July Mothing, an overview

 Trapped every night bar three in July, running the Skinner 125 MV at the bottom of the garden where it has been for over 10 years. A good selection of moths including several new for Little Hadham parish records, a village a few miles west of Bishop's Stortford in East Herts.

New moths were:

Brown Scallop: 18.vii.21

Sycthropia crataegella: 10.vii.21

Rhyconia pinicolana: 18.vii.21

Eucosma conterminiana: 19.vii.21

Exoteleia dodecella: 19.vii.21

Caloptilia honoratella: 29.vii.21 gen det completed. This moth became the 800th species for my parish records. Also, a good county record for Hertfordshire. this was the 6th county record and only 2nd site record. All previous 5 taken from a garden in Stevenage, 1 in 2020 and 4 this year. All spring records. 

Sitochroa verticalis: 31.vii.21

A faded Brown scallop

Scythropia crataegella

Caloptilia honoratella

In total, 135 new species were recorded throughout July, made up of 62 macro species and 73 micros. Apart from those above, macro highlights were:

Leopard: 4th garden record 02.vii.21

Scarce silver lines: 1st garden record, 2nd parish record 04.vii.21

Blackneck: 3rd garden record

Eyed hawkmoth: 1st for 4 years, 05.vii.21 and again on the 11th

Waved black: few each year, only one so far this year on 21.vii.21

Magpie: 1st for 3 years 27.vii.21 and 2 more since

Rosy rustic: a reasonably early emergence 29.vii.21.

Rosy rustic

Magpie

Eyed hawkmoth

Scarce silver lines

Leopard.

Micro moths that were noteworthy included:

Chilo phragmitella: 10.vii.21. Not an annual to the garden trap.

Yposlopha dentella: 17.vii.21 Again not an annual capture.

Grapholita janthinana: 18.vii.21 2nd garden record.

Chilo phragmitella

Grapholita janthinana

Numbers were inevitably supplied by Common footman (385,) Rustic (75,) Dingy footman (50,) Least carpet (33) and Ruby tiger at 21 since 21.vii.21.

Invariably micro numbers were heightened by Yponomeuta evonymella (180 since 07.vii.21,) Cydalima perspectalis (69 since 10.vii.21) and Pleuroptya ruralis with 25 so far since 18.vii.21)

The running totals for the year were, on 31.vii.21 193 macro species and 138 micro species, giving a total moth species of 331. Not the best year by a long chalk. Often over 400 species for the end of July and many 1st generation species were missed completely in April and May. Early and Purple thorn only taken on 2nd gen examples this year.

On the 28 days of trapping I recorded, in total, 3004 moths for July with the best night being the 27.vii.21 where 180 moths were recorded of 56 species. Not the best species count, which  the 19.vii.21 with a record 65 species. Busy times. Obviously, the earlier I get to the trap in the morning, preferably at sunrise, the better the total as there will still be plenty of micros on the perspex and adjacent fence. These will have invariably flown by 7am.

Hopefully, the numbers and new species will continue into August.