First quarter Moth report

Early and immaculate Angle shades taken 30.iii.16 in Suffyldes Wood

Have run the garden trap almost every night this year and had more success than over the last 2 years, with, in total, 276 moths taken in the parish, made up of 20 macros and 7 micros, so all in all, most pleasing.
January
A warm start to the year meant the first moth was taken on the 3rd, with a haul of 26 winter moths coming to headtorch or found roosting on tree trunks at 3 venues in one night. It wasn't until the 23rd that the first garden moths were taken, Early moth and pale brindled beauty with Acleris ferrugana and Acleris sparsana following on at the garden Skinner the following 2 nights.
The month ended on a real high, with 41 moths of 14 species taken at both Millennium Wood and garden trap. 9 dotted border at MW, were a monthly high along with 3 chestnut, 3 Tortricodes alternella and the first Agonopterix heracliana of the year

Acleris ferrugana

Dotted border

satellite

End of month totals: 12 macros and 4 micros.

February:
Quiet start with no moths until 4th and nothing new until the 20th when a clouded drab was taken in the garden. 21st saw the first small quaker but all in all, a quiet month with just 29 moths seen all month and that included 6 common quakers on the 21st.

End of month totals: 14 macros 4 micros

common quaker

small quaker

clouded drab.

March:
March got going straight away with several regulars. On the 4th I had a 15W actinic heath trap delivered and almost every night since have left this in 10 different sites around the parish, with mixed results.
Diurnea fagella was taken on the 5th as was Acleris schalleriana, both in Millennium Wood whilst the first real highlight of the year was a dotted chestnut on the 10th at Pig's Green where the trap was set on a footpath leading into local mixed woodland. This was only my 2nd of this species since 2011.

Dotted chestnut

An Early grey followed the next night at home and Westland Green gave up a twin spotted quaker on the 15th. After a few nights trying at a neglected woodland, Suffyldes Wood, without too much success due to cold night time temperatures, I struck lucky on the 20th with, in total: hebrew character, spring usher, chestnut, March moth, common quaker, 2 small quaker, Agonopterix heracliana, 5 Diurnea fagella and a brindled pug. A site I shall be visiting weekly from now on.
the following night a shoulder stripe was NFY from Millennium Wood, before the overall highlight so far for 2016 was taken in the garden Skinner on the 26th: Povolyna leucapennella, only the 3rd county record.
The records from Suffyldes Wood kept coming, with 2 engrailled and a rather early angle shades coming on the 30th to complete a good final month of the 1st quarter.

End of month totals: 20 macros and 7 micros.

Povolyna leucapennella

Moth Records by site within Little Hadham Parish

Garden: 125W Skinner

Chapel Lane: headtorch and net

All other sites: Heath Actinic 15W

Site	Tetrad	Times trapped	Species count	NFM’s	Average Sp/visit
Garden	TL42F	91	18	1	0.2
Westland Green	TL42G	3	3	0	1
Chapel Lane	TL42F	1	1	0	1
Millennium Wood	TL42K	9	19	0	2.11
Suffyldes Wood	TL42F	5	14	0	2.8
Valley Fields	TL42G	3	5	0	1.66
Pigs Green	TL42F	1	5	0	5
Brick Kiln Hill	TL42F	2	1	0	0.5
Alder Wood	TL42F	3	7	0	2.33
Ash Valley GC	TL42F	1	2	0	2
Hoecroft Lane	TL42F	3	6	0	2
Little Hadham Place	TL42G	1	2	0	2