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