Westcott, Bucks

Last night saw the temperatures plummet with the first frost of autumn here by first light this morning and it came as no great surprise that the catch comprised only five moths of three species (December Moth, Winter Moth & Mottled Umber).  However, the mild if rather wet and windy conditions we experienced prior to that produced quite a bit of moth activity in the trap and I managed to record visitors from 33 different species over the seven nights since my last report, including the two additions to the garden year-list shown below:

Pearly Underwing, Westcott 31st October

December Moth, Westcott 2nd November

The conditions were particularly good for migration on the nights of 30th and 31st October but the only visitor from afar seen here (apart from several Silver Ys) was the rather battered Pearly Underwing.  It looks as though we may still have another chance, though, with favourable winds forecast again for this coming weekend.

Of our resident moths, it doesn't look as though I'm going to see Large Wainscot this year (usually an autumn regular) so the only species still to come is Scarce Umber which should appear any day now.  Northern Winter Moth and Autumnal Moth are "optional extras" if I happen to strike lucky.  

Peter Hall has kindly completed all my necessary garden dissections for 2020 which has bumped up the year-list total quite considerably although I haven't yet had a chance to digest all the information.  However, one moth that was given this attention is worth mentioning now, the strange-looking Xanthia species caught at Westcott on 28th September (see here).  This proved to be just a very oddly-coloured Sallow and means that the definite Pale-lemon Sallow caught by Andrew Kershaw in Longwick two nights later is the 4th record for Bucks and the first in 48 years!    

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks