Westcott, Bucks

As can be seen from the data below there has been some considerable fluctuation in results from the two garden traps over the past week, with Sunday's catch more than acceptable for the time of year on what was probably the last relatively warm night for a while, but fewer than half the number of both moths and species turned up the following night.  Of the 268 individuals on Sunday, 88 were Lunar Underwing and 43 were Setaceous Hebrew Character.  However, despite southerly winds on both Saturday and Sunday no migrants found their way here and the only one over the entire period was another Dark Sword-grass last night (28th).  

     (22nd)  90 moths of 27 species; nothing new for the garden year-list.

     (23rd)  80 moths of 22 species; nothing new for the garden year-list.

     (24th)  118 moths of 23 species; nothing new for the garden year-list. 

     (25th)  147 moths of 32 species; Green-brindled Crescent & Brindled Green new for the year.

     (26th)  268 moths of 40 species; Choreutis pariana & Red-line Quaker new for the year.

     (27th)  108 moths of 18 species; Blair's Shoulder-knot new for the year.

     (28th)  118 moths of 26 species; Lyonetia prunifoliella new for the year. 

Choreutis pariana, Westcott 26th September

Lyonetia prunifoliella, Westcott 28th September

I was particularly pleased to see Choreutis pariana which came to the MV light.  Similar in size and behaviour to the Nettle-tap Anthophila fabriciana which is also around in some numbers at the moment, it has been recorded here during the daytime more often than at night but this is my first sighting of it in the garden for five years.  Apologies for the rather poor picture of it but, needless to say, Lyonetia prunifoliella is another completely new species for the site and as this moth is spreading so fast we can all expect to see it sooner or later.  Unfortunately the specimen was found deceased and in poor condition in one of the egg-trays at the very bottom of the MV trap, covered in a pile of similarly deceased small black flies, and goes to show the wisdom of checking thoroughly amongst the debris!

Short-cloaked Moth, Westcott 22nd September

A second-generation Short-cloaked Moth on the 22nd was unusual, it was nice to see Dewick's Plusia again as singletons on both the 26th and 27th, while my first Satellite of the autumn appeared on the 27th.  Amongst the micros it was good to find Epermenia chaerophyllella (25th), Zelleria hepariella (26th) and Ostrinia nubilalis (26th) in the traps as a change from the usual handful of autumnal tortrix species.

Update:  Another late specimen I had meant to mention then forgot about was a Pale Prominent on 22nd September.  I have had one previous September record (2nd September 2014) but this seems very late indeed and is perhaps indicative of an attempt at a third generation.  The moth certainly did exceptionally well here this year in its earlier broods.

Pale Prominent, Westcott 22nd September

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks  

Old record from Stoke Goldington

 I came across this image from 21 Aug 2004, which I had originally assigned to a very abberant Flounced Rustic, but now I'm not so sure. Comments welcomed.

Smart-looking moths and some not so smart-looking

In terms of species found in the last couple of weeks, I have little to report of interest.  Another Autumnal Rustic and a rather late Endotricha flammealis is about the sum of it.

The progress of the season has shown itself in how smart or otherwise the moths look.  Square-spot Rustics are now looking very worn - there has been a handful of probable SSRs that I haven't recorded because they lacked almost any identifiable markings and I didn't feel sufficiently confident using size and wing shape alone.  One fairly fresh-looking example was the exception to prove the rule on the 24th.  On the other hand, in addition to the Autumnal Rustics, there have been smart-looking Black Rustic, Brown-spot Pinion and a very well-marked Brick.  Even a couple of Deep-brown Darts have managed to look well-turned-out in their drab way.

Brown-spot Pinion
Newton Longville, 24th September 2021

Brick
Newton Longville, 24th September 2021

The identification of two moths is causing me some head-scratching.  For the first I have considered and rejected candidates amongst the Blastobasis, Blastodacna and Diurnea.  Forewing length is just over 6mm.  Unfortunately, the moth escaped before I could take a better photograph than the one below - despite it being just out of the fridge.

Newton Longville, 19th September 2021

The second moth was almost the last moth I took out of the trap on the 24th and it is unable to fold away one of its hindwings.  Being able to see its hindwing easily ought to mean that I have an extra way to identify it, but the markings on both fore- and hind-wings have not led me to any conclusions.  There is something about the forewing shape and markings that is giving an itch deep in my memory, but to no avail.  Help appreciated!

Newton Longville, 24th September 2021

Tim Arnold

Newton Longville, Bucks

Early Thorn

Whilst trimming our Hazel yesterday my partner found two of these larva which I think is Early Thorn.

Eudonia angustea?

 Stoke Goldington: Is this Crambid micro , E. angustea - there don't seem to be many Bucks report in iRecord - although I suspect that may be just an artefact of the way moth'ers choose to report their records?

Dotted Rustic?

 Stoke Goldington, Bucks: Yesterday I had a rather late V-Pug, and today a Merveille du Jour, but this unfamiliar Noctuid puzzled me. Is it a Dotted Rustic?

unexpected visitor

 After Friday nights meagre haul of moths,a single brown spot pinion and a turnip moth and a handful of the usual suspects,i did not really see this coming last night.

First one i have ever seen,and really didnt expect one in my Banbury urban garden.

Mike Banbury

At Last!

 At last I can join the club! I was so delighted to catch my first Clifden Nonpareil last night....I think my face says it all!

Lorna Woolhouse, Checkendon, South Oxon

Westcott, Bucks

Clear, cold nights with a bright moon are not conducive to good results from the moth-trap and that's what we seem to be getting just at the moment (the temperature on the night of the 20th, for example, fell well into single digits here before dawn).  I'll probably continue running both traps until the end of the month but, as always happens in the autumn, the twin-30wt actinic is already bringing in twice as many moths as the 125wt MV so I expect the latter will be put away soon.  On the plus side the ivy is coming into blossom locally and its flowers are always an excellent moth attractant early in the night, so if you have ivy in the garden or nearby it is worth giving it the once-over with a torch after dark.     

     (15th)  143 moths of 30 species; Beaded Chestnut new for the garden year-list.

     (16th)  155 moths of 40 species; Brown-spot Pinion, Barred Sallow & Pink-barred Sallow all new for the year-list.

     (17th)  149 moths of 31 species; nothing new for the year-list.

     (18th)  176 moths of 30 species; Monopis crocicapitella new for the year-list.

     (19th)  139 moths of 29 species; Acleris rhombana & Dusky-lemon Sallow new for the year-list.

     (20th)  55 moths of 20 species; nothing new for the year-list.

     (21st)  67 moths of 21 species; Large Wainscot new for the year-list.

Likely Monopis crocicapitella, Westcott 18th September

Brown-spot Pinion, Westcott 16th September

Dusky-lemon Sallow, Westcott 19th September

The new arrivals were very much as expected apart from Monopis crocicapitella which is a completely new species for the garden.  I'm reasonably sure that it has been identified correctly due mainly to the amount of white speckling on the fore-wing, but it has been retained for dissection to make sure that it isn't obviella.  Neither one has previously been recorded here.  Brown-spot Pinion is the Agrochola I'm always most pleased to see in the garden because I only ever get one or two per year, whereas the others and their close relatives (particularly Beaded Chestnut and Lunar Underwing) always appear in their hundreds.  Dusky-lemon Sallow is the last of the Sallows I can reasonably expect, although with a sighting of Pale Lemon Sallow not far away in Longwick last autumn I can but live in hope!

The week's only "migrant" was a single example of Plutella xylostella (16th) although some of the noctuids which visited, including Dark Spectacle, Pale Mottled Willow, Angle Shades, White-point & Turnip, may or may not have been long-distance travellers too.  Setaceous Hebrew Character kept appearing in reasonable numbers for most of the period (50+ here every night up to and including the 19th) but Common Wainscot is now well in decline.  The nightly Lunar Underwing count first reached double digits on the 17th and should keep climbing rapidly over the coming week.     

