A Trip to the Palace

I was fortunate enough to gain permission to do some moth recording inside Blenheim Palace grounds last night, alongside Martin Corley. The temperatures just about held up, starting off around 12 and ending 3 hours later around 9, but with a gusting breeze. Traps were located around the ample numbers of veteran oaks. Moth numbers were disappointingly low with just 31 species recorded from 4 125W mv traps. There was a new county record with Elachista apicipunctella. One late White-marked came to light. No Orthosias at all. Orange Footman, Tawny-barred Angle, Seraphim, Frosted Green, Grey Pine Carpet, Common Wave and a Lime Hawk all put in an appearance. Peter Hall

High Park: Frosted Green

High Park: Grey Pine Carpet

High Park: Orange Footman

High Park: Syndemis musculana

High Park: Tawny-barred Angle

Two more queries

May I ask for help with a couple of arrivals? The first is the micro, above.  The nearest I could see was Elachista albifrontella and a kind commentator on my own blog also suggested that but added that it was a bit early for this species, a point which had put me off likewise.

The second is probably impossible because my pictures - below - are so poor.  I meant to go back later to check it (being under pressure from grandchildren who wanted to examine more colourful things in the eggboxes) but when I did, it had gone.  Any help on either or both would be much appreciated.

New arrivals since I last posted are Pebble Prominent, Pale Prominent, Lesser Swallow Prominent, Green Carpet (lots around), Red Twin-spot Carpet, Chocolate-tip, Muslin, Spectacle, Brimstone and Shoulder Stripe, the last being a moth which has not visited me since I started trapping here in 2013 and never did in Leeds.  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

Unknown

Can someone help with this one?

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

Another Pug

Sorry another Pug from last night's catch.

As it is so clearly marked and I managed to get this photo before it flew off I wondered if anyone is able to help. I thought it looked a bit like a Wormwood Pug but it seems much too early?





Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

Latest BC E-Moth Newsletter for April

It's viewable from this link (I hope): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4cFsPwrB4WnOE9QZ19DNnNJa0k/view?usp=sharing

You can sponsor a moth!

Peter Hall

Hardy Moths

Not at all surprising because the temperature had dipped below freezing before midnight, but just two very hardy moths came to last night's garden actinic trap here, the Early Grey and Hebrew Character shown below.  With another frost forecast for tonight I might give the trap a rest, which will be the first occasion that's happened since mid-February.

Early Grey & Hebrew Character, Westcott 25th April

While cutting back some honeysuckle yesterday I disturbed a smart female Esperia sulphurella.  The moth is a regular here, presumably thanks to two or three piles of decaying logs left around the garden.

Esperia sulphurella, Westcott 25th April

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks

Plastic-eating greater wax moth may help solve pollution crisis

This article appeared on Sky News yesterday. No plastic pots or synthetic coats near this one perhaps?

http://news.sky.com/story/plastic-eating-greater-wax-moth-may-help-solve-pollution-crisis-10849437

 

Peter Hall

Very early 60th

Last night saw Common Wave and Knot Grass come to the actinic trap here at Westcott, taking the total number of macro-moth species recorded in the garden this year to 60.  Nothing much to shout about there, you might think, but certainly for at least the previous ten years that total has never been achieved so early in the season and only once before in April: 

2007	5th May	Garden Carpet	2012	22nd May	Mottled Pug
2008	11th May	Clouded-bordered Brindle	2013	30th May	Common Wave
2009	10th May	Green Carpet	2014	9th May	Iron Prominent
2010	20th May	Grass Rivulet	2015	10th May	Orange Footman
2011	28th April	White Ermine	2016	17th May	Knot Grass

While counts will vary from site to site, this has certainly been a very unusual year so far with many species appearing far earlier than is normal.  The average date to achieve 60 macros here is 13th May.

Knot Grass, Westcott 23rd April

Another Acronicta species was the only thing of interest to an MV trap run for the usual three hours in Bernwood Forest last night where an early Alder Moth put in an appearance (I won't go on about how the Met Office got their forecast of night-time cloud cover completely wrong yet again...).  The very chilly conditions didn't seem to affect either Lesser Swallow Prominent or Great Prominent which were still arriving as I packed up (final counts of 10 and 44 respectively) but there was nothing else of note.

