A boat-load of immigrants in Stoke Goldington (N. Bucks)?

On the night of 3rd November, this interesting Flame Shoulder dropped in, accompanied by a nice female Gem and beaten up Udea ferrugalis. I think it could be a candidate for Radford's, going by the elongated shape, smallness of the stigmata, and extension of the black line beyond.

Another Scarce Bordered Straw?

Following on from a post last week, I think this moth attracted to my garden actinic trap last night is also a Scarce Bordered Straw.

I have not seen this moth before, so it would be a new addition to my garden list. Steve Trigg, Cookham

Hook-tips

Hi All

I just wanted to mention that any Watsonalla hook-tips, especially in autumn, should be retained in case of W. uncinula. For some technical reason I can't see comments, so I don't know what has been said about the very recent one. Obviously, if anyone wants to reply please do so directly to my email or I won't be able to see it. 

I was previously only able to access the site by deleting all site-related cookies but this time it tells me there aren't any, even though I had just been looking at it. I know others have had issues and something is clearly still awry. 

I had another vitrealis last night along with gamma and xylostella. 

Martin

Late Oak Hook-tip

Amongst the usual autumn moths in the garden trap last night was an Oak Hook-tip.

This is the latest I have recorded this moth, but I see from the Upper Thames Atlas that there have been other records even later in November. The only immigrant in the trap was a single Palpita vitrealis. Steve Trigg, Cookham

Dioryctria species?

 

Steve Lockey (Garsington)

Westcott, Bucks

Time for another fortnightly update from mid-Bucks.  Catches by the two garden actinic traps have continued to tick over nicely because there have been few really cold nights yet this autumn.  A quick check just now showed that I'd recorded 62 different adult species here since 16th October, although catches each night have generally been somewhere in the 20s, so there is still quite a variety of moths out there.  For those of you who put your traps away in the winter (shame on you!) it certainly isn't time to do so just yet.

New for the season on 29th October was Winter Moth, while newcomers for the garden year-list over this period have been:

     (16th)  Sprawler

     (28th)  Phyllonorycter messaniella

     (29th)  Pearly Underwing

Winter Moth, Westcott 29th October

Sprawler, Westcott 16th October

This has been a reasonably good period for migrant activity at Westcott although most of the rarer species which people have been recording elsewhere seem to have avoided this area!  The following were seen in the garden:  Plutella xylostella (18th, 26th), Udea ferrugalis (22nd, 29th, 30th), Nomophila noctuella (29th), Palpita vitrealis (21st, 22nd, two on 29th), Silver Y (28th, two on 29th), Delicate (many nights, ten over the period), Pearly Underwing (29th) & Dark Sword-grass (21st, 22nd).   

Delicate, Dark Sword-grass & Palpita vitrealis,
Westcott 21st October

Pearly Underwing, Westcott 29th October

Of the other species recorded, Musotima nitidalis (24th) was the third one to be trapped here after a visitor in the previous two-week period and another last autumn which was the first for the site.   This adventive is certainly a smart-looking moth when fresh.  A Dewick's Plusia on the 28th was the latest example I've had here, but otherwise there has been nothing of particular note in the traps.

Musotima nitidalis, Westcott 24th October

Dewick's Plusia, Westcott 28th October

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Lunar underwing?

Thought this was lunar underwing but GMS spreadsheet tells me its outside the flight time so please may I have id help for this one too.
 

Tortrix id help please

Still being stumped by tortrix id this late in the year so your help would be much appreciated.  Thanks
 

Marvellous as ever

 

I've been too superstitious to mention my wait for the Merveille du Jour to friends and I was beginning to wonder whether it would arrive this year before I pack things up. Last night, it did. Or rather they did, two fresh and beautiful specimens. Perhaps they were also attracted by our pumpkin.  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

Another new species for our region

Yesterday Andy & Melissa Banthorpe discovered mines of Ectoedemia hannoverella on black poplar by the River Ouse near Olney, Bucks which is a first for our three counties.  The moth has been spreading very slowly westwards from East Anglia since its discovery in Suffolk in 2002.  A page for the species (and some photos of the mine) have now been added to our on-line Atlas.

Scarce bordered straw?

Hi there,

After a few nights of catching nothing, this turned up in my trap this morning. I'm thinking it's a scarce bordered straw. As it's got the word "scarce" in the name and I've never seen one before, I thought I better ask the experts. Is this another of those immigrant species that now also breeds here? Sorry the pictures are poor, it wasn't very co-operative. The dark photo was taken inside, and the colour was much lighter, really a light olive. I added the other picture to show that it had a dark band on the underwing.