A decent migrant at last

There wasn't much difference in the quantity in last night's actinic garden trap here at Westcott, Bucks compared to each night over the past week (nearly 30 moths of 15 species) but one individual migrant made all the difference:  the Rusty-dot Pearls were joined by a smart Delicate.  It was not a first for the garden but nonetheless came as a very pleasant surprise when checking the trap this morning.  The full list comprised Blastobasis lacticolella (1), Udea ferrugalis (2), November Moth (1), Feathered Thorn (8), Large Yellow Underwing (1), Delicate (1), Sprawler (2), Blair's Shoulder-knot (1), Green-brindled Crescent (3), Satellite (1), Dark Chestnut (2), Brick (1), Red-line Quaker (1), Yellow-line Quaker (3) & Dark Arches (1).

Delicate, Westcott 31st October

Yesterday evening I took a single trap to the greensand ridge near the Brickhills on the east side of the county in a successful attempt to find Streak.  The only places in Bucks where this moth seems to turn up these days are in Milton Keynes and in the Burnham Beeches RIS trap, yet it should be more widespread than that.  Last night's trap was placed in amongst a large amount of broom (the larval food-plant) but in actual fact I disturbed the first moth there well before it got dark.  By an hour after dusk I'd seen 21 of them - a conservative estimate - and decided to give up as my target had been achieved and in any case I was getting little else to the trap.  Blastobasis lacticolella (3), Acleris ferrugana/notana (1), Pine Carpet (1) & Oak Nycteoline (1) were the only other moths caught.  In fact a torchlight search of the broom produced more shield-bug species (Birch, Bishop's Mitre, Gorse, Hairy, Hawthorn & Red-legged) than I got moth species!

Streak, the Brickhills 31st October

Dave Wilton