Jersey Tiger

Exploding out of the trap today in a flurry of orange/red this Tiger kindly halted up in a tree enabling me to get a record shot

Steve Lockey (Garsington)

Old Ladies

A colleague alerted me to a group of moths roosting under a bridge beneath the A4074 in Benson. I checked it out and was amazed to find masses of Old Ladies. one lage group pictured and a small group a couple of metres away. Impossible to estimate numbers but must have been approaching 100!

Paraswammerdamia nebulella?

I would be interested in comments on my stab at this one. I don't know whether the image is good enough.

Steve Lockey (Garsington)

More Gypsy Moths

Following on from Dave Wilton's Gypsy Moth trapped on 22nd July, two male Gypsy Moths arrived in my garden trap last night.

Also from last night is this pug. Am I correct in thinking Currant Pug?

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Ringed china-mark etc

Ringed china-mark

Dark-barred twin-spot carpet

Pyralidae?

Alan Diver

Tackley.

Lots of micros

This week I have had more micros than usual which I'm finding difficult to photo, never mind ID. These are all from my garden / house in Speen this week. Please can I have some help with these.

Is this one a Cochylis atricapitana? It was no more than 5mm long.

 

Sorry about the poor photo, but can anyone tell me what this one is? Again, only a few mm long.

This is a bigger moth, but I can't tell what it is due to the side angle. Any thoughts?

Am I right in thinking that this is a copper underwing?

Is this an orange swift?

And lastly, is this a yellow shell?

Jersey Tiger request

It would be good if when a Jersey Tiger is caught to check if the hindwings are orange (normal) or yellow (form lutescens) so that we can get some idea of the proportions of the two forms (include the information when you send the record to your county recorder). 

Thanks

Martin Albertini
Bucks moth recorder

Ivinghoe Beacon

Once it became clear that the site would avoid the forecast heavy showers, on Thursday night I made my July visit to the National Trust's Ashridge Estate, running a couple of lights on the west side of Ivinghoe Beacon.  It was quite a reasonable session, with each trap catching around 100 species and there was a fair bit of variety between the two, but it seemed to be quite a slow three hours and no moths were present in any significant numbers.  The only surprise, and one of the first to arrive, was this smart Jersey Tiger.

Jersey Tiger, Ivinghoe Beacon 26th July

Most of the expected chalk grassland moths for this time of year did turn up, including such nice species as Agonopterix kaekeritziana, Acompsia cinerella, Oncocera semirubella, Pimpinel Pug, Annulet, Antler Moth, Rosy Minor & Small Purple-barred.

Agonopterix kaekeritziana, Ivinghoe Beacon 26th July

Annulet, Ivinghoe Beacon 26th July

Rosy Minor, Ivinghoe Beacon 26th July

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks  

Side view etc

Side view of moth I had incorrectly as Water veneer

FL circa 20mm

Hold onto your hat Dave, I'm going again!

Orange swift. Got antennae in shot.

Pyrausta aurata

Agapeta hamana

Poplar kitten

Gold spot

Alan Diver

Tackley.

PS. I'm beginning to wonder if the top one side view is a moth at all! ABD

More questions

Just trying to get caught up with the last few catches.
This one was dead in the bottom of the trap. About 15mm wing-tip to wing-tip.

Number 2 6mm in length.

Number 3 5mm in length. Very silver and striped.

Number 4 4mm in length (2 images)

Number 5 3mm in length. Sorry about the image. At the limit for the camera and it wouldn't keep still.

Finally another Thorn, Maybe just a worn Dusky? but it looked almost white when flying around the trap early this morning,

As always any help most welcome. No trapping tonight with the wind and hopefully some much needed  rain.
Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon,

Small plume update

Back on 9th July, I posted a picture on this blog of a small plume that I thought perhaps was Hellinsia osteodactylus. The moth has now been examined, and it is actually Adaina microdactyla (Hemp Agrimony Plume). I have re-posted the photo below.

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Anania verbascalis

Anania verbascalis (unless I'm very much mistaken), a new species for this site, in the trap last night.

I have verbascum in the garden and several Mullein caterpillars earlier in the year but no adults to the trap.

Richard Ellis
Chorleywood

Garden Surprise

I finally got around to looking at last night's garden catch late this afternoon.  On the very first egg-tray to be inspected was an unfamiliar moth which I had to think quite hard about as it was speedily inserted into the nearest pot!  It turned out to be Marbled Clover, a first for VC24.  This is a Red Data Book species resident mainly in East Anglia but is also thought to have migratory tendencies.  Wherever it came from, it was a very nice surprise to get it here in Bucks.

Marbled Clover, Westcott 26th July

Marbled Clover, Westcott 26th July

It was yet another 100+ species night (aren't they always at the moment?!) but the only others new for the year were Achroia grisella and Vapourer.  Gold Spot is still around in numbers (eight last night, with another seen on the buddleia during the daytime), while even more unusual here was getting no less than three Lesser-spotted Pinions which takes me up to five this year - not bad for a moth recorded in the garden only once before.

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks 

A further query from Longwick

This noctuid has me a little confused. In shape it looks like Hedge Rustic but doesn't appear to have the pronounced markings around the stigmata in the photographs I have seen. I assume it is therefore something more mundane!

IDs please

Quite a few very small and active micros - I still have most of them though.

The first I think is a Caloptilia, but I can't find a complete match - it's dead unfortunately, when alive it propped itself facing up.

The next two photos is sort of familiar but I can't find it.

Then two photos, maybe Mompha subbistrigella?

Then the only macro - just another Common Rustic agg?

Finally I think I have Yponomeuta plumbella.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

Tissue

Having been away for 10 days or so, returned to find numbers and diversity much reduced in East Oxford in the continuing heatwave, and with some species either absent or much scarcer than expected (no yellow underwings of any species over the last three nights, 24-26 July, for example, and only very small numbers of Common Rustic agg.). Still one or two nice surprises, the highlight being a very fresh Tissue (new for me) on the night on 26 July - the photo does not really do justice to what is one of the most beautiful moths I can remember seeing. Nor, I would add, does the illustration in Waring et al!

The Tissue, East Oxford, 26 July 2018

Another putative scythris limbella? - Longwick

A very big catch last night entirely dominated by Mother of Pearl and Straw Dot. It has taken its time but Tree Lichen Beauty finally made it here - hurrah! Vapourer, Poplar hawk and maidens Blush added to the variety as did 7 Diamond Back. However one moth reminded me of Steve Lockey's post earlier in the week - 8mm in length.

Here are two photos - the second a rather blurry blown-up version. Interested in everyone's thoughts.