Of the other moths seen this month, late examples of Coptotriche marginea have appeared a few times.  I have had September records of adults (even an October record once) which suggest an extended second brood or maybe even a third one.  While I didn't get any late records of Beautiful Hook-tip last year, one on the 16th reminds me that September/October sightings actually happen more often than not nowadays.

Coptotriche marginea, Westcott 14th September

Beautiful Hook-tip, Westcott 16th September

Finally, a poor picture which I hesitate to add of a very worn moth taken in dismal lighting conditions (a perennial problem as the days draw in).  It was actually trapped here on the 14th but I didn't get around to photographing it until late the following day, after I'd posted last week's report.  The specimen has been retained for dissection anyway, but I've come to the conclusion that it must be a Crescent - that's unless anyone has other suggestions?  I have had Crescent in the garden once before, a rather better marked specimen appearing on 3rd August 2019 (see here).

Possible Crescent, Westcott 14th September

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Pausing

 

My first Comma visits the trap - joining a Small Tortoiseshell, a Brimstone, a Peacock and a Speckled Wood on the list of butterflies which have taken this unusually daring step.  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

More leaf-mines

During a dog-walk in the village yesterday I saw lots of the "snail-trail" mines of Phyllocnistis unipunctella on black poplar, all on youngish regrowth sprouting from the bases of a line of mature trees.  Those I found (20+) had finished mining and were at the pupal stage under a small leaf-edge fold which is visible on the right in the picture below. 

Mine of Phyllocnistis unipunctella on poplar, 19th September

The mines of Phyllocnistis xenia (on both white poplar and grey poplar) are similarly obvious at the moment because like unipunctella they use most of the upper surface of the leaf.  Those of Phyllocnistis saligna on willow are around too but are not quite so easy to spot due mainly to the shape of the leaf and the fact that they mine the stem as well.

I don't often pay attention to the cases used by Coleophora species, mainly because most of those I find in the garden seem to be Coleophora serratella no matter which food-plant they're on and it is just as easy to get adults from the trap dissected (thanks, Peter!).  However, having seen mention of Coleophora argentula elsewhere recently, I had a look at some dead seed heads of yarrow (Achillea) on yesterday's local walk and found three cases on the first one I looked at.  This is apparently a common moth species and (with the aid of a hand lens) would seem to be one that is fairly easy to record, yarrow being such a widespread plant.  The cases do actually stand out rather more obviously than is suggested by the image below. 

Case of Coleophora argentula on yarrow, 19th September

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks   
  

Another Dewick's Plusia

On September 15th I acceded to a request to put my Robinson trap in a neighbour's garden, but across the county boundary from me in Stony Stratford, so in Bucks (I live just inside Northants).  It was a clear night with a substantial moon, so the catch was well down on species and numbers compared to two nights previously.  Nonetheless my third local Dewick's Plusia was on one of the vanes of the trap.  The beginner moth'er, in whose garden we were, was over the moon and so was I.  Always a delight.      

Andy Harding

Eudonia pallida?

I had this moth in the trap this morning (run at my allotment in Abingdon). It could be E. pallida, but I would welcome confirmation.

David

Acleris comariana?

 Is this likely to be A. comariana, or would it require genital dissection to determine? (or is it something else completely different!)

Small Elephant

Stoke Goldington:  Hot on the heels of yesterday's Convolvulus Hawk-moth is this battered old Small Elephant. I've never had one this late before. Amazing how it can still fly!

Stigmella aurella?

 Can these be ID'd as Stigmella aurella? All are on bramble and unfiortunately all seem to be vacated.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

Dewick's Plusia

This Dewick's Plusia in my 125W MV Robinson trap this morning,  a new species for this site. Rather frisky hence the second pic is a bit blurred:

Richard Ellis

Chorleywood

Like buses...

 ...three come at once. I thought the Clifden Nonpareil might be considering Thrupp a bit passé after the splurges in 2019 and last year but I was greeted by one trying to leave the trap (pic below) when I made an unusually early inspection at 6.30am today. There were two more in the eggboxes and I have kept all three for a while because of visiting children.  If the moths remain placid, I'm hoping to track down a local aspen and just see if there's a chance of egg-laying. Otherwise they'll be soaring off soon - always a majestic sight.  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon 

Convolvulus

I'm starting to get back into moths again, and was pleasantly surprised when my MV lamp burst back into life after a gap of 6 years. Left it on overnight, with a white sheet to keep it company, and was greeted with this beast of a Convolvulus Hawk-moth in the morning - my first in a total of 11 years mothing in the garden (Stoke Goldington in the far north!).

Is this what I think it is?

 My daughter snapped this on the wall of the Lexicon shopping centre in Bracknell today 17th September. I have no good measure of the size or of the underwing…surely not…

Pandemis cinnamomeana?

 I think this is Pandemis cinnamomeana? It seems more by luck than judgement the only photos I have are slightly head on and so you can see the white. Can someone conirm? Also how common is it around here?

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

A very poor night until...

I trapped in some mixed woodland on the border with Northamptonshire not far from Silverstone last night and the results were dire despite reasonable weather.  Two 125w MV lights between them managed just 41 moths of 19 common species in the allotted three hours, while a 15w actinic almost out-performed them by bringing in 45 moths of 14 species until the moth below turned up just after midnight as I was packing it up.  Yet another new site in Bucks for this fantastic beast!  I haven't explored the wood thoroughly enough to know if it contains aspen but there are certainly plenty of mature poplars.

Clifden Nonpareil, 16th September

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Dark Spectacle

Pretty sure this is a Dark Spectacle but as it's a species which has eluded me up until now I'd appreciate confirmation.

Thanks,

Nigel

Autumnal Rustic

I saw Dave's post about finding Autumnal Rustic for the first time in Bernwood Forest and his lament about the disused railway cutting at Salden (near Mursley) where he had eight to light twelve years ago, but which has been destroyed as a habitat by East-West Rail's work to re-construct the railway line.

Salden cutting is just down the line from my garden - about 3¼ km - and the almost-adjacent Salden Wood is slightly closer.  Even though my garden is not near any significant piece of good woodland, I had a total of nine Autumnal Rustic in my own garden last year, spread across four nights in an eight-day period starting on 14th September.  So when I set out the traps on Wednesday night (15th), I was keeping my fingers crossed.

Two individuals duly turned up: I found one outside the trap at about midnight, and the other was found when I emptied the trap the next morning.  Under "habitat", the guide book says "Heathland, moorland, rough grassland, downland (provided it is not heavily grazed) and other open country, on light sandy or chalky soils.  Also fens, shingle beaches and open woodland."  Well, in my intensively-grazed corner of the heavy clay of Aylesbury Vale, most of those are noticeable by their absence.  The reference to rough grassland does intrigue me because in my village there is an area of rough grassland where grazing was abandoned ten or more years ago and it is gradually scrubbing over.  Unfortunately, that area lies immediately south of the Varsity Line, and EWR have built one of their haul roads across a part of it.  If that's where the local Autumnal Rustics call home, then they have escaped destruction by a gnat's whisker.

Considerably more likely though is that they have taken a slightly longer flight from somewhere on the greensand heath or woodland just over the county boundary in Bedfordshire.  Indeed, a glance at iRecord shows a cluster of records from Heath & Reach, which is only about 8 km from my garden and 11 km from Salden.

Autumnal Rustic
Newton Longville, 15th September

Tim Arnold

Newton Longville, Bucks

Westcott, Bucks

The number of species visiting the garden continued to drop this week, partly due to the disappearance of the majority of the micros which always happens in September.  The last good night for them was the 8th (23 micro species) but from the 10th onwards there have been fewer than ten species per night (just six on the 13th).  Setaceous Hebrew Character and Common Wainscot have been making up the bulk of the macro catch but even they are beginning to wane and I'm now waiting for Lunar Underwing to take off.  

