Like Martin, in Thrupp, we've had that well-known coastal species, Marbled Green, here in Wolvercote, Oxfordshire, in recent days (specifically on 14th July): this was our first garden record, so very welcome.
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| Marbled Green, 14/7/16 |
Several species are doing notably well this year - some nights we can't seem to move for Swallow-tailed Moths, and whereas usually Blue-bordered Carpet is a one-per-year record, we've had several in recent weeks (conversely, species such as Flame Carpet, which I'd normally expect to see several times in a year, have only shown up once). It's also been nice to see species such as Phoenix, Ruby Tiger and Common Carpet put in an appearance.
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| Blue-bordered Carpet, 12/7/16 |
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| Common Carpet, 16/7/16 |
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| Phoenix, 13/7/6 |
Numbers have been quite good - we're hoping for a bumper crop tomorrow night, given the predicted temperatures - with approximately 90 species on 16th July; and micros have been showing up in numbers, with
Acentria ephemerella swarms starting to feature; and the first two
Metalampra italica of the year on the 16th. We also liked the
Aethes rubigana that showed up on the 17th.
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| Aethes rubigana, 17/7/16 |
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| Metalampra italica, 16/7/16 |
As usual, there have been a few mysteries: we think the crambid below might be
Eudonia mercurella, but we're not sure, and the other isn't ringing any bells at all.
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| Possible Eudonia mercurella, 12/7/16 |
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| Unknown micro, 17/7/16 |
And the two insects below we are not at all sure about... (though we appreciate they're not moths). As ever, if anyone knows what these or the above moths are, please let us know.
Steve and Xander Goddard
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| Mystery insect, 12/7/16 |
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| Mystery insect 2, 16/7/16 |
I think the unknown micro is a very faded Batia sp: There are 3 species and its size should ID it. The mystery insects: The first looks like a Springtail, one of the Collembola. There are about 250 UK species and they range from very small to extremely small. I think the second one may be a Picture-winged Fly - One of the Ulidiidae?? I'm afraid that's my limit. I'm envious of your Metalampra. Andy.
ReplyDeleteAndy is correct with springtail and correct with picture-winged fly. The fly is Anomoia purmunda the larvae of which feed in Hawthorn berries and possibly other similar fruits.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, both: that's very interesting, especially about the non-moths. We're getting swarms of small Water Boatmen at the moment, too.
ReplyDelete