First Westcott Hawk

New moths continue to trickle onto the garden year-list here at Westcott.  The trap is quite sheltered from the current NE breeze and I'm presently averaging about a dozen species per night.  New ones over the past three sessions have comprised Flame Shoulder & Nutmeg (both 2nd), Cnephasia communana, Lesser Treble-bar & Pale Prominent (all 3rd) and Red Twin-spot Carpet & Poplar Hawk-moth (both 4th).  The Lesser Treble-bar looked a little unusual in that the two larger cross-bands met in the middle, a form I don't recall having seen locally before although there seem to be plenty of similar images on the internet.  The first Hawk-moth of the year is always nice to see, heralding lots more to come! The Cnephasia will remain as a 'probable' for now until it is dissected but communana is always the first to appear here. 

Probable Cnephasia communana, Westcott 3rd May

Lesser Treble-bar, Westcott 3rd May

Poplar Hawk-moth, Westcott 4th May

This morning a single Grapholita jungiella was found flying around our hawthorn blossom, the first garden sighting of this little tortrix since 2006.  A trip out at lunchtime to chalk grassland on the National Trust's Bradenham Estate between Princes Risborough and High Wycombe produced many more, probably in excess of 100, but amongst them were a couple of different-looking torts which when netted proved to be Falseuncaria ruficiliana.

Falseuncaria ruficiliana, Bradenham 5th May

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks