Second generation Blackneck

I was hoping to trap once again in one of the Milton Keynes woods last night but chickened out in the end because of the likelihood of getting soaked.  Instead I took a couple of traps to nearby Finemere Wood where I could always abandon ship and get home very quickly if the weather deteriorated (and luckily it stayed dry for the duration).  Two possible targets there were Oak Lutestring and Clifden Nonpareil but unfortunately neither one turned up at the two MV traps which were run for the usual three hours.  It may be a few days early yet for Oak Lutestring, but Clifden Nonpareil is definitely flying already.  I took some wine ropes with me too but they didn't tempt it out either.  The moth is presumed to be resident at Finemere after a caterpillar was found there in July 2018 but to date there has been no sign of the adult as far as I'm aware.  It is unfortunate that BBOWT have since felled some of the oldest aspens (where the larva was found) but there is plenty more of its food-plant available in the wood.

Amongst roughly 60 species shared between the two MV lights, the most interesting was a Blackneck.  It is quite a common moth in this area but normally flies in June and July and this was my first ever August sighting out of more than 200 records (300+ individual moths).  My last record this year was on 4th July, also at Finemere.  I see from the flight period graph in the BC Atlas that there are signs of September records and I also remember a trapping session at Otmoor in September 2007 after David Redhead thought he'd seen a similarly late specimen in the area that month but the moth didn't show at the lights.

Blackneck, Finemere Wood 24th August

Other species recorded last night included Epermenia falciformis, Cochylis molliculana, Pale Eggar, Hoary Footman, Webb's Wainscot and Tree-lichen Beauty, of which Cochylis molliculana, Hoary Footman and Tree-lichen Beauty may well be additions to the already extensive moth list for Finemere.

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks