Two cracking recent garden catches

A couple of really mild nights, not dropping below 13 degrees, and with highs of 18c on Tuesday, it was no surprise that my catches shot up!

23 species on Tuesday night was an October species count record in 8 years.

Winners this year for October are, Merveille du Jour, Satellite, Red-line Quaker and Acleris schalleriana, all common with 9, 7, 11 and 31 records so far this October.

Losers include, Beaded Chestnut (just two worn records so far this year, Brown-spot Pinion (First year so far with no records).

Most notable was a single Acleris rhombana (Not seen since 2015). 

A wee bit of migration was noted, a fresh Udea ferrugalis and 2 Plutella xylostella.

Garden species count for 2020 now upto 490.

Catch Reports - Back Garden - Stevenage - North Herts

19/10/20 - 125w MV Robinson Trap

21 moths of 12 species

Macro Moths

Brick 2 [NFY]

Common Marbled Carpet 1

Lesser Yellow Underwing 2

Merveille du Jour 3

November Moth 3

Red-line Quaker 1

Satellite 1

Shuttle-shaped Dart 1

Yellow-line Quaker 3

Micro Moths

Acleris rhombana 1 [NFY]

Acleris sparsana 2

Epiphyas postvittana 1

20/10/20 - 250w Clear MV Robinson Trap

58 moths of 24 species

Macro Moths

Feathered Thorn 2 [NFY]

Barred Sallow 1

Beaded Chestnut 1

Black Rustic 1

Chestnut 3

Common Marbled Carpet 1

Lesser Yellow Underwing 1

Merveille du Jour 1

November Moth 1

Red-green Carpet 1

Red-line Quaker 2

Satellite 5

Shuttle-shaped Dart 1

Turnip Moth 1

Yellow-line Quaker 2

Micro Moths

Acleris schalleriana 19

Acleris sparsana 4

Amblyptilia acanthdactyla 1

Cydalima perspectalis 2

Epiphyas postvittana 3

Hypsopygia costalis 1

Plutella xylostella 2

Tachystola acroxantha 1

Udea ferrugalis 1

Udea ferrugalis

Acleris rhombana

Beaded Chestnut

Brick

Turnip Moth

Chestnut

Feathered Thorn (Female)

Hypsopygia costalis

Merveille du Jour

Much ado about the same...

Last night's catch was almost the same, but with an addition of a Spruce Carpet which failed to co-operate for a photo, and several fresher November Moth species, which also would not lay flat.

A slightly better conditioned Red-line Quaker turned up, as well as my second 2020 record of Orange Sallow which is over a month apart from the year first specimen that I took back in mid-September.

Stevenage, North Herts, VC20.

Orange Sallow

Red-line Quaker

Latest from the garden moth trap

I continue to run my moth trap around 3 times a week here in Stevenage, North Herts.

I have mostly been using my Actinic, with pretty poor results, although night time temperatures last week did dip as low as 4c.

Last night however I ran the MV Robinson trap instead and was rewarded with 13 moths of 9 species, not a lot compared to some folk recently, but about as good as it gets here.

Highlights were two new species for the year, and 3 fresh season first Red-green Carpet, which were all differently marked.

Both new for years species were extremely washed out, not the same could be said for one of the Red-green Carpets though!

I also trapped two late micro moths, Celypha lacunana and Carcina quercana, the latter my latest record ever.

When I was potting up one of the Green-brindled Crescent's, it jumped into a defensive posture and stayed like it for quite some time, before flying off, four years ago, I experienced this defensive mechanism with a Satellite, and wrote an article in the Entomological Record & Journal of Variation.

I can only assume that it was playing dead and trying to avoid being the next snack!

Garden species count for 2020 now upto 487.

Catch Reports - Back Garden - Stevenage - North Herts

16/10/20 - 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

November Moth 2 [NFY]

Red-line Quaker 1 [NFY]

Chestnut 1

Common Marbled Carpet 1

Green-brindled Crescent 2

Red-green Carpet 3

Micro Moths

Carcina quercana 1

Celypha lacunana 1

Epiphyas postvittana 1

Chestnut

Green-brindled Cescent

Green-brindled Cescent

November Moth

Red-line Quaker

Red-green Carpet

Red-green Carpet

Latest from the garden moth trap

Still quite poor here in my garden, but Thursday night was rather pleasing, with a rather diverse cast appearing to the actinic trap.

Yellow-line Quaker made its first appearance of the year, the 2nd Merveille du Jour of the year was nice, and a rather late and well marked Common Marbled Carpet was nice to see.

Below is Thursday night's catch

Garden species count for 2020 now upto 485.

Catch Reports - Back Garden - Stevenage - North Herts

08/10/20 - 40w Actinic & 15w Actinic/15w Synergetic combo

Macro Moths

Yellow-line Quaker 1 [NFY]

Chestnut 1

Common Marbled Carpet 1

Garden Carpet 1

Lesser Yellow Underwing 1

Lunar Underwing 2

Merveille du Jour 1

Micro Moths

Acleris schalleriana 1

Agonopterix alstromeriana 1

Epiphyas postvittana 2

Acleris schalleriana

Agonopterix alstromeriana

Common Marbled Carpet

Yellow-line Quaker

A couple of year-listers brightens the mood on a dark and cool morning

Just 8 moths in my Stevenage trap last night to the Actinic lights. 

1/4 were new for year (Green-brindled Crescent and Grey Shoulder-knot) and half were Plutella xylostella, funny old game this mothing lark!

Grey Shoulder-knot is a good moth for my garden, mostly annual but i've never trapped more than 1 per season!

Numbers have been very poor during extremely changeable conditions.

Below is last night's catch

Garden species count for 2020 now upto 484.

Catch Reports - Back Garden - Stevenage - North Herts

06/10/20 - 40w Actinic & 15w Actinic/15w Synergetic combo

Macro Moths

Green-brindled Crescent 1 [NFY]

Grey Shoulder-knot 1 [NFY]

Garden Carpet 1

Micro Moths

Epiphyas postvittana 1

Plutella xylostella 4

Grey Shoulder-knot

Green-brindled Crescent

Earliest Mottled Umber

Well, earliest season first (This was the first species of 2020, trapped on the night of the new year) On new years day it was a fairly mild 7 degrees, only a few degrees cooler than last night.

Since the beginning, for me in 2006, this is my earliest of the newly hatched specimens (Mottled Umber are on the wing all winter) by 17 days!

Other than that, just a few bits and pieces still braving the floods.

Mottled Umber

Quiet with the MV, but a switch to Actinic does the business

The last 3 outings with my trap here in Stevenage have yielded 8, 12 and 12 respectively... not species, moths!

It has been the worst September for sheer numbers of moths since moving here in 2012.

But, quality over quantity last night with a switch from 125 watts of Mercury to a combined 70 watts of Actinic and Synergetic power.

It was rather wet last night, but rain never seems to put moths off, its the cold wind combined that always does it. Luckily last night was very calm.

Pick was of course the Merveille du Jour, easily in the top 5 most beautiful moths in the UK.

A rather orange/pinky flushed Emmelina monodactyla was a nice colour variation and made a change from the usual paler examples.

Below is last night's catch

Garden species count for 2020 now upto 482.

Catch Reports - Back Garden - Stevenage - North Herts

30/09/20 - 40w Actinic & 15w Actinic/15w Synergetic combo

Macro Moths

Blair's Shoulder-knot 1 [NFY]

Merveille du Jour 1 [NFY]

Sallow 1 [NFY]

Barred Sallow 1

Chestnut 2 [Season first]

Lunar Underwing 1

Micro Moths

Acleris schalleriana 1

Cydalima perspectalis 1

Emmelina monodactyla 1

Epiphyas postvittana 2

40w Actinic & 15w Actinic/15w Synergetic Trap

Acleris schalleriana

Blair's Shoulder-knot

Chestnut

Emmelina monodactyla

Merveiile du Jour

Sallow

Mid-September Mothing in the garden

Extremely quiet in my Stevenage garden, so very little to report.

A Dewick's Plusia (the 4th this year) on the 22nd was most welcome, other than that, my earliest Large Ranunculus on the 13th since starting trapping in 2006 was the most notable record. 

Two different forms of Beaded Chestnut were also nice to see side by side in the trap on the 21st.

Below are all the new for year species.

Garden species count for 2020 now upto 479.

