Busy Mothing period: Recent update

The list of moths for the year has now reached 199 species within the Little Hadham Parish. On the 21st June I set a new for year garden record of 58 moths of 36 species and this was almost beaten on the 22nd. Last night saw the bar move a little higher with 63 moths of 40 species. Still a long way to go to beat last years record of 210 moths of 82 species. Maybe a warm July night will get me close.
New for the year moths are daily at this time of the year and over the last 3 nights have been:
Micros:
Gypsonoma dealbana
Celypha roseceana
Agriphila straminella
Prays fraxinella (NFM, species number 596 for the parish records)
Pseudargyrotoza conwagana
Eudonia mercurella
Rhopobota naevana
(1 more TBC)

Macros:
Riband Wave
Rufous minor
Fern
Common footman
Common emerald
Elephant hawkmoth
Double square spot
Phoenix

Prays fraxinella

Common emerald

Phoenix

Flame

Elophila nympheata

Hackney Mothing

Small dusty wave

Aphomia sociella (Bee moth)

Ephestia parasitella unicolrella

Blastobasis lacticolella

Bright line brown eye

Prays fraxinella

Haworth's pug

Enarmonia formosana

Graeme Smith and I had been invited to run several moth traps at east Bank West Bank NR in Stamford Hill, Hackney. This reserve is a thin strip of land several hundred yards long on either side of the railway line out of Liverpool Street. Only 3 yards wide and heavily vegetated. Plenty of privet, sycamore and plane.
Traps set by 9.30 and we began netting. Mainly micros with a few small fan foots and small dusty wave.
By 10.45 the sky blackened and an electric storm brought a rapid end to the event. We were packed by 11.45 with a list of 65 moths of 28 species, including Prays fraxinella, 3 Ephestia unicolorella, Enarmonia formosana and Acentria ephemerella. Pretty good micros.
All photo credits: Graeme J. Smith who also carried out necessary dissections.
Full List:

Classification	Vernacular	Latin	Number taken
Micro
216	Cork Moth	Nemapogon cloacella	1
228		Monopsis weaverella	1
449	Ash bud moth	Prays fraxinella	1
464	Diamond back moth	Plutella xylostella	2
644		Borkhausenia fuscecens	1
647	Brown house moth	Hoffmannophila pseudospretella	1
819		Scrobipalpa costella	1
874		Blastobasis lacticolella	3
994		Clepsis consimilana	10
998	Light brown apple moth	Epiphyas postvitanna	8
1011		Pseudargyrotoza conwagana	2
1216	Cherry bark moth	Prays fraxinella	1
1301		Crambus lathionellus	3
1331	Water veneer	Acentria ephemerella	1
1361	Mint moth	Pyrauta aurata	3
1376	Small magpie	Anania hortulata	2
1428	Bee moth	Aphomia sociella	6
1474		Ephestia parasitella unicolorella	3
Macros
0017	Common swift	Hepialis lupilinus	6
1702	Small fan-footed wave	Idaea biselata	1
1707	Small dusty wave	Idaea seriata	4
1711	Treble brown spot	Idaea trigimenata	1
1713	Riband wave	Idaea aversata	1
1742	Yellow Shell	Camptogramma bilineata	1
1813	Haworth’s pug	Eupithecia haworthiata	1
2089	Heart and Dart	Agrotis exclamationis	1
2160	Bright line brown eye	Lacanobia oleracea	1
2473	Beautiful hooktip	Laspeyria flexula	1

New moths recently

Blood vein

Now getting to the time of year when new for year moths are almost a daily occurence. Over the last few days added:
Chrysoteuchia culmella
Celypha striana
Small waved umber
Blood vein
common wainscot
Pale oak beauty
Heart and club

small waved umber

Celypha striana

Common wainscot

Heart and Club

New Moth for Parish records

A reasonable haul in the garden moth trap this morning, with new for the year records of Common Wave and burnished brass

Burnished brass

Burnished brass

Common wave

However, a small very plain brown micro with a yellow head caught my attention as unusual and so it proved, a Achroia grisella (Lesser wax moth.) This is a pest to bee keepers as it lays its eggs in bee hives and the young caterpillars can cause damage to the hive by munching through everything and anything that is in there.
In all 18 moths of 16 species.

Achroia grisella (Lesser wax moth)

These records take the number of moths trapped this year in the parish to 1115 made up of 58 micro species and 102 macro species and, in total 594 species for the parish.