Alder Moth, Bernwood Forest 23rd April

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks      

First hawkmoth at Coleshill

Although the temperature dropped quite a bit as the cloud moved off last night, there were 21 moths of 14 different species in the trap this morning including the first Lime Hawkmoth recorded this year, along with Coxcomb Prominent, Chocolate-tip and Frosted Green new for 2017. Also present was this fairly large pug which I'm having trouble placing - the markings being different from the usual Oak-tree and Brindled Pugs seen at this time of year before and the dark stripe along the abdomen was striking. Couldn't get a ruler near it in time for measuring the size before it escaped but it was fairly large at about 20 mm across.

Pug sp. (Coleshill, 24th April)

Olly Fox
Coleshill (VC22)

Finemere Wood, Bucks

I ran a trap in Finemere Wood, Bucks last night for three hours and got a reasonable return of the following 31 species:  Dyseriocrania subpurpurella, Parornix sp, Phyllonorycter sp, Syndemis musculana, Chinese Character, Frosted Green, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Streamer, Water Carpet, Brindled Pug, Oak-tree Pug, Seraphim, Clouded Border, Scorched Carpet, Brimstone Moth, Brindled Beauty, Engrailed, Lesser Swallow Prominent, Pebble Prominent, Coxcomb Prominent, Great Prominent, Chocolate-tip, Lunar Marbled Brown, Pale Tussock, Flame Shoulder, Red Chestnut, Blossom Underwing, Common Quaker, Clouded Drab, Hebrew Character & Nut-tree Tussock, of which Seraphim, Clouded Border, Pale Tussock & Flame Shoulder were new sightings for me this year.

Syndemis musculana, Finemere Wood 21st April

Seraphim, Finemere Wood 21st April

A daytime visit there on 19th April to carry out a butterfly transect also produced my first 2017 sightings of Micropterix calthella, with half a dozen seen on dandelion flowers (including the mated pair below).  A single fresh female Endothenia gentianaeana was also found flying around teasels.

Micropterix calthella, Finemere Wood 19th April

Endothenia gentianaeana, Finemere Wood 19th April

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks

Confirmation?

I have done my best on the two images. Hopefully  the images are good enough.
Depressaria radiella and Epinotia immundana. Hopefully near?
Very early Grey Dagger this a.m.

Steve Lockey (Garsington)

Night of Prominents

With permission from the site management, Martin Albertini, Andy King and I ran traps on Stoke Common, Bucks last night and we ended up with just over 40 species after the usual three hours.  The Prominents were out in force, with Iron, Pebble, Lesser Swallow, Coxcomb, Pale and Great all recorded.  Close relatives Lunar Marbled Brown and Chocolate-tip were also seen but unfortunately there was no sign of Small Chocolate-tip which was our target for the night.  This is a moth which hasn't been recorded at Stoke Common since 2011.  Its main food-plant is the very low-growing Salix repens (Creeping Willow), a "tree" I hadn't really noticed before - not surprising really as we saw none of it taller than a couple of feet above ground level!  However, with the catkins currently present to make it obvious, it does seem to be quite widespread on Stoke Common even though decidedly uncommon in the county, so there's hope yet for the moth.

Most numerous species of the night was Narrow-winged Pug with more than 100 coming to the lights (64 to mine alone), while other species in the traps included a female Emperor Moth, Scalloped Hook-tip, Oak Hook-tip, Pebble Hook-tip, Birch Mocha, Maiden's Blush, Peacock Moth, Tawny-barred Angle, Grey Birch, Lime Hawk-moth and Shuttle-shaped Dart, many of which were on the wing rather earlier than normal.  Half a dozen micro species were recorded, of which Neofaculta ericetella was the only one to reach a double-digit count.  Others included Ancylis uncella, Epinotia immundana and, off the abundant gorse, the inevitable Cydia ulicetana.

Birch Mocha, Stoke Common 20th April

Narrow-winged Pug, Stoke Common 20th April

A rather dark Grey Birch, Stoke Common 20th April

Cydia ulicetana, Stoke Common 20th April

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks    

Tiddler

May I ask for help with this little visitor?  He or she looks familiar, but as usual, I cannot nail the name.  I will guess a battered Mompha subbistrigella, just on the grounds that I should at least try. Help much appreciated.  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

Pugs yet again

I got three last night. One was a V Pug - the other two I don't know even after reading Dave's descriptions. Saw a couple of Brimstone moths last night but as often, none in the trap this morning. Got a Waved Umber which was nice and a Streamer which was NFM.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

Pugs again

Apologies for asking about pugs again. I had 4 pugs in last night's catch. I could manage to identify one of them confidently as a V pug. These were the other 3.

