Trip to Las Descargues 8th August - 18th August - Macro Moths

I made a trip back to Robin Howard's beautiful place in the Midi-pyrenees with my wife on the second week of August.
We planned to stay over our anniversary but we were unsure of what the weather would be like, so very opted for a slightly longer stay of 10 days incase the weather wasn't too good.

We are very glad that we did as the first 4 days were quite wet and windy and with daytime temperatures not getting much higher than 18 degrees, it felt like the trip back in June al over again!
Thankfully by Saturday the temperature had recovered and we were enjoying the sunshine finally and by Monday we made use of the stunning swimming pool that we had all to ourselves (although it was quite cold and took your breathe away). Typically on the last day (Thursday) it was really warm and the pool felt a bit warmer so we made the most of it!

Of course Moths were once again on the agenda, a I was granted permission to use traps aeound thr garden, extending to the ridge with a generator if I wanted to. 

The first few nights were hard going and measly pickings but of course every trap had it's surprises in, and having not been here in August before there were plenty of moths that i'd never seen before.

2 of the traps on the first couple of nights got water-logged and then I had the challenging time of dealing with lively Hornets, albeit they are quite docile once the sun has rose and some mornings I just had to wait for it to get light before I could get near the traps.

We also lost one of the bulbs in the lower garden, I woke up to find it glowing green/white and thought it was odd and then getting nearer and realising the bulb had smashed, not good as Robin didn't have a 3-pin spare. How on earth it smashed when we had no rain that night (and it had a secure rainguard on it anyway) is beyond me. I could still see the light in my vision for about 15 minutes after which was slightly worrying!

By Saturday and Sunday, nights were really warm and temperatures kept in the high teens some nights even when the sky had cleared and working the traps in the morning (sometimes 4) was pretty hard work to say the least. Potting stuff up I didn't recognise, keeping a list on a notepad, the traps were full up and some mornings each trap had about 400 moths in, and I had 4 running! The best night I had around 160 species which is pretty incredible for August apprarently.

This first post I will list the Macro Moths that I saw on my trip.

I still have a few for identification as always but so far the Macro Moth species list stands at 193 species.

Species highlighted in red are completely new to me. 

All of the Macro Moth species that I took photos of can now be viewed on my flickr page HERE

Adactylotis contaminaria

Angle Shades

Barred Hook-tip

Beautiful Hook-tip

Beautiful Marbled

Beautiful Yellow Underwing

Birch Mocha

Bird's Wing

Black Arches

Black V Moth

Blair's Mocha

Blood-vein

Bordered White

Bright-line Brown-eye

Brimstone Moth

Broad-barred White

Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth

Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Brussels Lace

Buff Arches

Buff Ermine

Buff Footman

Buff-tip

Burnished Brass

Campion

Chinese Character

Clay

Clay Triple-lines

Cloaked Carpet

Cloaked Minor

Clouded Border

Clouded Buff

Clouded Silver

Common Carpet

Common Footman

Common Rustic

Common Wainscot

Common Wave

Common White Wave

Copper Underwing

Coronet

Coxcomb Prominent

Crescent Dart

Dark Spectacle

Dark Sword-grass

Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet

Delicate

Dewick's Plusia

Dingy Footman

Dotted Clay

Double-striped Pug

Drymonia querna

Dumeril's Rustic

Dun-bar

Dusky Marbled Brown

Ear Moth

Early Thorn

Engrailed

Epilecta linogrisea

Essex Emerald

Eupithecia semigraphata or impurata

False Mocha

Festoon

Figure of Eighty

Flame Shoulder

Flounced Rustic

Four-spotted Footman

Foxglove Pug

Frosted Yellow

Garden Carpet

Garden Tiger

Gem

Grass Emerald

Great Dart

Green Silver-lines

Grey Dagger

Gypsy Moth

Heart & Dart

Hoary Footman

Horse Chestnut

Humming-bird Hawk-moth

Idaea deversaria

Idia calvaria

Iron Prominent

Jersey Emerald

Jersey Tiger

Knot Grass

Large Yellow Underwing

Latin

Latticed Heath

Least Yellow Underwing

Leopard Moth

Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Lesser Cream Wave

Lesser Swallow Prominent

Lesser Treble-bar

Lesser Yellow Underwing

Light Emerald

Lime Hawk-moth

Lime-speck Pug

Lobster Moth

Lunar Thorn

Lychnis

Lythria cruentaria

Maiden's Blush

Marbled Clover

Miller

Nutmeg

Nut-tree Tussock

Oak Eggar

Oak Hook-tip

Oak Processionary

Orache Moth

Orange Footman

Paidia rica

Pale Mottled Willow

Pale Oak Beauty

Pale Prominent

Pale Shoulder

Passenger

Peach Blossom

Peacock Moth

Pebble Hook-tip

Peppered Moth

Phoenix

Pigmy Footman

Pine Hawk-moth

Pine Processionary

Pine-tree Lappet

Pinion-streaked Snout

Plum Lappet

Poplar Hawk-moth

Poplar Kitten

Poplar Lappet

Portland Riband Wave

Red Twin-spot Carpet

Riband Wave

Rosy Footman

Rosy Marbled

Ruby Tiger

Rustic

Satin Wave

Scalloped Hook-tip

Scarce Bordered Straw

Scarce Footman

Scarce Merveille du Jour

Scarlet Tiger

Scopula tesselaria

Scorched Wing

Setaceous Hebrew Character

Shark

Shears

Silver-Y

Single-dotted Wave

Small Angle Shades

Small Black Arches

Small Blood-vein

Small Dusty Wave

Small Fan-foot

Small Fan-footed Wave

Small Mottled Willow

Small Purple-barred

Small Ranunculus

Small Rivulet

Small White Wave

Snout

Speckled Beauty

Spotted Sulphur

Square-spotted Clay

Straw Dot

Straw Underwing

Swallow Prominent

Synopsia sociaria

Tawny Prominent

Tawny-barred Angle

Tephronia sepiaria

Toadflax Brocade

Treble-bar

Tree-lichen Beauty

True Lover's Knot

Vestal

Vine's Rustic

Waved Umber

White Ermine

White-point

White-speck

Willow Beauty

Wood Carpet

Yellow Shell

Yellow-barred Brindle

Yellow-headed Phoenix

Yellow-tail

Beautiful Marbled

Beautiful Yellow Underwing

Cloaked Carpet

Epilecta linogrisea

Essex Emerald

False Mocha

Idia calvaria

Orache Moth

Scopula tesselaria

Poplar Lappet

Paidia rica