4000th moth of the year

Friday night and I ran the heath trap adjacent to a mixed hedge in a recently mown hayfield. Upon returning at midnight there was plenty to record, with some moths appearing to be in good numbers.
Top of the list was an all time high of 22 ruby tigers, along with 10 Agapeta hamana, 8 Agriphila straminella, 7 Crambus perlella, 5 dingy footman, 5 dusky sallow, 5 Scoparia subfusca and 2 or 3 of Common footman, Least carpet, Eucosma cana, Eudonia mercurella, Plutella xylostella, Agriphila geniculea, ear moth sp. and common carpet.
New for the year were Agriphila tristella, Ypsolopha sequella, magpie and tawny speckled pug. The latter was the 4000th moth taken this year.
Back at the garden trap red twin spot carpet and Pyrauta purpuralis were new for year whilst Tinea trinotella was new for parish records.
This morning, after a clear sky and consequently much colder night, just 13 of 11 species in the garden trap, with Flounced rustic and buff footman being new for the year.

Large yellow underwing

Tinea trinotella

Pyrauta purpuralis

ruby tiger

red twin spot carpet

Ypsolopha sequella

Hadham Hall moths

Awaiting the first arrivals

Last night I set the 15W trap and sheet up next to the pond at Hadham Hall. The pond has extensive reedmace stands along with irises and loosestrife, so looked good for china mark species and wainscots. The temperature was 16C between 9 and midnight with a gentle breeze and overcast. 

Once everything was set up I wandered around the lawns and pond perimeter netting anything that came to the head torch before returning and potting moths roosting on the sheet. 

The moths were slow but steady, not perhaps in numbers that I had expected but nevertheless regular arrivals at the sheet helped build up a pile of filled pots. Once identified I took them away from the light to release, those requiring further identification were taken home.

I switched the trap off at 11.45, emptied and returned home.

Notable moths were Crambus pascuella, swallow prominent and Chilo phragmitella which were all new for the year whilst Catalysta lemnata (Small China mark) was a new moth for parish records. Numbers were supplied by the dingy footman, with 22 presenting themselves.

 The Catalysta lemnata constituted my 300th micro moth species for the parish and was the 621st moth species in total.

Species list:

Macro moths:

• 4 small fan footed wave
• Drinker
• 2 Single dotted border
• Yellowshell
• 2 Large yellow underwing
• 22 Dingy footman
• Dwarf Cream wave
• Dusky sallow
• Least carpet
• Ruby Tiger
• Common footman
• Swallow prominent
• Scorched carpet
• Dun-bar
• July highflier
• Flame shoulder
• Uncertain
• Smoky wainscot
• 2 pug sp

Micro moths:

• 2 Endotricha flammealis
• Chrysoteuchia culmella
• 2 Agriphila straminella
• Pandemis heparana
• 3 Crambus perlella
• Monopsis weaverella
• 2 Crassa unitella
• Scoparia subfusca
• 3 Donacaula forficella
• 2 Clepsis consimilana
• 3 Catalysta lemnata
• 2 Chilo phragmitella
• Ypsolopha scabrella
• Crambus pascuella
• Cnephasia species