The first 2 maybe Brindled or Oak-tree? I am finding it difficult to separate the two.
The third maybe Double-striped? If so much more colourful than those caught previously this year.


Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

Pseudococcyx turionella

I collected some Scots Pine shoots the other day from Stoke Common, Bucks and one moth has already emerged from a bud:

This is a Pseudococcyx turionella. The larvae have a tendency to live in (and destroy) the terminal bud during the autumn, winter and spring. Not, I imagine, popular with Forestry Commission people, but the moths are reasonably scarce.

Andy King.

Westcott, Bucks

I happened to notice what I think is a part-grown (9mm) Sloe Pug caterpillar here this afternoon, quite an achievement considering how well camouflaged it was in amongst the blackthorn blossom.  I get the moths regularly in the trap so it would be no great surprise to find that it breeds in the garden. See comments below.

Possible Sloe Pug larva, Westcott 18th April

The actinic trap has continued to pull in at least one new species for the year-list each time it is run, with Brindled Beauty & Bright-line Brown-eye (both 14th), Epiphyas postvittana (15th), Endrosis sarcitrella & Pebble Prominent (both 16th) and Frosted Green (17th) being added over the last few nights.  Neither Frosted Green nor Brindled Beauty appear here every year so they were particularly welcome visitors.  Chocolate-tip continues to visit the trap most nights and seems to be doing really well locally.

Bright-line Brown-eye, Westcott 14th April

Pebble Prominent, Westcott 16th April

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks   

Nice selection.

Very few moths at the moment up here on the hill but the few that do turn up are very nice.
Yesterday Chocolate-tip and Pebble Hook-tip and this morning this Dotted Chestnut (FFG)

Steve Lockey (Garsington)

Powdered Quaker?

Caught this a while back - books seem to be a bit vague on diagnostics between this variable moth and the variable Common Quaker - I'm tending to Common Quaker on the basis of the wing shape but i thought I'd check.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

Emperor assembling question

Hello again.  Following my last post, on assembling male Emperor moths, I have been pondering the way that my three, after finding their way to the captive female from possibly long distances, made a mess of their final approach and ended up fluttering about in our shed while their target was perched unconcerned on the outside wall.

My theory, after reading about the males making sometimes erratic circles as they get near to the female (rather than heading straight towards her) is that one of these manoeuvres took them through the open door of the shed (a couple of inches to the right of her perch) and thus into what turned out to be a trap, working on the same lines as a lobster pot or indeed Robinson moth trap, in that the door and windows acted like funnels, easier to enter by rather than exit through.

Does this make sense?  I also got the feeling that a captive female simply left in the open (where she showed no desire to escape or fly away) was much more effective than confinement in a muslin bag. Does others' experience also suggest that?

At all events, a highly enjoyable and interesting exercise.

All best as ever   Martin Wainwright  Thrupp, Oxon

Garden stuff...

Not a lot in the garden at the moment, but I did get NFY Scorched Carpet in my GMS catch. Also the following pug, which I'm thinking "Oak Tree"?

 Plus, during the day, a trio of Adela reaumurella

Dave Morris, Seer Green

Another Oxfordshire White-marked?

Looking through previous posts I think this is a White-marked but would appreciate confirmation as it would be a new species for me. The first image is an attempt to get a close-up of the antennae.

Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

Passionate scenes

After a couple of duff attempts using a muslin bag, I released my female Emperor moth - the finally-hatched 23rd child of the female which visited me in May 2014 - on to the outside of our shed yesterday. There she perched, apparently unvisited, but in the late afternoon, I went to put back garden tools and the inside of the shed was aflutter with three lustful Emperor males.

I out them all together in a box and one eventually established dominance and locked on. All four moths are now at large in or around Thrupp, and I hope that this dynasty, which has provided me with so much interest, continues to flourish. And I still have two cocoons unhatched from the original 25.  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

Pug check

Things seem very slow here. Half way through April and I have only managed to add 2 species to my list for the year.


Could I just check that this is a Brindled Pug.



Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

Apple tree stalker

I grabbed this yesterday buzzing around my Crab apple. 
Please, can someone give this a name? Fw length 3mm.

Chocaholic

There was nothing new in last night's trap but if there's one moth that is guaranteed to brighten one's day at this time of year it is Chocolate-tip!  Two of them were in last night's collection, the other 40 individuals being a Brindled Pug and a bunch of Orthosias (mostly Powdered Quakers and Hebrew Characters).

Chocolate-tips, Westcott 13th April

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks