Westcott, Bucks

Catches here at Westcott have continued their dismal run but I have at least been picking up one or two new species for this year's garden list along the way:  Scrobipalpa costella (9th May), Semioscopis steinkellneriana, White-spotted Pug, Lesser Treble-bar & Orange Footman (10th May), Sandy Carpet, Waved Umber & Treble Lines (11th May), Hofmannophila pseudospretella (13th May) and Evergestis forficalis (15th May).  Last night's collection, to an MV rather than the usual actinic (which made no difference at all to the result), was a fairly typical collection of ten moths of nine species:  Phtheochroa rugosana (1), Lesser Treble-bar (1), Poplar Hawk-moth (1), Buff-tip (1), Muslin Moth (1), Heart & Dart (1), Shuttle-shaped Dart (1), Flame Shoulder (1) & Hebrew Character (2).  Hardly seems worth the electricity...

Phtheochroa rugosana, Westcott 16th May

Buff-tip, Westcott 16th May

I still live in hope that, after all the exciting migrant activity into the country over the past week or two, there's at least a Bordered Straw somewhere with my name on it.  I haven't even had so much as a Diamond-back Moth here yet!

Dave Wilton