Catch Reports - Back Garden - Stevenage - North Herts

13/09/20

1x Large Ranunculus

14/09/20

1x Eudonia angustea

17/09/20

1x Barred Sallow

21/09/20

2x Beaded Chestnut

3x Acleris sparsana

Acleris sprasana

Barred Sallow

Beaded Chestnut

Beaded Chestnut

Dewick's Plusia

Large Ranunculus

Eudonia angustea

Early September Mothing in the garden

It's been a rather slow month with a small trickle of new moths during the first two weeks of September.

The weather has been a little up and down as well, with some windy and wet days, mixed in with some humid and warm sunny days, but cool nights (some dropping as low as 6c here in North Herts).

The big shock was of course the 2nd Herts record of Slender Burnished Brass and not seen since the year 2000! It was a Plusia I needed as well, having seen Scarce Burnished Brass abroad in the past.

An Orange Sallow was also a nice surprise this morning, and a good moth for my garden ad never annual.

Below are all of the new for year species.

Garden species count for 2020 now upto 474.

Catch Reports - Back Garden - Stevenage - North Herts

03/09/20

1x Slender Burnished Brass

05/09/20

2x Brindled Green

08/09/20

1x Cypress Pug

09/09/20

4x Lunar Underwing 

10/09/20

1x Deep-brown Dart

12/09/20

2x Black Rustic

1x Orange Sallow

Black Rustic

Cypress Pug

Deep-brown Dart

Lunar Underwing

Orange Sallow

Slender Burnished Brass

August Roundup - Garden report

August, in general was a funny old month. It started average temperature wise in the low to mid 20's and then by the second week we had 5 days of 30+ peaking at around 35 degrees on the 7th.

Night time temperatures were unbearable for sleeping, with at least 7 nights on a trot where the temperature did not drop below 18 degrees, in fact the warmest night was 22.5c on the 11th. 

I cannot remember it being +20c at night for such an extended period of time before.

The catches were rather sporadic and naturally went mad when it was warm, but there was a huge decrease in numbers of common species, in fact new for year species literally dried up at towards the end of August after the hot spell, and I went a full 6 trapping efforts not seeing any new species, this is most unusual.

But, it wasn't all bad. With 6 new species for the garden, pretty darn good after 8 years of trapping here.

We start on the 31st of July, the night before the month of August started.

Below are all of the new for year species.

Garden species count for 2020 now upto 460.

Catch Reports - Back Garden - Stevenage - North Herts

30/07/20

Barred Hook-tip

Common Wainscot

Flounced Rustic

Least Yellow Underwing

Waved Black

Gelechia senticetella

01/08/20

Gypsy Moth [New Garden Moth no.747]

Mouse Moth

Phoenix

White-point

Agriphila tristella

Epinotia ramella

Parapoynx stratiotata

Phyllonorycter geniculella

02/08/20

Marbled Beauty

Old Lady

Rosy Rustic

Wormwood Pug

Bryotropha affinis

Eucosma campoliliana

Pammene regiana

04/08/20

Pammene aurita

Ypsolopha sequella

Ypsolopha sylvella

05/08/20

Pammene aurita

Ypsolopha sequella

06/08/20

Ectoedemia louisella/sericopeza

07/08/20

Caloptilia falconipennella [New Garden Moth no.748]

08/08/20

Old Lady

Rosy Rustic

Wormwood Pug

Aglossa pinguinalis [New Garden Moth no.749]

Agriphila geniculea

Cedestis gysseleniella [New Garden Moth no.750]

Mompha raschkiella

09/08/20

Clay Triple-lines

Pretty Chalk Carpet [New Garden Moth no.751]

Pyralis farinalis

10/08/20

Oak Processionary

Plain Pug [New Garden Moth no.752]

Argyresthia bonnetella

Epinotia nisella

Pyrausta despicata

12/08/20

Hoary Footman

Roeslerstammia erxlebella

Ypsolopha alpella

13/08/20

Orange Swift

Cochylis dubitana

Elophila nymphaeata

15/08/20

Frosted Orange

Agriphila straminella

Cochylimorpha straminea

Cydia amplana

Udea ferrugalis

16/08/20

Currant Pug

Catoptria falsella

20/08/20

Dewick's Plusia

21/08/20

Centre-barred Sallow

22/08/20

Monopis weaverella

Aglossa pinguinalis

Caloptilia falconipennella

Cochylis dubitana

Cydia amplana

Dewick's Plusia

Elophila nymphaeata

Gypsy Moth

Waved Black