Swallow prominent

Catalysta lemnata

Agriphila straminella

Clepsis consimilana

Crambus perlella

Crassa unitella

Dusky sallow

Monopsis weaverella

Ypsolopha scabrella

Some really good moths

Over the last week the quantity and quality of moths trapped has been first class. The garden skinner has run every night and usually has contained over 100 moths each night, usually of over 60 species per night. On the 21st I ran the portable Heath 15W in the local graveyard at the bottom of the garden, just for an hour or so, picking up Bryotropha affinis as a new for year moth.
On the 25th, again just for a short while, I ran it in Suffyldes Wood where the eyecatching figure of 43 dingy footman were recorded. Here, also a lunar spotted pinion and small dusty wave made the year list.
However, the garden trap has been coming up with some real treats of late. New for parish records have been leopard moth (23rd) Brown veined wainscot (25th) Helcystogramma rufescens and Olive both on the 26th. Four new for parish records in 4 days! That doesn't happen often.
Other notables were new for the year:
Waved black (20th) Pine hawkmoth (21st) Dusky sallow (21st) Nomophila noctuella (21st) Mylelios circumvoluta (21st) Straw underwing (21st) Phycita roborella (21st) Crambus perlella (22nd) Euzophera pinguis (23rd) Cochylis atricapitana (23rd) Acrobasis suavella (24th) square spot rustic (25th) Acrobasis advenella (25th) Ypsolopha dentella (26th) Cameraria ohridella (26th)
This now gives a total of 3726 moths trapped and identified this year of 187 macros and 172 micros. For comparison, last year on this day it was 3328 moths of 170 macros and 164 micros, so not a lot in it.

Aspilapteryx trinipennella

Brown veined wainscot

Cameraria ohridella

Coleophora trifolii

leopard moth

Olive

Ypsolopha dentella

Norfolk Day

After many weeks I returned for a day's birding to North Norfolk last Friday. As it was mid July my expectation anything out of the ordinary would turn up was low and this proved to be correct. First stop was Cley and a wander along the East Bank and a brief sea watch. Not too much and nothing noteworthy on what was becoming a warm and sunny day. Off to Kelling water meadows and 2 wood sandpipers were a pleasing find before a quick trip up to Kelling Heath. Here, a 15 minute walk realised 1 wood pigeon.
Back to Cley beach car park where sky larks, more avocets and a med gull were noted but the view from the North screen was too hazy for any good viewing. Dunlin, redshanks and not a lot else.
Then, after a quick stop at Burnham Overy on to Titchwell where the light was better but heat haze was an issue. Little stint, 2 whimbrel, spoonbills made the day list along with the regular fare, before returning to Wells for a couple of jars with Gary before heading home.
Whilst the list is not a typical Norfolk one, still great to be there and I plan to return in the next fortnight, when waders should be returning in greater numbers.
Species list:

1. little grebe
2. great crested grebe
3. cormorant
4. little egret
5. grey heron
6. spoonbill
7. mute swan
8. greylag goose
9. canada goose
10. shelduck
11. mallard
12. gadwall
13. teal
14. tufted duck
15. red kite
16. common buzzard
17. kestrel
18. hobby
19. pheasant
20. moorhen
21. coot
22. oystercatcher
23. avocet
24. golden plover
25. lapwing
26. dunlin
27. little stint
28. wood sandpiper
29. redshank
30. spotted redshank
31. black tailed godwit
32. bar tailed godwit
33. curlew
34. whimbrel
35. ruff
36. black headed gull
37. meduterranean gull
38. herring gull
39. lesser black backed gull
40. sandwich tern
41. common tern
42. wood pigeon
43. collared dove
44. swift
45. kingfisher
46. greater spotted woodpecker
47. skylark
48. swallow
49. house martin
50. meadow pipit
51. pied wagtail
52. grey wagtailwren
53. dunnock
54. robin
55. song thrush
56. blackbird
57. reed warbler
58. cettis warbler
59. chiffchaff
60. great tit
61. blue tit
62. bearded tit
63. magpie
64. jay
65. jackdaw
66. rook
67. carrion crow
68. starling
69. house sparrow
70. chaffinch
71. linnet
72. goldfinch
73. greenfinch
74. yellowhammer
75. reed bunting