Moth Night: Millennium Wood

3 of us set up 5 traps within the wood as from 8.45 and immediately began netting moths found on plants and bushes, many from nettle patches.
Quickly, our total for the night rose, with large numbers of silver-ground carpet and common swift. The temperature dropped around 11.15 and it became quite damp and dewy which appeared to stop moths flying. Consequently, we began emptying the traps, listing the contents and saving those that required further work for identification.
In total 159 moths of 38 species were identified with 5 new macros for the parish year list and 9 micros one of which, Coptotriche marginea was new for parish records.
This means my totals for the year with Little Hadham presently stand at 99 macro moths and 54 micro moths, taking the total species count for the parish to a reasonably impressive 593 species since 2011. The champagne is now on ice for when I catch my 600th moth species for the parish.
The list in total:
Macros: New for year records in bold

1. 30 silver -ground carpet
2. angle shades
3. 6 common marbled carpet
4. 25 common swift
5. 4 snout
6. 2 yellowshell
7. 3 brimstone
8. 3 flame shoulder
9. 3 light emerald
10. 3 garden carpet
11. 5 clouded silver
12. 2 common pug
13. 2 scorched wing
14. 5 mottled pug
15. 2 green carpet
16. 2 marbled minor
17. setaceous hebrew character
18. 2 tawny marbled minor
19. brindled pug

Micro moths: new for parish in red, new for year in bold

1. 20 Plutella xylostella
2. Yponomeuta cagnagella
3. Anthophilia fabricana
4. 3Hedya pruniana
5. Nemapogon cloacella
6. 2 Celypha lacunana
7. 9 Scoparia ambigualis
8. 5 Blastobasis lacticolella
9. Nemaphora degeerella
10. Monopsis weaverella
11. Udea olivalis
12. Tortrix viridana
13. aphomia sociella
14. Anania hortulata
15. Tinea semifulvella
16. Eulia ministrana
17. Nematopogon swammerdamella
18. Parapoynx striatata
19. Coptotriche marginae

1. 

   yellowshell

   
   

   

   Anthophilia fabricana

   
   

   

   Yponomeuta cagnagella

   
   

   

   Nemophora degeerella

Scorched wing

Tortrix viridana

Tinea semifulvella

Angle shades

Clouded silver

Moths galore

With the rise in both day and night time temperatures, coupled with no moon and little wind, the last few nights have been excellent mothing conditions.
Last night, a quick check along Chapel Lane before it was fully dark gave :
Treble brown spot (NFY)
A 5 minute standing still session at The Green at Westland Green gave:
3 silver ground carpet
5 straw dot
Scoapria ambigualis (NFY)
Scoparia basistrigalis

Then, on to the 15W actinic trap set along a muddy track in Pigs Green. By this time it was 10.50 and it was clearly going to be a busy trap. Even with the tube turned off, moths (mainly common swifts) were being constantly attracted to the head torch. Anything that wasn't a common swift or silver-ground carpet was netted, but still 15+ escaped capture and therefore identification. Anyway these were noted:
Aphomia sociella
12 common swift
2 straw dot
3 common pug
4 silver-ground carpet
4 treble lines
6 ingrailled clay
common white wave (NFY)
pebble hooktip (NFM)
Rivulet (NFY)
Eulia ministrana
Brown silver line (NFM)
Crambus lathionellus
Pthteochroa rugosana
Scoparia ambigualis
3 pugs await confirmation

This morning, a not too early check on the garden skinner gave records of:
Shears
buff ermine
willow beauty
2 common swift
snout
treble lines
Rustic shoulder knot
straw dot
Hedya pruniana (NFY)
Epiblema scutulana (TBC) and (NFY if so)
Mottled pug
1 pug awaits confirmation

All in all, takes me past 1000 moth records for the year, made up now from 94 macros and 44 micros: 138 species for 2016. Far in excess of last year's figure.

Pebble hooktip

selection of ingrailed clay

Early June mothing (dreadful)

All lepidopterists look forward to the coming of June and the instant rise in variety of moths to trap. That is, apart from this year, when northerly strong winds and downpours, coupled with low temperatures (11C during the day, 6C at night) meant the last few days have been dire.
The only highlight was the influx of swarms of Plutella xylostella (Diamond back moth.) This migrant is normally taken in small numbers later in the year, but a rise from 3 on the 30th May, 57 on the 31st, 19 on 1st June and last night just 8 certainly boosted the total moth numbers for the year, if not the species number.
Other new moths for the year have been:
Crambus lathionellus (29th) in the garden, May highflier (Pig's Green 30th) mottled rustic (garden 30th) Ephestia unicolorella (garden 31st), heart and dart (1st June to the garden trap and last night Callisto denticulella.
This takes the total species for the parish to 115 species (78 macros and 37 micros and a running total of 744 moths in all.

Callisto denticulella

Plutella xylostella

Another P. xylostella from the 57 recorded on the 31st May