10th July 2011

A warm and humid night resulted in a huge catch - Chrysoteucha culmella were everywhere and simply uncountable. With several micros still to be identified the eventual total will be over 100 species across the two traps.

The very distinctive crambid Platytes alpinella, normally a coastal species, looks like being new for Huntingdonshire whilst a very pretty Scorched Carpet was new for the garden. The brown form of Agapeta zoegana caused me some grief in identifying it, Lesser Wax Moth was a second for the garden and just the fourth for Hunts, whilst the huge Orthotaelia sparganella was the first here since 2007.

Platytes alpinella

Scorched Carpet

Agapeta zoegana

Lesser Wax Moth

Orthotaelia sparganella

8th July 2011

Another very damp night produced 5 species new for the year, the best being a beautiful Garden Tiger - the first since 2008 and only the fourth garden record. The biggest surprise though was a Hummingbird Hawkmoth in the MV trap - I've not heard of this species coming to light before. The only other migrant in the trap was the first Rusty Dot Pearl of the year.



This was an unusual colour variation of The Dun-bar:

5th July 2011

With heavy rain forecast throughout the night I very nearly didn't put the traps out - in which case I would have missed several year firsts and two garden firsts, one of which was a superb Striped Hawkmoth. This is just the 5th record for the county.


The other garden first was one of the easier torts to identify - it's the first tort illustrated on the UKMoths website - Phtheochroa inopiana:

Another probable migrant, and the first garden record since 2005, was a rather worn Evergestis extimalis:

3rd July 2011

After numerous failed attempts I finally managed to get some reasonable photos of a Hummingbird Hawkmoth. This one was dashing between clumps of lavender and, for once, hung around long enough for me to get my camera, remember how to change shutter speed, point and click...

27th June 2011

The busiest night of the year so far with temperatures not dipping below 17C. Several moths were new for the year, two of which had been recorded in the garden only once previously.

Beautiful Hook-tip, first since 2005:

Rhopobota naevana, first for 2 years:

26th June 2011

Two species in the trap last night that hadn't been seen here for at least 2 years. A slightly battered Dusky Brocade, a moth that has never been particularly frequent locally, was last trapped in 2009. A pristine and surprisingly green Zeiraphera isertana was only the second garden record, the first was in 2008.

Zeiraphera isertana

Dusky Brocade

25th June 2011

Udea prunalis was the first one trapped here since 2007.