Westcott, Bucks

This period of seven days started well, producing the garden's first 100+ species catch of the year, but then things deteriorated as we reverted to a distinctly chilly, dismal and wet north-easterly and it doesn't look as though we're going to lose that altogether until towards the end of the month.  However, thanks to the batch of dissections carried out recently by Peter Hall, a few more species from earlier in the year have been added to the total (including Stigmella salicis, Parornix anglicella/finitimella/torquillella, Coleophora glaucicolella, Scrobipalpa obsoletella and both Daggers), so the year's garden count has now reached 297.  That species total was achieved on 9th June last year so we're still a couple of weeks behind and overall moth counts generally have remained well below average. 

     (15th)  202 moths of 82 species; Tischeria ekebladella, Tinea semifulvella, Platyptilia gonodactyla, Pandemis cerasana, Agapeta zoegana, Notocelia uddmanniana, Cydia pomonella, Scoparia ambigualis, Riband Wave, Beautiful Hook-tip & Large Yellow Underwing all new for the garden year-list; Currant Clearwing to TIP pheromone lure during the daytime.   

     (16th)  312 moths of 100 species; Paraswammerdamia nebulella, Depressaria radiella, Ditula angustiorana, Archips podana, Agapeta hamana, Spilonota ocellana, Phycitodes maritima, Donacaula mucronella, Sallow Kitten, White Satin & Dark Arches all new for the year; Red-belted Clearwing to MYO pheromone lure during the daytime.

     (17th)  254 moths of 98 species; Narycia duplicella, Argyresthia cupressella, Tortrix viridana, Cochylis hybridella, Hypochalcia ahenella, Eudonia lacustrata, Lackey, Buttoned Snout & Heart and Club all new for the year. 

     (18th)  73 moths of 31 species; Clepsis spectrana the only one new for the year.

     (19th)  113 moths of 52 species; Epinotia abbreviana the only one new for the year.  

     (20th)  112 moths of 55 species; Clepsis consimilana, Barred Yellow, Grass Rivulet & Clouded Brindle all new for the year.

     (21st)  72 moths of  37 species; Crambus perlella the only one new for the year.

Two of the above species are completely new for the site.  There's no reason at all why Donacaula mucronella shouldn't appear at Westcott although it will go to be checked because these large reed-feeding micros can often be quite difficult to separate, varying as they do quite considerably between sex as well as species.  There are only four previous sightings of mucronella in VC24 so this would be quite a good county record, but I do seem to get wetland moths here on a regular basis and there are two decent-sized reed-beds within a radius of just a few miles (Wotton Underwood and Calvert).  However, the other one, Hypochalcia ahenella, presents me with a bit of a problem because I had been trapping in the Chilterns two nights earlier when nine examples of this chalk grassland species came to my lights, although none of them was as plain-looking as the example shown below - in fact it had wrapped its wings up so tightly in the trap that I initially thought it might be a very dark species of grass moth.  Did it somehow follow me home, and if so why didn't it appear in the garden trap the previous night?  I'll have to wrestle with my conscience over that one!   

?Donacaula mucronella, Westcott 16th June

Hypochalcia ahenella, Westcott 17th June

The year's third garden example of Brown Silver-line came to light on the 19th.  No problem, you'd think, as this is listed as a common moth and it appears here annually.  However, the larval food-plant is supposed to be bracken and there is none of that at all around here on our heavy clay soil.  I suspect that its caterpillars must feed on other fern species too, quite probably including cultivated varieties. 

Brown Silver-line, Westcott 19th June

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks