Caloptilia stigmatella

Rather than the usual postvittana it was nice to get the little chap illustrated below to light in the garden here last night.  Otherwise, though, the results were disappointing for such a warm night although the breeze early on may have had something to do with it.  The only other moths were December Moth (2), Winter Moth (4), Feathered Thorn (1) & Red-line Quaker (1, quite late).

Caloptilia stigmatella, Westcott 7th December

I also ran an MV trap in some local oak woodland for a few hours and the species tally there was equally as disappointing:  December Moth (62, including eight females), Winter Moth (23, not a single candidate for Northern Winter amongst them), Feathered Thorn (3) & Mottled Umber (3).  The count for December Moth might seem good but it is actually not at all unusual, being quite typical for woodland around here at this time of year. 

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks