Another seven nights are up so time for a quick review of garden activity at Westcott. March was seen out by three nights of southerly winds but unfortunately there was no sign of any migrant activity here, just plenty of Saharan dust! There were quite a few resident moths added to the year-list though, starting on Saturday 27th with a very nice Blossom Underwing, then Epiphyas postvittana & Brindled Beauty both on Monday 29th, Streamer, Early Thorn, Dotted Chestnut & Herald all on Tuesday 30th and Caloptilia semifascia, Elachista apicipunctella, Alucita hexadactyla & Nut-tree Tussock all on Wednesday 31st. There was a second very plain-looking Caloptilia on the 31st which will probably also be new for the year but it couldn't be determined on sight alone.
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| Elachista apicipunctella, Westcott 31st March |
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| Streamer, Westcott 30th March |
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| Early Thorn, Westcott 30th March |
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| Brindled Beauty, Westcott 29th March |
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| Blossom Underwing, Westcott 27th March |
The Elachista came as a bit of a surprise because that's three weeks earlier than I've ever recorded it before, although I see that it is only a couple of days prior to the earliest sighting for Bucks on 2nd April. I usually get to see Elachista canapennella here first, and in some numbers. For me Brindled Beauty has always been an April moth locally, but like many others its flight period is moving slowly forward. The example on the 29th was my first ever March record and I had another on the 31st then two more last night (1st April). Up to 2018 I was lucky to see more than one in the garden per season but then in 2019 I had eight and in 2020 seven so, despite the gloomy outlook for it in the BC Atlas, it might have had a change in its fortunes around here. With four already, I wonder if the garden count will get into double figures this year?
As of 31st March the garden year-list stood at 61 species which is a record first-quarter count for the site. That list comprises 35 adult macros, 22 adult micros, two macro larvae and two micro leaf-mines. I've had higher totals for adult macros (37 in both 2017 & 2019) but the micro count is well above average, 15 being the previous highest total (again in both 2017 & 2019).
In the warm sunshine on Wednesday 31st I hung out the pheromone lure for Emperor Moth just to see if any were around locally yet, but there was no sign of activity during three hour-long sessions spread across the day. That was no real surprise because this year I have a plentiful supply of pupae from caterpillars reared in 2020 and there has been no sign of them emerging yet, although I'm sure it won't be long now. Although not in the garden, another day-flyer which I first saw in the local area on the 30th and have now encountered at a couple of sites is Light Orange Underwing. It usually appears after Orange Underwing so presumably means that both are now flying. These moths need to be netted to be sure of the species (males of Light Orange Underwing have feathered antennae).
Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks
I find your comments on the Brindled Beauty interesting. I seem to record much greater numbers here (In the years 2016-2020 I have had 5,10,58,29 and 31). It is also not unusual for me to get some in late March. This year I have seen 4 with the earliest on 21st. Up in the hills of NW Oxfordshire I normally reckon that species often appear a couple of weeks later than elsewhere. There seem to have been quite a few reported in Warwickshire so far this year so perhaps it is just generally more abundant in this area.
ReplyDeleteFirst Brindled Beauty for me in north Bucks was also on 21st March. Can't compare with previous years since this is my first garden record.
DeleteInteresting about Emperor Moth Dave: i went out last week and tried for Emperor in Berkshire heathland sites - nothing. I had been carrying the lure around in my pocket, in the plastic packet it comes in. Next day, lure back in freezer, I was out for a walk around Wallingford Castle Meadows but wearing same jacket and a male emperor came to my pocket!!
ReplyDeleteNice one! I tried the lure in the garden again yesterday (5th) and got nothing and there's still no sign of life from my pupae. They quite often don't emerge here until mid-month and it looks as though that's when things should start to warm up a bit.
ReplyDeleteI have had just one single female emerge so far. Poor thing hatched in the nice warm spell so i was hopeful she'd get a mate, but since then the weather has been so cold I think it's unlikely.
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