Micros improving at Westcott

New species for the year here at Westcott, Bucks over the past three nights have included Argyresthia trifasciata, Common Swift, Maiden's Blush, Broken-barred Carpet, Freyer's Pug & Clouded Silver (all 22nd), Silver-ground Carpet, Green Carpet, Clouded Border, Small Square-spot, Bright-line Brown-eye & Poplar Grey (all 23rd) and Figure of Eighty, Seraphim & Marbled Minor sp (all 24th).

A half-hour's wander around the garden this afternoon, camera and pots at the ready, produced no sign of Clepsis dumicolana on our copious amounts of ivy (see Martin Albertini's post below) but I did find several other species of micro-moth sitting around on the vegetation, waiting (like the rest of us) for a bit of decent sunshine.  Disturbed from a pile of rotting logs was an example of Esperia sulphurella, while another was found sitting on a nearby leaf of forsythia.  Two newly-emerged examples of Pyrausta aurata were resting on our cat-mint, on which they have been breeding since at least 2009, while hiding amongst the leaves of the same plant was a Celypha lacunana.  Waiting patiently nearby on the leaf of an unidentified weed was the tiny orange, silver and black gelechid Chrysoesthia drurella which I've had a couple of times before in the garden.  It is supposed to be a reasonably common species in southern England but if it wasn't for Neil Fletcher finding a mine on fat-hen in his allotment last year then my garden would appear to be the only site for it in Bucks - surely you don't all have manicured, weed-free gardens?!  Found on the inside windows of our shed were Bucculatrix thoracella (1), Mompha epilobiella (3) & Mompha subbistrigella (1).  That's the third time in as many days that I've found thoracella in the shed although there's no sign yet of them sitting out on the leaves of our nearby lime. 

Dave Wilton

Pyrausta aurata, Westcott 25th May

Chrysoesthia drurella, Westcott 25th May

Bucculatrix thoracella, Westcott 25th May