Mission Accomplished

I set out this afternoon for my 2nd visit to Stocking Wood to check for the rarer butterflies that can be found in the ride between Stocking Wood and Stocking Wood Plantation at TL458209: namely Silver Washed Fritillary, purple hairstreak and white letter hairstreak.
As I wandered along the track I noted: large white, green veined white, small and Essex skippers, ringlets and meadow browns. The ride was fairly devoid of butterflies upon arrival but after 15 minutes or so a few meadow browns, a comma and a male brimstone. The latter evaded photographic attempts. None of the targets were seen so I wandered back to Bury Green. Along the path I stopped to photo a meadow brown when a silver washed fritillary shot past me, before alighting upon bramble. A few shots and it was off, high over the oaks towards the ride, so worth paying another visit early next week.
Other species noted: common blue damselfly, chiffchaff, great and blue tits and a hobby being chased by a party of angry house martins. I suspected the hobby bred successfully locally last year and every chance it is again this year, Soon find out as the juveniles, once fledged can be really noisy and like to sit around on pylons demanding food for busy parents.
A quick visit to Millennium Wood gave views of speckled wood and a red admiral whilst a gatekeeper on the herbs in the garden when I got home was a first for the year. Still very few small whites, peacocks and common blues this year.

Essex skipper

Meadow brown

comma

Silver washed fritillary

Silver washed fritillary

meadow brown

Speckled Wood

Common blue damselfly

Earlier this week I wnt out at dusk to set up a moth trap. En route came across a late flying red kite and a distant little owl, latter shot when the light had really faded.

red kite

Little owl

Another marathon mothing session

Yesterday, I set the trap on wasteland near Westland Green, an old disused farmyard which holds horse chestnut, elder, sycamore and plenty of nettles and thistles. I left the 15W Heath trap running whilst I returned home to grab some late supper before heading out.
Firstly I went to Millennium Wood for a quick wander through the wood, netting with a head torch as I went. Plenty of Pleuropyta ruralis coming up from nettles, but not too much of note so I returned to the trap at 11p.m. The plan was then to move on to the adjacent golf course to do more netting, but so much was coming to the trap that I began potting those roosting on the sheet.
Clearly some moths that were  new for year and several that I was fairly sure I hadn't recorded before, so I stayed and potted until all the pots were in use.

Argyresthia goedartella: new for the year.

I then listed those I knew and put the rest to one side. Off on to the golf course some 200metres away and not in sight of the trap, where I released those I knew. I carried on with this process until midnight, whereupon I emptied the trap and, again, potted those I was not sure of. This was, in total, around 40 moths which I then took down to the shed and began identifying.
Coleophora and Cnephasia were labelled as such and are ready to be dissected to ascertain specific species. One or two I was not 100% on, so these too will be passed on for confirmation.
Once this process was completed I began to pot all those roosting on the fence and perspex of the garden Skinner trap. These were duly identified and released several hundred yards along the village lane. I carried on doing this until 3.30 when I was flagging, so off to bed.

Ypsolopha scabrella: new for the year.

Not wanting to lose those in the trap, I returned at 5.15a.m and emptied those inside and set about going through the new pile of pots, completing the process at around 8.30. Time for a coffee before beginning recording them on the laptop and in my record book, the official record format. Several new moths were photogrpahed and the whole process was over by 12.15, just in time to pen this report.

Hypsopygia costalis

A really good night's mothing in hot, balmy conditions where the temp never dropped below 22C all night. Although there was a bright full moon, the number of moths in the lanes coming to the car headlights as I drove home was staggering.
In total: 301 moths form the 3 sites were identified and recorded.
Millennium Wood: 27 of 16 species
Alder Wood: 118 of 48+ species
Garden: 156 of 70 species.

Amblyptilia acanthadactyla minus a couple of legs

The List: 

Little Hadham Parish moths

19.07.16

Trapped between 9.15pm and 12.30am

Traps: Heath 15W actinic, 125W Skinner as well as headtorch and net.

