Annual moth review.Part 1: March - June

With trips away in both January and February, I didn't bother sparking up the Skinner 125MV in the garden until March 2015. For the first few days, nothing, until 8th March, when a common quaker became the first macro of the year.
By the end of the month, 5 micros and 9 macros had been recorded. Not the fastest start and things barely improved in April, when the end of month total gave 5 micros and 13 macros for the year. Again, it must be noted I was travelling in the second to last week of April and no moths were recorded between the 25th and the 2nd May!
Lack of moths forced me into going and seeking them by heading to a local village green to see what ones I could flush, using a net. This was to prove most successful and I started to add new species to my parish records.
A trip to Westland Green on the 12th May gave up 2 new species: Epiblema cirsiana and small yellow underwing, whilst a return trip on the 20th meant I discovered Elasticha argentella and Nematopogon swammerdamella. The following day I returned at midday to discover Glyphipterix simpliciella on just about every buttercup whilst a visit sweeping the long grass on the local golf course, Ash Valley meant I found Dichrorampha plumbgana on the 27th. This is classified as an uncommon resident
Both Westland Green and AVGC were to become regular daytime haunts for me over the following months.
By the  end of May the totals had risen to 25 micros and 47 macros. Things were improving!
June continued to be slow, with a shears being only the 2nd garden record on the 5th. A visit to AVGC on the 6th turned up large numbers of Dichrorampha petrivella, but in amongst them, ones with a slightly different saddle shape: Dichrorampha sequana. This moth needed confirmation as, if it was, then it was a moth declared Herts extinct in 2006, with the last record being 1966. Indeed, confirmation by dissection and a re-found county moth. This one made the local papers and also meant I was granted permission to check the whole golf course, not just the areas either side of the 2 public footpaths, so all good. Further searches over the next few days meant I found more, near their foodplants: yarrow and tansy. A most pleasing find.
On the 28th I trapped my 100th macro for the year, a dwarf cream wave whilst the following day, I added 3 new micros to the parish records with: Coleophora albitarsella, Acrobasis advenella and Notocelia roborana.
By the end of June the totals had reached 77 micro species and 110 macro species. At this point in 2014, I was further ahead on macro numbers but, due to my determination to sort out every micro discovered, was well up on micro numbers.
The night of 29.vi.15 gave up 96 moths of 52 species, a record for the year. It meant by the end of June 884 moths had been recorded.
July will have to be part 2, as huge numbers were trapped, with new moths being taken on most days. See part 2.

Dichrorampha sequana: Herts extinct until this was discovered on Ash Valley Golf Course

Glphipterix simpliciella: Westland Green in huge numbers.

small yellow underwing: Westland Green 12.v.15 and after

Another small yellow underwing at Westland Green