Bernwood Forest

I ran a couple of MV lights in different areas of Bernwood Forest for the usual three hours last night and got quite a decent result with well over 100 species.  The traps were sheltered from the stiff breeze and cloud cover helped ensure that the temperature stayed up.  However the light drizzle from about midnight turned into quite heavy drizzle at the end, making packing-up quite a chore, and unfortunately there were a few moth casualties which ended up glued to my very soggy sheets (still, the wood ants had a feast...).  Tortrix viridana, of which a conservative 140 were recorded, was the most abundant moth of the night, followed by Pandemis cerasana, Common Swift and Marbled White Spot.  The Archips species (xylosteana, crataegana & podana) were only just getting going but will no doubt be around in large numbers within a week or two.  A double-digit count of Orange Moth was very good to see as there aren't all that many sites for this stunning moth in Bucks.  First sightings for me this year included Lackey, Lilac Beauty, Satin Beauty & Pine Hawk-moth, while other nice moths included Taleporia tubulosa, Cryptoblabes bistriga, Cochylis nana, Pseudosciaphila branderiana, Ptycholoma lecheana, Spatalistis bifasciana, Piniphila bifasciana, Pammene germanna, Poplar Lutestring, Common Lutestring, Mocha, Red-necked Footman, Small Angle Shades, Blackneck & Common Fan-foot. 

Orange Moth, Bernwood Forest 10th June

Lackey, Bernwood Forest 10th June

Satin Beauty, Bernwood Forest 10th June

Red-necked Footman, Bernwood Forest 10th June

Mocha hasn't been recorded before in Bernwood and came as a big surprise (I managed to resist the temptation to upload yet another picture of this lovely moth!).  Unless it has been pipped to the post by any micros awaiting dissection, it will be the 900th species known from the Forest.  The Satin Beauty was a typical example of those we get locally and looks nothing like the illustrations in the field guide. 

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks