with a partial second brood).

A worn Leucoptera sp (Which will be retained for dissection).

A beautiful Pyrausta purpuralis (One I haven't had in the garden this year, but multiples of aurata all year long).

 

A good trip out, and possibly by last for the year now, unless we get some incredible warm September nights and good migrant conditions (Which we haven't really had this year inland yet).

28/08/24 - Chippenham Fen - East Cambridgeshire - 1x 125w Trap, 1x 160w MBT Trap, 1x 250w Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

Barred Hook-tip
Blood-vein
Bordered Beauty
Bright-line Brown-eye
Brimstone Moth
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Burnished Brass
Canary-shouldered Thorn
Centre-barred Sallow
Chinese Character
Common Carpet
Common Marbled Carpet
Common Wainscot
Common Wave
Copper Underwing
Coronet
Dingy Footman
Double-striped Pug
Dusky Thorn
Flame Shoulder
Flounced Rustic
Frosted Orange
Gold Spot
Green Carpet
Gypsy Moth
Iron Prominent
Large Yellow Underwing
Latticed Heath
Least Yellow Underwing
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Lesser-spotted Pinion
Light Emerald
Maiden's Blush
Oak Hook-tip
Orange Swift
Peach Blossom
Pinion-streaked Snout
Pretty Chalk Carpet
Purple Bar
Red Twin-spot Carpet
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Silver Barred
Single-dotted Wave
Small Blood-vein
Small Fan-footed Wave
Small Rufous
Small Square-spot
Smoky Wainscot
Snout
Spectacle
Square-spot Rustic
Square-spotted Clay
Straw Dot
Straw Underwing
Tawny-speckled Pug
Vapourer Moth
Vine's Rustic
White-point
Willow Beauty
Yellow Shell

Micro Moths

Acentria emphemerella
Acleris laterana/comariana
Adaina microdactyla
Agonopterix alstromeriana
Agonopterix ocellana
Agriphila geniculea
Agriphila tristella
Anacampsis blattariella/populella
Apotomis betuletana
Argyresthia goedartella
Argyresthia pruniella
Argyresthia semitestacella
Bactra sp
Blastobasis adustella
Bucculatrix bechsteinella
Cameraria ohridella
Carcina quercana
Cataclysta lemnata
Catoptria falsella
Celypha lacunana
Chilo phragmitella
Cochylidia heydeniana
Cochylidia implicitana
Cochylimorpha straminea
Coleophora alcyonipennella/frischella
Cydalima perspectalis
Cydia fagiglandana
Cydia splendana
Elachista alpinella
Emmelina monodactyla
Emmetia marginea
Epinotia nisella
Epinotia ramella
Epinotia tenerana
Epiphyas postvittana
Eudonia mercurella
Eudonia pallida
Euzophera pinguis
Evergestis forficalis
Galleria mellonella
Gelechia senticetella
Gracillaria syringella
Hofmannophila pseudospretella
Hypsopygia costalis
Leucoptera sp
Limnaecia phragmitella
Lyonetia clerkella
Nemapogon koenigi
Neocochylis dubitana
Neocochylis hybridella
Neocochylis molliculana
Nomophila noctuella
Oegoconia sp
Pandemis corylana
Pandemis heparana
Parapoynx stratiotata
Parornix sp
Patania ruralis
Plutella xylostella
Pyrausta purpuralis
Scoparia subfusca
Scrobipalpa ocellatella
Tinea semifulvella
Yponomeuta cag/mal/pad
Yponomeuta evonynella
Yponomeuta rorrella
Ypsolopha scabrella

Silver Barred

Argyresthia semitestacella

Cochylidia heydeniana

Cochylidia implicitana

Cydia fagiglandana

Cydia splendana

Elachista alpinella

Epinotia tenerana

Leucoptera sp

Pyrausta purpuralis

 

3 new garden Coleophora species

I received some genitalia dissections back from Colin Plant today.

Some really good records both locally and in my garden. I do tend to cherry pick unusual looking species that might be worth looking at further, rather than heaps of the same material.

 

My selective ways certainly paid off with this latest batch of results!

 

3 new Coleophora species added to the garden list, but even better still, two appear to not be on the Cambs list! And even more unbelievably, those two I potted up in the garden on the same night!

 

The moths in question were Coleophora lassella & Coleophora pennella (with 2 records on different nights of this species).

Both species apprear coastal but with pockets in the nearby Brecks, so that's probably where they have drifted in from.

The 3rd species was a nationally common Oak feeding species, Coleophora lutipennella. Fairly scarce in Cambs.

 

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 574 species

Coleophora lassella - Male - Gen Det Colin Plant - 21st June

Coleophora lutipennella - Male - Gen Det Colin Plant - 2nd July

Coleophora pennella - Female - Gen Det Colin Plant - 21st June

Lesser Treble-bar!

Saturday night was a very good night in my garden for moths, despite the nagging wind, the temperature stayed above 17 degrees all night. By dawn it appeared that the wind had abated a bit and there were plenty of moths to record and look at closer in pots.

42 species were logged, slightly up on recent years on this date (generally around the low 30 species mark).

Best moth of the night went to my very first Lesser Treble-bar, a female.

This comes after checking countless specimens spanning nearly two decades! I must be close to have checked nigh on 500 specimens in the last 18 years.

Well chuffed, and on the garden list to boot!

The second good moth was another new species for the garden, the ever variable Acleris cristana.

I get this moth quite regularly at my local nature reserve a mere mile away as the moth flies, and with plentiful thickets of Hawthorn & Blackthorn along our road, I did expect it at some point, but somehow it took a bit longer than expected. Certainly worth the wait!

Two more new additions for 2024 were Dioryctria simplicella (which is annual as a singleton) and Eudonia pallida (Which is a common moth locally, and oddly I missed out last year).

Some flashy macros added some dazzle, with Gold Spot returning and a fabulous Lilac Beauty.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 570 species

 

31/08/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths 

Lesser Treble-bar 1 [NEW!]

Gold Spot 1

Lilac Beauty 1

Micro Moths

Acleris cristana 1 [NFG]

Dioryctria simplicella 1 [NFY] 

Eudonia pallida 1 [NFY] 

Phyllonorycter maestingella 1 [NFY]

Ostrinia nubilalis 1 

Phyllonorycter spinicolella (emerged from leaf mine)

Ostrinia nubilalis

Acleris cristana

Dioryctria simplicella

Eudonia pallida

Gold Spot

Lesser Treble-bar

Lesser Treble-bar - Female

Lilac Beauty