Seriously good mothing

Headquarters for the night, pots, field guides, nets, cigs and beer.

What a night: 3 of us set up 5 traps in a local wood last night, traps of a wide range, from 125w skinner, through actinics, tungsten and black light. These were strategically placed throughout the wood at 8.15pm and switched on soon after.
Millennium Wood was, obviously, planted with 2000 native trees 14 years ago and now is flourishing, if somewhat in need of management in certain areas.
 We didn't have set targets, but, as with our trial run on Thursday, grass moths and bulrush wainscot were moths we would have liked to have seen. We weren't disappointed with Crambus perlella, Agrophila tristella in good numbers, Catoptria falsella and the highlight, 5 Agriphila selasellas. Also, 2 bulrush wainscot were netted as the males appeared reluctant to come to the light. I netted one roosting on nearby bulrush, its eyes reflecting in the head torch beam. Steve took another close by.
An ermine sp was taken by a tree that we noted as spindle and then found cocoons on the ends of the branches, so that helped make a difficult id somewhat easier: Yponomeuta cagnagella (spindle ermine)
A common marbled carpet was grilled but turned out to be what it was thought to be and a pug caused some interest until seen in the correct light to be the presumed V pug. 3 square spotted clays were netted and a dusky thorn was found inside the last actinic to be checked.
Numbers were supplied by Ag tristella and Lesser broad bordered yellow underwing whilst low numbers of macros such as common carpet, snout, brimstone, setaceous hebrew character also helped take the total trapped to 313 moths of 47 species + 8 for dissection later in the year, probably a winter's evening.

Checking the netted ones, with David from Bishop's Stortford camera club capturing the evening

Common carpet

dusky thorn

V pug photo bombing a dusky thorn snap. Thorn looks non too happy!

V pug

head on with a dusky thorn

Bulrush wainscot

Millennium Wood Little Hadham 

on 16viii14
313 of 47 (not incl TBC’s) 

0015Orange Swift (Hepeialus sylvina) 5 

0367 Phyllocnistis saligna 1 

0411 Argyresthia goedartella 1

0421 Argyresthia bonnetella 1

0427 Spindle Ermine (Yponomeuta cagnagella) 5 

0455 Ypsolopha scabrella 1 

0456 Ypsolopha horridella 3 

0464 Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella) 3 

0658 Carcina quercana 5 

0873 Blastobasis adustella 16 

0937 Agapeta hamana 2 

0969 Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix (Pandemis corylana) 1 

1038 Acleris laterana 1 

1093 Apotomis betuletana 2 

1134 Epinotia ramella 2 

1138 Epinotia nisella 25 

1260 Cydia splendana 4 

1303 Agriphila selasella 5 

1304 Agriphila straminella 40 

1305 Agriphila tristella 35 

1316 Catoptria falsella 2 

1405 Mother of Pearl (Pleuroptya ruralis) 8 

1452 Phycita roborella 1 

1680 Maiden's Blush (Cyclophora punctaria) 1 

1742 Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata) 15 

1764 Common Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata) 2 

1776 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) 1 

1858 V-Pug (Chloroclystis v-ata) 1 

1906 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) 6 

1914 Dusky Thorn (Ennomos fuscantaria) 1 

1937 Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria) 3 

1956 Common Wave (Cabera exanthemata) 3 

1961 Light Emerald (Campaea margaritata) 4 

2102 Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta) 5 

2107 Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) 4 

2111 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua janthe) 45 

2123 Small Square-spot (Diarsia rubi) 2 

2126 Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum) 10 

2131 Square-spotted Clay (Xestia rhomboidea) 3 

2134 Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa) 15 

2303 Straw Underwing (Thalpophila matura) 5 

2306 Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) 1 

2343 Common Rustic (Mesapamea secalis) 10 

2350 Small Wainscot (Chortodes pygmina) 1 

2369 Bulrush Wainscot (Nonagria typhae) 2 

2474 Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis) 1 

2477 Snout (Hypena proboscidalis) 3

Previous photos, taken by myself whilst the following, many thanks to David Woods of the local camera club for coming along and getting these as they happened. Not easy light.

Also, thanks to Graeme for his recording and feedback with final list, completed at 5a.m. this morning.

copper underwing roost. Must be a female somewhere near

Common marbled carpet

Graeme busy recording with a little helper

One of many yellowshells

Checking copper underwing for Svenssons copper underwing.