     (8th)  404 moths of 60 species; nothing new for the garden year-list. 

     (9th)  338 moths of 50 species; Deep-brown Dart new for the year-list.

     (10th)  402 moths of 51 species; Sallow & Lunar Underwing new for the year-list. 

     (11th)  258 moths of 40 species; nothing new for the garden year-list.

     (12th)  337 moths of 40 species; nothing new for the garden year-list. 

     (13th)  293 moths of 41 species; Mallow new for the year-list.

     (14th)  256 moths of 41 species; nothing new for the garden year-list. 

Sallow, Westcott 10th September

The only migrant recorded this week was a single Dark Sword-grass (8th).  A further six Clifden Nonpareils visited, including three on one night (9th), so the garden tally for 2021 is now eight which equals last year's count already.  

A couple of posts ago Neil Fletcher mentioned White-point and that has been doing very well here too.  I had 25 individuals of the first brood in the garden between 28th May and 7th July, while second brood specimens have been appearing since 11th August and their count has now reached 174, so almost 200 seen already this year and the moth should be around at least until the end of this month.  That total compares with 145 here for the entire year in 2020, itself a garden record.  White-point has been appearing annually at Westcott in ever-increasing numbers since 2014 and before that my only sightings in Bucks were in 2006 (an excellent year for migrants) when one visited the garden on 9th June and in 2013 when I had a pair to light on 28th August on the top of Pitstone Hill.  While its numbers will certainly still be topped up by migrants, this is undoubtedly a widespread resident species in our area these days.  It has appeared at every other site I've trapped at this year.        

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

A new species for Bernwood

I ran three lights (two 125w MVs and a 15w actinic) in Oakley Wood, Bernwood Forest last night as part of my annual search there for Oak Lutestring.  Yet again the moth didn't show but I shall keep persevering.  As usual in woodland at this time of year there were plenty of hornets around but few moths, with just 36 species turning up, only one more than the count at Finemere Wood two nights earlier.  The highest totals were provided by Apotomis betuletana (33), Epinotia nisella (17), Red-green Carpet (14), Light Emerald (21) & Snout (34).  Amongst the micros it was nice to see Epinotia ramella, Epinotia trigonella and Eudonia truncicolella.   Epinotia trigonella is supposedly common but in Bucks it seems to be restricted to just three or four sites of which Bernwood is the most reliable.
      

Epinotia trigonella, Oakley Wood 13th September

There were good numbers of Red-green Carpet but the only other autumnal macros seen were Brindled Green, Centre-barred Sallow and Sallow.  Apart, that is, from the best moth of the session which was an Autumnal Rustic - a first for Bernwood!  This moth is very restricted in range within Bucks, the main sites for it being the Ivinghoe hills and Rammamere Heath.  The field guide does mention open woodland as one of its habitats and twelve years ago I did get eight of them to light one night in the disused railway cutting near Mursley which was then partly wooded (but now trashed by East-West Rail), however my experience of it otherwise in Bucks has always been on very exposed heathland or chalk downland sites.  It was so good to see it in the forest and it would be nice to think that this smart noctuid wasn't just a wanderer but that it has now taken up residence there.    

Autumnal Rustic, Oakley Wood 13th September

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks 

Unusual White-point

I've been seeing a lot of White-point Mythimna albipuncta  this year, I've had seven or eight a few times.  Last Saturday I had quite an unusual one, the white-point, which is usually quite round in this one was very extended.  I've seen a few where the spot was not quite round, but never one as unusual as this.  

I was quite excited at first, assuming it was something else, but the more I looked at it, I could not rule out White-point.  Worth knowing that the "point" can vary quite a bit!

White-point Mythimna albipuncta 11-ix-2021 Walter's Ash

Neil Fletcher
Walter's Ash, VC24