Westcott, Bucks

The lack of posts here over the past week presumably means that others are also getting little apart from Orthosia species.  Twin-spotted Quaker was added to the Westcott garden list on 28th February, taking the macro species count to 22 which is a record for the end of that month, then Lead-coloured Drab and Early Grey followed on 1st March, but there had been nothing additional until last night when a Dark Chestnut turned up.  There have been a few micro-moth additions, though.  Agonopterix alstromeriana and Epiphyas postvittana were first seen here on 28th February and have been followed by Ypsolopha mucronella (2nd March), Tortricodes alternella (3rd) and Diurnea fagella (5th).  Even during the coldest and wettest nights I've been averaging about 30 moths per session with Common Quaker now the most frequent.  As an example, last night's catch was fairly typical:  Small Quaker (9), Lead-coloured Drab (1), Common Quaker (15), Clouded Drab (4), Twin-spotted Quaker (2), Hebrew Character (6), Grey Shoulder-knot (1) plus the Dark Chestnut already mentioned.  If you haven't already, it is time to brush the dust off those traps!

Diurnea fagella, Westcott 5th March

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks