August lull

The lull between summer and autumn moths seems to be well and truly here now with the majority of 'new' species currently recorded in the garden being second broods of those which were around in the spring.  I'm still picking up the odd new one, though, with the following added to this year's garden list over the past few days:

(9th)    Phyllocnistis saligna (active upper epidermis mine on willow)
(10th)  Agonopterix liturosa, Flounced Rustic, Small Rufous
(11th)  Argyresthia bonnetella, Eucosma obumbratana, Orange Swift
(12th)  Ypsolopha sequella, Udea lutealis

Mine of Phyllocnistis saligna, Westcott 9th August

Small Rufous, Westcott 10th August

Eucosma obumbratana, Westcott 11th August

A third example of Prochoreutis myllerana turned up on 11th August so I must have a nearby colony, although it is strange that it hasn't been noticed here previously (the three adults of this day-flyer all came to light, two to actinic and one to MV).  I regularly see choreutids patrolling the garden in sunshine but those that I've checked have always been good old Anthophila fabriciana.  Dusky Thorn and second-brood Brimstone Moth are both doing really well here at the moment with double-digit counts on most nights. 

On the migrant front Silver Y (including one or two of the tiny form gammina) has as usual been a regular visitor over the past few weeks, as have Udea ferrugalis and Nomophila noctuella, but there has been a noticeable increase in noctuella numbers over the past two nights with five on the 11th and four on the 12th.  A nicely marked specimen from last night is shown below.

Nomophila noctuella, Westcott 12th August

Talk of migrants reminds me that I had a Humming-bird Hawk-moth in the garden back on 27th June, visiting honeysuckle flowers, but haven't seen another since then.  They're usually regular visitors to our buddleias by now but this year the blooms seem to be largely free of Lepidoptera of any kind.

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks