Westcott, Bucks

It has been very quiet here of late.  However this year's garden list has crawled up to 16 species (nine macro-moths) which I suppose isn't too bad.  It is in fact already far better than the start of 2013 when I'd seen only six macro-moths by the end of February and just nine by the end of March!  

Way back on the 5th I disturbed Agonopterix arenella in the garden during the daytime and that same night the actinic brought in yet another Pale Brindled Beauty.  We then had that very cold snap and the light was rested until the 15th when Agonopterix heracliana (4), Pale Brindled Beauty (1), Spring Usher (1) & Chestnut (1) appeared.  The 16th brought in Agonopterix heracliana (1) again, along with March Moth (1) & Pale Brindled Beauty (1), but the two subsequent nights produced nothing at all although I did find singletons of Mompha epilobiella and Mompha jurassicella indoors on the 17th.

     

The two Agonopterix species above are arenella (from the 5th) on the left and heracliana (one of those from the 15th) on the right. The latter will eventually be given a closer inspection to confirm but I've never yet found the confusion species Agonopterix ciliella here (indeed I've only seen it once or twice anywhere in Bucks so it seems to be very uncommon locally).  The latter is generally a slightly larger species, usually with a pinkish hue to its undersides which stands out well if you look at the moth inside a pot.  The accepted way of telling them apart is by counting the number of lines through the cilia on the hind-wings but I find this to be difficult and open to misinterpretation.  There are other Agonopterix species which over-winter as adults in the garden here and if the weather is suitable I'd expect to see alstromeriana & ocellana in the near future and maybe purpurea & subpropinquella too.   

March Moth, Westcott 15th February

If you can find a sheltered spot out of the wind the next few nights are looking promising so far as temperature is concerned and there would appear to be a minor Saharan dust event forecast for the weekend which might suggest the possibility of migrant activity. 

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks