29th April 2009 - Part 2

A pristine Chocolate-tip was the sole year first of another poor catch, despite the night being rather warmer than of late.


Trap list (15w Actinic)

Argyrotaenia ljungiana - 1
Garden Carpet - 1
Common Pug - 1
Chocolate-tip - 1
Hebrew Character - 4
Early Grey - 2

29th April 2009

A sunny and warm day but few moths flying - just this Pyrausta aurata on mint in the garden:

28th April 2009

Despite poor overnight mothing conditions new year ticks keep trickling in. Last night looked so unpromising that I very nearly didn't bother but with 9 moths of 7 species, two new for the year, it proved worthwhile.

First of the new species was this Brimstone Moth which came to the trap within minutes of the light being turned on:


Bright-line Brown-eye was also new for the year list:


Trap list (15w Actinic)

Brimstone Moth - 1
Waved Umber - 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart - 2
Bright-line Brown-eye - 1
Hebrew Character - 2
Powdered Quaker - 1
Early Grey - 1

26th April 2009

Two more year firsts amongst just 6 moths of 4 species overnight. The first was a very smart Cabbage Moth.


The second was this Flame Shoulder which once again was the earliest recorded here - but by only two days.

25th April 2009 - Part 2

Overnight the clouds cleared, temperatures fell and there was a frost on car windscreens at first light. To get 2 new species for the year in the trap was therefore quite unexpected. The year list to date now stands at 51 species which makes it the best start to the year since 2007 when 51 species had been recorded by the end of April. Several expected species have not yet been recorded so, weather permitting, there should be a few more to add before the end of the month.
The first of the new species last night was this male Muslin Moth:


Two Shuttle-shaped Darts were also new for the year:


Trap list (15w Actinic)

Argyrotaenia ljungiana - 1
Scarce Tissue - 1
Muslin Moth - 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart - 2
Hebrew Character - 2
Clouded Drab - 1

25th April 2009

Mowing the lawn can be worthwhile after all - the first Argyroyaenia ljungiana flew up as I trundled the mower around. Fairly bright but breezy today and no other day-flying moths were in evidence.

24th April 2009

Another poor night which made putting both Actinic and MV traps out rather pointless. The MV did attract the first White Ermine of the year - about 2 weeks earlier than usual.

23rd April 2009

Just as things started to look up and despite another hot day and warm, dry night hardly anything made it into the trap. Just 5 Hebrew Characters and a 20-plume Moth, Alucita hexadactyla - at least this was a year first.

22nd April 2009 - part 2

A warm, sunny day and lots of moths were fluttering around in the garden. The first that I managed to net was another garden first in the form of a handsome Incurvaria masculella:


Next to appear was the more expected Esperia sulphurella:

Several of the very common Nettle-tap, Anthophila fabriciana, also appeared for the first time:


This plume moth, Amblyptilia acanthadactyla, was disturbed from near to where the trap had been overnight so had perhaps been overlooked earlier:


Finally a non-moth - several of these Woundwort Shield bugs were out sunning themselves as well:

22nd April 2009

I potted up a tiny yellow and black moth found on an inside window of the house and took some photos of it. A trawl through UKMoths quickly turned up Bucculatrix thoracella, a very distinctive micro that shouldn't be flying until June - and number 630 for the garden list.

21st April 2009

A warmer night was reflected in a much higher catch than of late - 23 moths of 10 species.
The first Grey Dagger of the year sat on the wall above the trap this morning and continued the theme of early arrivals - this about 2 weeks earlier than the previous record.

The second Pale Pinion of the year was inside the trap:


Trap list (15w Actinic)

Garden Carpet - 1
Scarce Tissue - 1
Red Chestnut - 1
Common Quaker - 3
Hebrew Character - 4
Clouded Drab - 3
Powdered Quaker - 3
Early Grey - 3
Grey Dagger - 1
Pale Pinion - 1

20th April 2009

A warm, sunny day turned into a clear, cold night so, once again, few moths in the trap. A beautiful Waved Umber was new for the year and nearly two weeks earlier than previously recorded.

Also new for the year was this well marked Common Pug - it seems strange to record Common before I've trapped the first Brindled.


Trap list (15w Actinic)

Common Pug - 1
Waved Umber - 1
Common Quaker - 3
Hebrew Character - 5
Clouded Drab - 2
Early Grey - 3

18th April 2009

A cool, breezy night kept numbers right down - just 9 moths of 6 species. New for the year was a very early Iron Prominent, normally not seen here until the middle of May.

Edit: This proved to be the earliest Huntingdonshire (VC31) record by 6 days.

Trap list (15w Actinic)

Emmelina monodactyla - 2
Garden Carpet - 1
Iron Prominent - 1
Red Chestnut - 1
Common Quaker - 1
Hebrew Character - 3

15th April 2009

A fine Purple Thorn was the highlight of a rather disappointing night with 21 moths of just 6 species. A heavy thunderstorm shortly after putting out the trap might have had something to do with it! This was just the third record of Purple Thorn for the garden and the first since 2005. Because of its diagnostic posture it proved to be very difficult to photograph, the only in focus photos being those taken from underneath or front on.


Trap list (15w Actinic)

Purple Thorn - 1
Common Quaker - 1
Small Quaker - 1
Hebrew Character - 10
Clouded Drab - 4
Early Grey - 4

15th April 2009

A first Nut-tree Tussock for the garden was the highlight of a warm and damp night - this is a surprisingly scarce moth in VC31 with only 20 records up to 2007. This one was of the form f.medionigra.


A very pale Clouded Drab was momentarily confusing but is identical to one illustrated in Waring and Townsend:


What was presumably a local emergence led to 3 Agonopterix arenella coming to the trap, the first of the year:


Trap list (15w Actinic)

Agonopterix arenella - 3
Double-striped Pug - 5
Early Thorn - 1
Common Quaker - 6
Hebrew Character - 8
Powdered Quaker - 3
Clouded Drab - 1
Nut-tree Tussock - 1

13th April 2009

25 moths of 9 species made for a fairly average night but with one year first - Pale Pinion.


Trap list (15w Actinic)

Emmelina monodactyla - 1
Garden Carpet - 1
Double-striped Pug - 2
Red Chestnut - 1
Hebrew Character - 11
Common Quaker - 5
Clouded Drab - 2
Powdered Quaker - 1
Pale Pinion - 1

12th April 2009

A straight comparison between MV and actinic traps was possible last night with a trap on either side of the house. The actinic was hands-down winner with 16 moths of 8 species - the MV managed just 6 moths of 5 species. The MV did supply the best moth of the night however with the first Scarce Tissue of the year:


The actinic also managed a year first with an early Red Twin-spot Carpet. From the notch in the inner cross-line I at first thought this was a Dark-barred but this method of separating the two species has been disproved. The very clear sub-terminal fascia on Red TSC is apparently more reliable (thanks to Harri on BirdForum).


Trap list (125w MV)

Double-striped Pug - 1
Scarce Tissue - 1
Red Chestnut - 1
Hebrew Character - 2
Common Quaker - 1

Trap list (15w Actinic)

Agonopterix heracliana - 1
Red Twin-spot Carpet - 1
Early Thorn - 1
Red Chestnut - 1
Clouded Drab - 4
Hebrew Character - 4
Common Quaker - 2
Early Grey - 2

With very similar weather conditions to the previous night it's interesting to see that the contents of last night's actinic trap didn't vary much from the MV trap on Friday. A second Powdered Quaker was quite different to the first:


Trap list (15w Actinic)

Double-striped Pug - 1
Red Chestnut - 3
Small Quaker - 1
Common Quaker - 3
Hebrew Character - 4
Clouded Drab - 4
Powdered Quaker - 1
Early Grey - 1

10th April 2009

My first Swallow of the year zipped over the garden and the first Willow Warbler was singing from the top of the Silver Birch as I went to empty the moth trap. It was dull and damp but quite warm and a reasonable number of moths had braved the overnight rain. 17 moths of 7 species included the first Powdered Quaker of the year.


Trap list (125w MV)

Early Thorn - 2
Red Chestnut - 1
Common Quaker - 2
Hebrew Character - 7
Clouded Drab - 2
Powdered Quaker - 1
Early Grey - 2

8th April 2009

2 Mompha subbistrigella found in the porch this morning looked very fresh to me but are more likely to have over-wintered in the garage where I have often found them in the past.

6th April 2009

A pale but beautifully marked Shoulder-stripe was new for the year and the first for two years. It seems to be a bi-annual - I've only recorded it in 2005, 2007 and 2009!


The second Garden Carpet of the year came into the trap unlike the first, so I was able to get some pictures:


This Hebrew Character has quite unusual markings:


Trap list (15w Actinic)

Emmelina monodactyla - 2
Garden Carpet - 1
Double-striped Pug - 1
Shoulder-stripe - 1
Red Chestnut - 1
Common Quaker - 3
Hebrew Character - 11
Early Grey - 4

5th April 2009

A promising forecast actually led to a chilly night and a much reduced catch but Depressaria pastinacella (Parsnip Moth) was new for the year.


Trap list (15w Actinic)
Depressaria pastinacella - 1
Agonopterix heracliana - 1
Emmelina monodactyla - 2
Dotted Border - 1
Red Chestnut - 1
Common Quaker - 1
Hebrew Character - 2
Clouded Drab - 3

2nd April 2009

With an early start for work in the morning and a potentially chilly night forecast I was in two minds as to whether I should put the trap out, but the prospect of a cold wet weekend to come convinced me to try the actinic. My reward in the morning was a garden first in the shape of this gorgeous Pine Beauty - not particularly scarce elsewhere, I know, but a species I thought unlikely to turn up here.


This handsome male Pale Tussock was new for the year and also very early - not normally recorded before May.


More expected than the above moths was the first Diurnea fagella of the year. But even this was of interest as it was last caught here in 2007.


Also expected at this time of year is Double-striped Pug - but hopefully I'll catch a less worn-looking individual in the weeks to come.


Trap List (15w Actinic):

Diurnea fagella - 1
Emmelina monodactyla - 1
Double-striped Pug - 1
Dotted Border - 1
Pale Tussock - 1
Red Chestnut - 1
Pine Beauty - 1
Hebrew Character - 7
Common Quaker - 5
Clouded Drab - 2
Early Grey - 2

Zebra Jumping Spider (Salticus scenicus)

This tiny spider, perhaps 3mm long, was on the wall near to where the moth trap had been - the only reason I saw it at all was that it did a sudden hop as I was checking for any moths I might have overlooked. Very handsome, I think!

31st March 2009

Pride of place in a good overnight catch is my second record of Tawny Pinion. The first one in 2005 was confirmed by gen. det. but I don't think that will be needed for this very fresh specimen. Also of note was a second Twin-spotted Quaker for the year and a surprisingly early Garden Carpet. This was sat high up on the side of the house so impossible to photograph.

Trap List (125w MV)

Emmelina monodactyla - 1
Garden Carpet - 1
Early Thorn - 1
Common Quaker - 5
Clouded Drab - 1
Twin-spotted Quaker - 1
Hebrew Character - 4
Tawny Pinion - 1
Early Grey - 3