Millennium Wood: Micros

• Anania perlucidalis
• Notocelia uddmanniana
• 4 Pleuropyta ruralis
• Eucosma obumbratana

Millennium Wood: macros

• 5 snout
• 3 July highflier
• clouded border
• Light emerald
• Dingy footman
• Common emerald
• 2 Shaded broad bar
• Riband wave
• Drinker
• Rufous minor
• Small fan foot wave
• 2 Green pug

New for parish records: Mullein wave

Alder Wood: disused yard with Heath 15W Actinic: Micros

• 25 Agriphila straminella
• Scoparia ambigualis
• Eudonia mercurella
• 2 Endotricha flammealis
• Notocelia uddmanniana
• Celypha striana
• 3 Crassa unitella
• 13 Eucosma cana
• 2 Agapeta hamana
• 4 Aethes rubigana (NFY)
• Apotomis sp TBC
• 3 Eudonia lacustrata
• Eucosma hohenwartiana
• 2 Limnaecia phragmitella
• Scoparia subfusca
• Bryotropha senectella
• Brachmia blandella
• Hypsopygia costalis
• Argyresthia goedartella
• Syncopacma sp TBC
• Epiblema foenella (NFY)
• Celypha lacunana
• Hedya nubiferana
• Lobesia abscisana (NFM)
• Bryotropha tellerella (NFY)
• Gypsonoma dealbana
• 3 Coleophora sp
• 7 Cnephasia sp

Alder Wood: disused farmyard with Heath 15W: Macros

• 2 Riband wave
• 4 dingy footman
• Silver Y
• 2 V pug
• Yellowshell
• 5 Green pug
• Drinker
• 4 Least carpet
• 2 July highflier
• Ruby tiger
• Marbled minor
• Dark arches
• Swallow tailed moth
• Small scallop (NFY)
• Double square spot
• 2 Small fan footed wave
• Small dotted buff (NFM)
• Mottled beauty
• Mullein wave (NFM)
• Engrailed

New for parish records: Small dotted buff

Garden with Skinner 125W trap: micros

• 13 Yponomeuta evonymella
• 3 Eucosma cana
• Eucosma obumbratana
• 3 Pleuropyta ruralis
• Yponomeuta cagnagella
• 3 Pandemis cerasana
• 5 Cydia pomonella
• 4 Agapeta hamana
• 4 Archips podana
• 3 Agriphila straminella
• 3Eudonia mercurella
• Ypsolopha scabella (NFY)
• Celypha lacunana
• 2 Clepsis consimilana
• 2 Hedya nubiferana
• Crassa unitella
• 3 Carcina quercana
• 2 Scoparia subfusca
• 4 Emmelina monodactyla
• Acleris forsskaleana
• Aphomia sociella
• Pandemis heparana
• 4 Anania hortulata
• Ephestia colorella ssp woodiella
• 3 Acleris holmiana
• Endotricha flammealis
• Udea prunalis
• Agriphila geniculea
• Bryotropha senectella
• Acleris laterana (TBC and NFY)
• Pyrausta aurata (NFY)
• Blastobasis adustella
• Amblyptilia acanthadactyla (nfy)
• Brachmia blandella  
• Spilonota laricana (NFM)
• Teleoides vulgella
• Notocelia rosaecolana (NFM)
• 2 Celypha striana
• Paraswammerdamia nebulella
• Cnephasia ssp (TBC)
• Coleophora ssp (TBC)

new for the year: Limnaecia phragmitella

Garden Skinner 125W: Macros

• 11 Riband wave
• Old Lady (NFY)
• Engrailed
• 2 Poplar hawkmoth
• Double striped pug
• Beautiful hooktip
• 12 Dingy footman
• Buff ermine
• 2 Yellow shell
• Yellowtail
• Snout
• Dwarf cream wave
• 3 Green pug
• 2 Willow beauty
• 2 Common rustic
• Brimstone
• 2 Chinese character
• Fan foot
• 4 July highflier
• Uncertain
• common wainscot
• Light emerald
• 2 Least carpet
• Scarce footman
• Dark arches
• Treble brown spot
• smoky wainscot
• 2 Single dotted wave

New for the year records: Epiblema foenella

Another busy moth night.

Ruby tiger

Planned on another late one last night and consequently set up trap and sheet on the green at Westland Green. Good grassland habitat surrounded by bramble, oak and hawthorn.
Before setting up, however, I stopped off in Chapel Lane where the previous night, en route to set the heath trap, I had driven past a barn owl on a post, 2 juvenile little owls on posts and hay bales, being fed by an adult. I arrived and found a place to stand, reasonably well concealed. Photos and report later.
Once at Westland Green I set the kit up and began netting micros. First in were Eucosma cana, Celypha lacunana, Plutella xylostella and Eudonia lacustrata. By 9.30 a few smaller macros were on the wing, mainly around bramle flowers. These were netted and identified as small fan footed wave (1st new for year of the night) single dotted wave and treble brown spot. Later, a dwarf cream wave was also taken.
It appeared that few were actually coming to the trap and the temperature was not behaving as per weather forecast. It dropped to a chilly 11C and I could see my breath. Dew was beginning to settle and my shoes and trousers were quickly soaked in the waist high grass.
I continued to net and pot, releasing batches some 200 yards away so not as to recatch. A ruby tiger was taken and added to the year list, before an Agapeta zoegana, Acleris forsskaleana and a mint condition yellowtail made the year list.
By 12.00 I had a good list, took half an hour to pot and pack up before returning home to identify and list. A record for the Heath Trap, with 107 moths of about 47 species. Await confirmation on several Cnepahsia, a possible Oidaematophorous lithodactyla (Dusky plume) and a Coleophora species that may well be a new for parish records Coleophora paripennella. Also, 1 micro needs to be identified, I can't get a good match.

Agapeta zoegana

Acleris forsskaleana

Having finished with the Westalnd Green specimens I spent a few minutes noting what was on the garden trap before bed and back to the trap at 5a.m. A very quiet night, with just an immaculate oak eggar being of note.

oak eggar

With these additons, moth totals have now reached the following:
Macros for year: 169
Micros for year: 135
An Agapeta hamana was the 300th moth species for 2016 out of a total of 2480 moths already identified and recorded this year.

Westland Green: 14.07.16. 15w Heath trap running 9.00 - 12.00

Macros:

• 3 small fan footed wave (NFY)
• 2 Treble brown spot
• 2 Single dotted wave
• Ruby tiger (NFY)
• Dark arches
• 27 Common wainscot
• 8 Shaded broad bar
• Snout
• Green pug
• Brimstone
• Dwarf cream wave
• Common wave
• Yellowtail (NFY)
• 2 Uncertain
• 3 Common footman
• Engrailed
• 4 July highflier
• Clay
• Willow beauty

Micros.

• 4 Eucosma cana
• 3 Celypha lacunana
• 3 Plutella xylostella
• Clepsis consimilana
• 3 Eudonia lacustrata
• 4 Scoparia subfusca
• Scoparia ambigualis
• Agapeta zoegana (NFY)
• 3 Carcina quercana
• Agriphila geniculea
• Acleris forsskaleana (NFY)
• Agapeta hamana
• Anania hortulata
• Blastobasis lacticolella
• Ditula angustiorana
• 2 Hedya nubiferana
• 2 Eucosma hohenwartiana
• Coleophora sp
• 2 Epinotia tenerana (NFY)
• Lathronympha strigana
• 4 Cnepahsia sp
• Oidaemtophorous lithodactyla (5th record for Herts) (NFM)

Amazingly, no micros in the garden trap and a very mundane list:

Skinner 125W trap running all night

• 1 Riband wave
• 2 Common footman
• Least carpet
• 2 Chinese character
• 3 buff ermine
• Common rustic
• Common wainscot
• 2 Treble brown spot
• Oak eggar (NFY)
• large yellow underwing
• 2 Uncertain.

Treble brown spot

Chinese character