Re: 2 clearwings

A correction is needed to Dave Ferguson's post on 27th May and it is better to repeat part of that post rather than rely on further comments to the original so that the information doesn't get lost.  Both of Dave's moths were Yellow-legged Clearwing and Martin Townsend has explained to me why that is so.  I've highlighted the features on a cropped version of Dave's first image below (the putative Currant Clearwing):

Yellow-legged Clearwing

This is a rather worn specimen but the broken yellow band at the top of the abdomen and the red scales still visible on the central band of the forewing indicate that this is Yellow-legged, not Currant.  The one visible hind-leg also still shows the typical Yellow-legged feature of an obvious band of black scales at about the mid-point.  It goes to show that just a cursory glance at some clearwings can be misleading.  My original comment about them sometimes coming to the "wrong" lure still applies, even though it wasn't so in this case, which makes a close look doubly important.  

Dave Wilton

Crassa (North Bucks)

Is this possibly Nationally Scarce B Crassa tinctella, rather than C. unitella? Just going on horizontal posture, no significant colour contrast between head and thorax, and early flight period. Or maybe something else I've missed completely!

Is this a Lesser Wax Moth?

The moth below came to my garden light trap, and has had me scratching my head. I wasn't even sure if it was a macro or micro moth. Based on shape and size, I have decided it must be Achroia grisella (Lesser Wax Moth), but I would welcome a second opinion.

Looking at the head, there does seem to be some yellow.

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Funny looking Silver Y?

 I assume that is what it is..I've kept it just in case.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

Bernwood Forest

On Thursday night some cloud cover meant that the temperature was due to hold up until after midnight so I took a couple of MV traps to Bernwood and ran them in different parts of the forest, the result being another 120+ species night with good numbers of micros included.  I was mainly hoping to see the rare Common Fan-foot, one of the forest's specialities, and a fresh singleton duly turned up (this is the beginning of its flight period, which should go on until the end of June).  Otherwise, for the most part the list was made up of common and widespread species but it was also good to see Fox Moth, Birch Mocha, Little Emerald, Grey Birch & Grey Arches.  Those moths around in the highest quantities comprised Marbled White Spot (121), Orange Footman (58) & Pale Tussock (37), while even Green Silver-lines, which usually appears anywhere as a singleton, was trying to get in on the act with eleven seen.  The only identified micro to get into double digits was Scoparia ambigualis but each of the two traps saw swarms of identical-looking Coleophorids which were probably from three or four different species. 

Little Emerald, Bernwood 26th May

Grey Arches, Bernwood 26th May

Common Fan-foot, Bernwood 26th May

Trying to get a decent image of Little Emerald is very difficult.  The moth's wings are almost translucent and there only ever seems to be a hint of green in freshly-emerged specimens which very soon fades to white.

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks 

A couple of pugs.

 Hi there,

Can anyone help?  I'm having trouble with these two - well, I have trouble with all pugs to be fair! I have the first as Mottled and the second (rather worn one) as Common, but would appreciate being put right.

Many thanks, David

large nutmeg & rustic shoulder knot?

 Hi

Can some one confirm if these are large nutmeg and rustic shoulder knot for me please,i do get a few of both each year ,but not familiar with these colour variants,many thanks

Mike Banbury

Bordered Straw

A Bordered Straw in my trap here last night, the first I've recorded since 2015.  Hopefully more migrants soon, maybe even a Striped Hawk . . . . . 

Richard Ellis

Chorleywood

Highflyer

 I caught this moth on Thursday night and recorded it as a May Highflyer which in itself would be a new record for the garden. However a couple of more experienced moth recorders have seen this photo and suggest that although rather worn there are suggestions of an apical streak and slightly pointed wing tips which are features of the Ruddy Highflyer. Unfortunately the moth had been released before this question was raised. I expect it is just a May Highflyer and I should record it as such but advice would be welcome.

Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

2 clearwings

 A VES lure deployed in the front garden in Beaconsfield produced a Yellow-legged and what appears to be a somewhat faded Currant Clearwing. The TIP lure deployed in the back garden attracted nothing.

Dave Ferguson, Beaconsfield

Dark Sword-grass and micro query

I had a Dark Sword-grass in my actinic trap in Aston, west Oxon this morning.  Also a micro which I am having trouble identifying. It was approx 10mm long. Any offers?

David

Dark Sword-grass

Micro ID help?

 A number of things look close - it may be because it's a bit worn nothing quite matches. Any ideas?

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

Tough Micro

This is a tough one for me to ID. Any ideas please 

gipsy moth

 

I caught this on Saturday night (21 May). I think it must be a gipsy moth although few black markings and surely very early for one?

Epiblema cirsiana

This moth was sitting on some knapweed in the garden yesterday. I am pretty sure it is Epiblema cirsiana, a moth I have recorded once before at this time of year.

The previous record was confirmed by dissection. Does this individual need dissection as well for confirmation, or is the photo sufficient? Steve Trigg, Cookham

Caterpillar query

 I was very pleased to find this chap yesterday. I had a few sallow/ willow seedling interlopers appear in a number of pots a few years back. I planted them last year and now they are 3-4feet high. I've seen a few insects on them but this is the first caterpillar.

But which one? I was thinking maybe the earlier instar Millers look like this?

 

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford. 

 

Swings and Roundabouts

Despite good conditions it was a pretty mundane night in the garden at Westcott last night (just under 40 species with only Straw Dot and an as yet unidentified Coleophorid as new for the year).  However, I also took a couple of MV traps to a wood in Yardley Chase in the far north of Bucks for the usual three hours and the results there couldn't have been more different.  As often happens in woodland it was a slow start, but in the end more than 120 species appeared altogether which is an excellent count for a visit anywhere in May, and some of them were around in very good numbers.  Footman moths often give high counts but I had more than 100 Orange Footmen altogether, while other species which usually only appear in ones and twos also did well, of which the most noteworthy were Poplar Hawk-moth (25) and Large Nutmeg (54).  Pale-shouldered Brocade is another once plentiful moth which I'd thought was going downhill locally because I saw none anywhere in 2019, one in 2020 and none in 2021, but seven of them turned up last night in both its grey and brown forms.  Devon Carpet also visited one of the traps so it looks as though the woods in the north of the county might be turning into a bit of a stronghold for it.  There were plenty of micros too (about 40 species altogether) and they included some nice ones such as Cochylis nana, Eulia ministrana, Eucosmomorpha albersana, Ancylis diminutana, Ancylis laetana, Epinotia demarniana & Anania lancealis.  There was no sign of Striped Hawk-moth but I did get a migrant Dark Sword-grass and several examples of Plutella xylostella. 

Eulia ministrana, Yardley Chase 22nd May

Eucosmomorpha albersana, Yardley Chase 22nd May

Ancylis laetana, Yardley Chase 22nd May

Pale-shouldered Brocade, Yardley Chase 22nd May

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks     

A non-standard Wainscot (Stoke Goldington)

Trapped last night, an odd-looking wainscot which I'm just thinking is a slightly aberrant Common Wainscot, but the pale veins are very prominent, and I don't remember seeing that much abdomen projecting before.

Also, an unfamiliar rufous-coloured tiny micro, which I initially thought looked a bit like Brachmia blandella, but no gorse near me, and the wrong time of year!

Red-belted Clearwing with hitchhiker

Like Richard Ellis, I attracted a Red-belted Clearwing to the garden, in my case using the CUL lure hanging in an old apple tree. My individual also came with a ghostly rider on its back!

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Red-belted Clearwing

Two Red-belted Clearwing here to MYO lure between 12.10 and 16.00.  My first recording of this species in my garden.

Richard Ellis

Chorleywood

Some pointers needed

Any advice on these from last night would be appreciated

1) Carpet?

2) pug...

3) macro



Barnaby Briggs, Iver, Bucks

 

Another garden Coleophorid

On 18th May I noticed some Coleophorid feeding signs on our alder and eventually managed to trace the culprit to the case shown below, fixed for pupation as it was in the same leaf-edge spot today and has now been taken into custody.  Four species are known from alder but I believe this has to be either the nationally scarce Coleophora orbitella, which was new for the garden last year, or else Coleophora binderella which I had here back in 2014 (both were adults dissected by Peter Hall).   

Coleophorid case on alder, Westcott 18th May

Further feeding signs elsewhere on the tree had appeared by today and another case was found, still actively feeding.

Feeding signs on alder, Westcott 21st May

Coleophorid case on alder, Westcott 21st May

Looking at the case photos on the UK Leaf-mines website suggests that I may even have both species here, with the first a candidate for orbitella while the second looks more like that of binderella, but hopefully I'll find out for sure in a few weeks.  Unfortunately the adults do look fairly similar so dissection will almost certainly still be required.

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Striped Hawk-moth

A Striped Hawk-moth turned up in Lavendon in the far north of Bucks last night, meaning that all three of our counties have now had at least one from the recent invasion.  I suspect there'll be many more out there, so keep trying!  [File image below]

Tortrix trouble

 I caught these two micros over two nights, but am admitting to struggling a bit with the Id (both the same species?) I first thought maybe Cnephasia, but I'm not so sure.

Westcott, Bucks

With the ten newcomers from last night I'm now well past 200 species for the year in the garden.  This could even be a record early date to achieve that milestone and certainly beats 2019 (25th May), 2020 (20th May) & 2021 (6th June).  Even though we had a terrific downpour in that thunderstorm before midnight the moths continued to arrive - as did the predatory bats flying around the traps which surprised me because I would have thought heavy rain would have played havoc with their radar.  May Highflyer, Pale Oak Beauty, Light Emerald, Gold Spot and the first Minor of the season were amongst the new arrivals, although best of all were another two female Fox Moths.

Fox Moth females, Westcott 18th May

May Highflyer, Westcott 18th May

Gold Spot, Westcott 18th May

The only other species of particular interest recently, to me at any rate, was a White-pinion Spotted which turned up on the previous night.  I've only ever had it four times in the garden and this was the first since 2018.  It is a moth I used to see regularly in local woodland with multiple records each year, but it seems to have gone through a bit of a decline recently and I had only a single sighting anywhere during each of 2020 and 2021.

White-pinion Spotted, Westcott 18th May

Keith Mitchell was talking a couple of weeks ago about hawk-moths.  I've now had Lime (2, first on 7th May), Eyed (2, first on 16th May), Poplar (19, first on 1st May), Elephant (2, first on 13th May) & Small Elephant (1, on 14th May), which just leaves Pine, Privet & Humming-bird to show up of the common species here.  So far I've had no luck at all with Striped Hawk-moth during the invasion of the past few days, nor of any other migrants for that matter apart from the inevitable Plutella xylostella!    

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks