Yardley Chase

I ran a couple of MV traps in the very far north of Bucks last night, my first trapping visit to a wood that doesn't ever seem to have been surveyed for its moths.  It is very nice mixed woodland, a part of the Forestry Commission's Yardley Chase complex of which most lies across the border in Northamptonshire.  With some half-decent weather at last, I was expecting a reasonable return in the usual three hour session and I wasn't disappointed, getting about 50 species altogether.  There was nothing overly exciting, only a few micros and overall numbers of everything were quite low, but it was just nice to get a decent variety of moths for the first time this year.

Peach Blossom, Yardley Chase 30th April

Flame Carpet, Yardley Chase 30th April

Dwarf Pug, Yardley Chase 30th April

Seraphim, Yardley Chase 30th April

Scalloped Hazel, Yardley Chase 30th April

The above five species were first sightings for me this year, the Flame Carpet being a rather dark example.  Other new ones were Pseudoswammerdamia combinella, Zelleria hepariella, Clouded Border, Waved Umber & Puss Moth (a surprisingly battered female who had obviously been out partying the night before - a significant contrast to the pristine male I had in the garden trap the same night!).

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks