Westcott, Bucks

Another week goes by, during which even fewer moths are added to the garden year-list.  The species count for 2020 currently stands at 537 which is 104 behind the total achieved by this date in 2019.  Dissections should eventually narrow the gap a little, but not by very much!

(19th)   Hedya ochroleucana, Cosmopolitan
(20th)   Nutmeg
(21st)    - nil -
(22nd)  Acleris cristana
(23rd)   - nil -
(24th)   - nil -
(25th)   - nil -

The Cosmopolitan (19th) joins Silver-striped Hawk-moth and Convolvulus Hawk-moth as a really good migrant species for the garden this year and we've still not got to the traditional "migrant months" of September and October - I wonder what they'll bring?  Nutmeg is an interesting moth here.  I rarely get more than a handful and some years it doesn't turn up at all.  More often than not it is second-generation individuals like the one on the 20th, when I haven't seen anything of the first brood. 

Until last night the lack of new species had been more than made up for by quantity with moths such as Large Yellow Underwing, Setaceous Hebrew Character and Vine's Rustic appearing in good numbers.  My garden Large Yellow Underwing count is already well over a thousand and only about a hundred behind the same date in 2019 when I ended up with a record site total of 2,313 individuals for the year. 

The MV trap was run on its own last night, well anchored down because of the 45mph gusts from Storm Francis and, even though the catch was much reduced, 22 species turned up.  There was also no let-up in the number of wasps which have been a particular garden hazard this year.  The full list was as follows:  Cochylis molliculana (1), Agriphila tristella (6), Agriphila geniculea (1), Orange Swift (1), Chinese Character (1), Brimstone Moth (3), Dusky Thorn (1), Light Emerald (2), Turnip (3), Large Yellow Underwing (4), Lesser Yellow Underwing (2), Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (3), Square-spot Rustic (1), White-point (1), Common Wainscot (3), Copper Underwing (1), Angle Shades (1), Flounced Rustic (14), Rosy Rustic (1), Vine's Rustic (10), Silver Y (1) & Snout (1).  The Silver Y was a tiny form gammina (wing length only 12mm) which is generally thought to be a long-distance migrant rather than the larger well-fed moths we get at this time of year which will mostly be locally bred individuals, the progeny of migrants which arrived in May and June.

Silver Y f. gammina, Westcott 25th August

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks