Field Trip - 16/07/18 - Ashwell Quarry - North Herts

A fantastic night was had at my local chalk quarry just 15 minutes up the road from me.

The relative remotness and ease of access keep me going back here, and of the 11 trips i've done here over 2 years now i've always come away with at least one new moth for me, that's a blooming good statistic and surely testament to the incredible habitat there.
It is a very unusual location, miles from any substantial woodland, just arable fields as far as the eye can see, it is also fairly elevated which is probably why I do very well for migrants here.

4 traps were set up around the reserve and switched on just in time as the light faded under increasing cloud, it was very balmy indeed but very gusty and traps were positioned out of the wind apart from one which over-looked the breeze coming from the south, hoping to intercept a migrant or two... 

Below where the best species of the night.

Dewick's Plusia was very welcome moth, and my second record this year (After finding a wing in the garden). I believe this is now the 5th record for Herts this year? (At time of going to press!) 1 in Royston (Unknown captor), 1 in my garden, 2 in Andrew Wood's garden over the past week. 

Coleophora conspicuella, 2nd County record for Herts (After the first two nights before in my garden), a rare coastal Coleophora, both probably blown in on the wind and unexpected.

Agriphila selasella, not a common moth in Herts, but it's had a very good year with lots of people adding it to their garden list for the first time (Including mine with a garden first on the 03rd of August).

Cnephasia longana, likes open waste/grassland. My only other records are from my parents farmland, not common for me.

Pediasia contaminella, another good record of an uncommon grass moth.

Plain Pug, my first Herts record of this large distinctive Pug.

Sorhagenia rhamniella, a first for me and the 5th record for Herts. 

Elachista sp, probably bisulcella... rare in Herts, dissection pending but looks good. A first for me.

Nymphula nitidulata, the Beautiful China-mark, a first for me again and what a stunning little moth, my photo desn't do it justice!

BIG thanks to Graeme Smith for providing the dissections.

Below is the full list.

94 Macro and 85 Micro species recorded.

Catch Report - 16/07/18 - Ashwell Quarry - 1x 250w Frosted MV Robinson Trap, 2x 125w MV Robinson Trap, 1x twin 20w Wemite Actinic

Macro Moths

Blood-vein
Bright-line Brown-eye
Brimstone Moth
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Brown Scallop
Brown-line Bright-eye
Brown-tail
Buff Arches
Buff Ermine
Buff Footman
Buff-tip
Campion
Chinese Character
Clay
Cloaked Minor
Clouded Silver
Common Carpet
Common Emerald
Common Footman
Common  Rustic
Common Wainscot
Coxcomb Prominent
Dark Arches
Dark Umber
Dewick's Plusia
Dingy Footman
Double Square-spot
Double-striped Pug
Drinker
Dun-bar
Dusky Sallow
Dwarf Cream Wave
Early Thorn
Elephant Hawk-moth
Fan Foot
Fen Wainscot
Fern
Flame
Flame Shoulder
Ghost Moth
Grey Dagger 
Haworth's Pug
Heart & Club
Heart & Dart
Knot Grass
Large Twin-spot Carpet
Large Yellow Underwing
Latticed Heath
Least Carpet
Least Yellow Underwing
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Lesser Common Rustic - Gen Det (Male)
Lesser Yellow Underwing
Lesser-spotted Pinion
Light Arches
Lime-speck Pug
Lunar-spotted Pinion
Lychnis
Mouse Moth
Nutmeg
Pebble Hook-tip
Pebble Prominent
Peppered Moth
Pine Hawk-moth
Plain Pug
Poplar Hawk-moth
Red Twin-spot Carpet
Riband Wave
Ruby Tiger
Scalloped Oak
Scarce Footman
Scorched Carpet
Scorched Wing
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Shaded Broad-bar
Silver-Y
Single-dotted Wave
Slender Pug
Small Blood-vein
Small Emerald
Small Fan-footed Wave
Small Scallop
Smoky Wainscot
Snout
Southern Wainscot
Spectacle
Straw Dot
Tree-lichen Beauty
Turnip Moth
Uncertain
V-Pug
Willow Beauty
Wormwood Pug
Yellow-tail

Micro Moths

Acentria ephemerella
Acleris aspersana
Acleris forsskaleana
Acleris variegana
Acompsia cinerella
Acrobasis advenella
Aethes rubigana
Agapeta hamana
Agapeta zoegana
Agonopterix alstromeriana
Agonopterix heracliana
Agriphila selasella
Agriphila straminella
Anania coronata
Anania hortulata
Anarsia innoxiella
Ancylis achatana
Aproaerema anthyllidella
Archips podana
Archips xylosteana
Argyresthia albistria
Argyresthia goedartella
Argyresthia pruniella
Aspilapteryx tringipennella
Batia lunaris
blaatibasis adustella
Blastobasis lacticolella
Blastodacna hellerella
Borkhausenia fuscescens
Brachmia blandella
Cameraria ohridella
Carcina quercana
Celypha rosaceana
Celypha striana
Chilo phragmitella
Chrysoteuchia culmella
Coleophora conspicuella
Clepsis consimiliana
Cnephasia longana
Cnephasia sp
Cochylimorpha straminea
Cochylis atricapitana
Crambus perlella
Crassa unitella
Ditula angustiorana
Elachista bisulcella to be checked
Endotricha flammealis
Endrosis sarcitrella
Epinotia foenella
Eucosma hohenwartiana
Eucosma obumbratana
Eucsoma cana
Eudonia lacustrata
Eudonia mercurella
Eudonia pallida
Eulamprotes atrella
Euzophera pinguis
Galleria mellonella
helycystogramma rufescens
Hofmannophila pseudospretella
Hypsopygia costalis
Hypsopygia glaucinalis
Lathronympha strigana
Metzneria metzneriella
Mompha ochraceella
Monopis crocapitella
Monopis laevigella
Nemapogon cloacella
Nymphula nitidulata
Oegoconia sp
Ostrinia nubilalis
Pammene fasciana
Pammene fasciana
Pandemis heparana
Paraswammerdamia albicapitella
Parornix sp
Pediasia contaminella
Phtheochroa inopiana
Phyllonorycter leucographella
Pleuroptya ruralis
Plutella xylostella
Prays fraxinella
Pseudargyrotoza conwagana
Pyrausta aurata
Recurvaria nanella
Scrobipalpa costella
Sorhagenia rhamniella
Spilonota ocellana
Stenoptilia pterodactyla
Syncopacma sp
Teleiodes vulgella
Tinea semifulvella
Udea prunalis
Yponomeuta evonymella
Yponomeuta sp
Ypsolopha scabrella

Elachista bisulcella to be checked

Plain Pug

Dewick's Plusia

Eulamprotes atrella

Wormwood Pug

Phyllonorycter leucographella

Sorhagenia rhamniella

Nymphula nitidulata

Pediasia contaminella

Phtheochroa inopiana

Coleophora conspicuella

Cnephasia longana

Celypha rosaceana

Argyresthia pruniella

Agriphila selasella

Agonopterix heracliana

Acompsia cinerella

Sea of arable desert

Ashwell Trap Positions

Over-looking the SW breeze