2 for ID please

I think the first maybe just a variety of Dark Arches - the other has me stumped.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

Double Lobed and Dotted Ermel

I've been runing my moth trap in Walter's Ash, Bucks for almost 19 years and it never ceases to amaze me that I'm still getting new species. 

Last night I had this beautiful Double Lobed Lateroligia ophiogramma, which I have seen a couple of times before, but was new for the garden. 

I also had Dotted Ermel Ethmia dodecea  which similarly, I've only seen a couple of times before, this was the second record for the garden. 

 

Please note that my use of vernacular names for micro-moths is done to promote their use and make micro-moths more accessible to a wider recording community (and to annoy some of my friends who are stalwarts of this excellent blog who won't use vernacular names for micros ;-)

Neil Fletcher

Walter's Ash, Bucks (VC24)

Foresters at Chalfont Heights

I found 12 Foresters at Chalfont Heights, Bucks this morning, all on field scabious.  They were hard to spot as it was already hot and most were using the flower heads as parasols rather than dinner plates and were hidden among the sepals underneath. I probably missed loads more.  The trio in the other photo look to me like two males and a female as two of them appear to have feathered antennae.  I’ve never seen three together like that before.

Wendy Wilson

And still they keep coming...

All this good weather is paying dividends in the garden.  There were another ten species new for the year list last night, comprising Pandemis heparana, Acleris forsskaleana, Lobesia abscisana, Pyrausta purpuralis, Anania coronata, Delplanqueia inscriptella, Capperia britanniodactylus, Lesser Cream Wave, Brown Silver-line and Kent Black Arches.  I've had the Delplanqueia once before, in 2016, but this one will again be checked to ensure that it really is inscriptella and not dilutella.  The plume, if proved correct, will be another completely new moth for the garden which is always nice, but its food-plant (Wood Sage) seems to be rather uncommon in this area according to the BSBI maps.  Kent Black Arches is another of those moths which is expanding its range.  The species first appeared here in 2013 and since 2015 I've had it in increasing numbers each year.  It seems to particularly like chalk grassland and I found it at another new site for Bucks earlier this week with the appearance of singletons in both traps run on Ivinghoe Beacon. 

Probable Delplanqueia inscriptella, Westcott 28th June

Probable Capperia britanniodactylus, Westcott 28th June

Kent Black Arches, Westcott 28th June

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks    

Mottled Beauty?

Can someone confirm this is a Mottled Beauty?

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

Striped Lychnis

Striped Lychnis is a nationally scarce priority species but we are lucky that in the Chilterns we have quite a sizeable population, mostly in Bucks but also in adjacent areas of Berks and Oxon.  That said, of the nearly 1,400 records for Bucks, the vast majority are for larvae seen on its food-plant dark mullein.  Fewer than 30 are of the adult moth which seems quite reluctant to come to light traps.  Paul Bowyer and Karen Roberts had this one as a surprise visitor to their garden trap in Flackwell Heath, Bucks on Wednesday night.

Striped Lychnis

Gypsy Moth caterpillar?

A friend who lives just round the corner from me photographed this caterpillar on one of her garden plant pots yesterday. I thought it looked like a Gypsy Moth, but also thought I should seek a second opinion.

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Further arrivals for the year

On Tuesday night the garden trap brought in Anthophila fabriciana, Phtheochroa inopiana, Acleris schalleriana, Epinotia tenerana, Grapholita janthinana, Grapholita funebrana, Small Emerald, Dark Umber, Round-winged Muslin, Minor Shoulder-knot and Old Lady.  I thought the Old Lady seemed a bit early but on checking back this proves to be my second June record after an even earlier one last year on the 23rd.

Grapholita janthinana, Westcott 26th June

Old Lady, Westcott 26th June

Last night brought Crassa unitella, Limnaecia phragmitella, Rhopobota naevana, Least Carpet, Large Twin-spot Carpet, Scarlet Tiger, Dun-bar, Cloaked Minor and Waved Black.  Least Carpet and Waved Black are species expanding their range and both are now common in the garden, the former having appeared here for the first time in 2005 and has achieved double-digit counts each year since 2014 while the latter first appeared in 2007 and achieved double-digit counts in 2015 & 2016.

Waved Black, Westcott 27th June

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks  

Something like Coleophora anatipennella

I think this is something like Coleophora anatipennella but will need to be dissected for final determination?


Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

Advice on this tortrix please - Longwick

I had little time today and so just turned the light on without actually trapping for half an hour last night to see what would appear on the shed wall.

This tortrix appeared which I haven't seen before. I was wondering if it was Clepsis Senecionana?

Advice welcome!

IDs please

I could do with some help with these.

The first micro looks like one I had a while back that we were unable to identify - this time I've kept it.

 The second actually died over night - it's small size has me foxed.

The third I've also kept.


The geometer - yet another form of Mottled Beauty.

Finally, possible candidate for Lesser Common Rustic (that one I didn't keep).


Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

Banbury

With the warm weather we've been having I am happy to have finally trapped some new macro species. On Sunday night (24th) I had Small Ranunculus to my garden trap whilst last night (25th) I added Leopard Moth and Obscure Wainscot.

New for me species from my field site include Luquetia lobella (15th), Homoeosoma sinuella (19th), Gypsonoma oppressana (19th) and Round-winged Muslin on the 24th.

Westcott, Bucks

The garden year-list here at Westcott continues to accrue new additions on a nightly basis:

21st  Gelechia sororculella
22nd  Agriphila straminella, Crambus perlella, Common Emerald, Yellow Shell
23rd  Borkhausenia fuscescens, Carcina quercana, Metalampra italica, Apotomis betuletana, Udea prunalis, Endotricha flammealis, Small Fan-footed Wave, Single-dotted Wave, Lunar-spotted Pinion, Blackneck
24th  Pandemis corylana, Phycita roborella, Acrobasis consociella, July Highflyer, Brown Scallop, Brown-line Bright-eye
25th  Caloptilia stigmatella, Yponomeuta evonymella, Helcystogramma rufescens, Blastodacna hellerella, Gypsonoma dealbana, Hypsopygia glaucinalis, Obscure Wainscot, Dot Moth, Olive, Small Angle Shades, Dusky Brocade

Last night (25th) was a really good night with more than 100 species recorded and the icing on the cake was a rather worn Obscure Wainscot, another completely new species for the garden.

Obscure Wainscot, Westcott 25th June

Dave Wilton,
Westcott, Bucks

Fifty down one to go!.

Hopefully all identified correctly from Sunday night except for a  little grey matter. Help appreciated.

Steve Lockey (Garsington)

Help request for 2 micros

From the garden trap on Sunday night, I have these 2 tortrix moths that I am having trouble identifying. The first is rather worn and has a fw length of 8mm. I thought possibly Notocelia trimaculana?

The second one, fw length 7mm, has me completely stumped.

Steve Trigg, Cookham

colourful trap

Not as many Scarlet tigers as Ben, only 12, but still very colourful, added to by 3 Elephant hawk-moths amongst others.

Alan Diver

Tackley.

Small Black Arches?

At light on 25 June in East Oxford garden.  This seems to match Small Black Arches - both in appearance and also flight season (it was fresh, but very lively), but I'm a bit unclear as to its status locally.

A rather busy night last night included first mass emergence of Scarlet Tiger with 29 in my single trap - quite a sight!

Guesses in need of some feedback

I've looked on the Hants Moths website rather than the Suffolk one for a change and found it easier to use. The 3 moths that I was trying to ID this time were the following:

1. Is this a Heart and Dart?

2. Is this a Willow Beauty?

3. Is this a Treble Brown Spot?

I'm still quite new to moth spotting, and I can't believe how many new ones I see around the garden each week! I hardly ever see the same type twice, which is one of the reasons that I'm really keen to spot more. 

Help required with this poorly marked individual

I'm at a loss over this jndividual which I thought maybe Anania sp. Any help appreciated.

Steve Lockey (Garsington)

Any ideas on this 4mm long micro? - Longwick

A strangely subdued trap this morning but a few firsts for the year including Muslin Footman and Maple Prominent. During the day between 3 and 5 Red Belted Clearwing's visited the SAL lure - showing how complex pheromones can be! I didn't really expect Sallow but having had Red Tipped from the old gnarled willows in the field it was worth a shot.

Finally could anyone put a name to this micro. It is silver-grey with an obvious whitish line across the wings and darker markings towards the costa. Help appreciated!

IDs and confirmations please

Saw the first Scarlet Tiger flying around the garden yesterday afternoon and one in the trap (maybe the same one), this morning.

The first two I think might be just slightly different examples of familiar species,  Riband Wave and Willow Beauty?


The next two photos of the same individual I'm thinking Coleophora sp? but equally a micro caddis

The next two photos I think is Coleophora sp. but however good a shot I manage it will need a chop?

The final one is Scoparia ambigualis?

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

Lackeys

2 Lackeys came to light 23/24

Demonstrate variation in colour

Alan Diver

Tackley.

Tricky Momphid

Not very sure about this (photo quality does not help - this is small - c. 5mm and about at the limit of my current photography set up), but it looks like a member of Momphidae, but not a very good match for anything in my books. Seems to have some features of M. propinquella and some of M. divisella/bradleyi, but none of these really look quite right. Any advice very welcome. Have retained.

Orange-tailed Clearwing, and caterpillar on Red Valerian

Judging by earlier posts, quite a few of us are having success recording clearwings. I put my VES lure out in the garden about 1pm yesterday, and within a few minutes the first Orange-tailed Clearwing had arrived, followed fairly quickly by 3 more.

A couple of days earlier, I found this caterpillar munching my Red Valerian.

I thought possibly an Angle Shades? But other suggestions welcome.

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Festoon and Help with ID

Wow what a great week for moth trapping! I was delighted to catch 6 species of Hawkmoth this week including Small Elephant and Pine Hawkmoth, only Eyed Hawkmoth still eludes me!

On the night of the 19th I caught what I'm pretty sure is a Festoon. It says in Waring and Townsend that it is found very locally in Oxfordshire. Has anyone else caught one recently?

Festoon

 Sorry the photo isn't great. It would only stay still on my hand!

The others I need a bit of help to confirm the ID.

Great Oak Beauty?

Dot Moth?

Clouded-bordered Brindle?

 

Light Arches?

 

Foxglove Pug?

Many thanks in advance

Lorna Woolhouse
Checkendon, South Oxon