Migrant moths in Berkshire

I don't think any of these have had Berkshire records reported on the blog yet, so I hope the recorders concerned don't mind me passing on the details of their records.

Berkshire joined this year's Crimson Speckled club when Mark Calway found on in Reading on 28 October. It's the second county record, after Martin Albertini added it to the Berks list back in 1990.

Crimson Speckled - photo by Mark Calway

Also in Reading, Jon Cole found a lovely pink-tinted Blair's Mocha a few days ago (I think on 27 October), the fifth county record.

Blair's Mocha - photo by Jon Cole

And on 30 October we had a brand new species for the county, when David Fearneyhough recorded Uresiphita gilvata (Yellow-underwing Pearl) in Didcot. In the photo it looks a little like Rush Veneer, Nomophila noctuella, but in life it is significantly larger and with yellow hindwings.

Uresiphita gilvata - photo by David Fearneyhough

Crimson Speckled in Bucks

The first report from Bucks of a Crimson Speckled during the current influx has come to us via BMERC in Aylesbury.  Paul Dubery was lucky enough to find this example in Wolverton, Milton Keynes on 28th October, posing on chrysanthemum for about half an hour before flying off.  Our grateful thanks go to Paul for allowing us to mention the record and use his picture below.

Crimson Speckled, Wolverton 28th October

  

Westcott, Bucks

Average nightly catches here during the last couple of weeks have been around 70 moths now that species such as Beaded Chestnut and Lunar Underwing are almost over, but with more than 20 species on most nights those are still excellent totals for the second half of October when there is normally nothing much flying in any great numbers apart from the November Moths.  However, last night (30th) saw things drop significantly with only 22 moths of 14 species and I suspect the decline has now set in.  The last of this month's additions to the garden year-list have now turned up, comprising Feathered Thorn (18th) and Sprawler (25th), while my first Mottled Umber of the season has now visited the trap (29th), which leaves just December Moth and Scarce Umber to put in an appearance sometime in the next week or two.  In fact I've seen several December Moths already while trapping at different woodland sites over the past week, but none as yet in the garden.  

Feathered Thorn, Westcott 18th October

Sprawler, Westcott 25th October

Mottled Umber, Westcott 29th October

Other moths seen over the period have included late-season examples of Metalampra italica (19th & 23rd), Oak Hook-tip (23rd), Single-dotted Wave (27th, a small and poorly marked specimen), Yellow-tail (22nd) & Straw Underwing (20th).  The Straw Underwing, not the best marked of individuals, was my latest ever record and comes six weeks after what I thought would be my last sighting for the year on 7th September.  It refused to show its hind-wings for the photo below but they were checked!

Straw Underwing, 20th October

As Martin Townsend pointed out yesterday, these last two weeks have been exceptional for migrants.  In fact the whole year has been excellent for them, even better than 2006 which is often quoted as one of the best in recent memory.  The huge invasion of Crimson Speckled over the past week is unprecedented although needless to say they've managed to avoid me so far!  In fact I've not had any of the really good species which have turned up this far inland during October but I've been very happy to get an almost continuous supply of the more common migrants in the garden:

(17th)  Vestal (1).

(18th)  Nomophila noctuella (2).

(19th)  Nomophila noctuella (1).

(20th)  - nil -

(21st)  Nomophila noctuella (1).

(22nd) Nomophila noctuella (6), Vestal (1).

(23rd)  Nomophila noctuella (2).

(24th)  Vestal (1).

(25th)  Udea ferrugalis (1), Nomophila noctuella (16), Vestal (1).

(26th)  Nomophila noctuella (11), Vestal (1), Dark Sword-grass (1), Small Mottled Willow (1), Silver Y (1).

(27th)  Nomophila noctuella (17), Scarce Bordered Straw (2).

(28th)  Nomophila noctuella (10).

(29th)  Plutella xylostella (1), Nomophila noctuella (15), Vestal (1), Small Mottled Willow (1).

(30th)  Nomophila noctuella (3). 

On top of the above there have been plenty of species such as Turnip, White-point, Angle Shades & Vine's Rustic which may or may not also have been migrants.  It looks as though we're going to remain free of frost for some weeks yet so there's still a chance that some of the more interesting migrants that have already arrived in the country could turn up in the trap.   

Small Mottled Willow, Westcott 26th October

Scarce Bordered Straw, Westcott 27th October

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks    

Late (?) P. xylostella and P. quercifoliella

 A rather late P. xylostella to mv last night in Denham. Also P quercifoliella on October 27-28, and 29-30. Just wondering if there are other late records in Bucks, or nearby.

Poor Run

Jealously looking at the other posts, despite the ideal autumn conditions, my poor run of trapping nights in Stoke Goldington, North Bucks, continues. Last night there was a total of  4 moths in 2 traps (none in the MV), the best being this Large Wainscot. As a 'bonus', at the front door lights was a latish Barred Sallow.

Update. 30 Oct. What's going on? A complete blank last night. Never happened in October before!

A good night for micros

I was surprised to find a total of nine species of micros in the traps last night, including three which were new for me, and one new for the year, since recently I have only been getting one or two per night.

The new species included one 'macro'-micro, Box-tree Moth; one "normal" micro, Diurnea lipsiella, and one 'nano'-micro, Phyllonorycter messaniella. What's more, the Box-tree Moth was my 100th new species for the garden this year.

Palpita vitrealis and Shaded Broad-bar

 Shaded Broad-bar from the night of 28th October - according to our atlas that's quite late. Poor photo taken from within the trap - it was off shortly after.

Then from this morning my first ever Palpita vitealis (and 600th moth in the garden since 2013). 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

Uresiphita gilvata

 This is Uresiphita gilvata, in my garden trap this morning. Part of the enormous influx of migrants we have had in the past week or so. I've also had 2 Palpita vitrealis. There has also been Crimson Speckled in Oxfordshire (Bletchington) and another vitrealis in Garsington. I'm surprised nothing else has been reported from our area, tbh. It may still be worth looking for CS in open, grassy habitats by day. Searches on the Suffolk coast yesterday produced 14. 

Oak Rustic

 I had 3 Oak Rustic turn up last night. A new record for the garden.

Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

Mompha epilobiella?

I found this indoors this evening, and I think it is Mompha epilobiella. FL is ~ 5.5 mm. If I'm right, it would be a first for me . 

Thanks

Phil T

Small Mottled Willow and a micro query

My first ever Small Mottled Willow came to the garden trap last night.

I also found this micro which I think is Acleris schalleriana, or could it be a form of Acleris sparsana? Advice welcomed.

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Acleris sparsana?

 Pretty confident about this one, but a first record for Hawridge and Cholesbury Commons. Can someone please confirm?

Many thanks

David

Late Riband Wave

 I assume that's what it is, later than the last record on the UT Atlas by nearly 2 weeks. It was also tiny, it's in a very small tube, I'd assumed it was a Vestal before I got a proper look. 

 

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

Scarce Bordered Straw - East Oxford

 A single Scarce Bordered Straw was the only definite migrant on the very mild night of 27/28 October - but a first record for my East Oxford Garden. Apologies for the terrible 'pot-shot' but took this quickly before leaving for work, while still very gloomy outside. Also Turnip and Large Wainscot.

Scarce Bordered Straw, East Oxford, 27 Oct 2022

An unfortunate error

My normal practice is that I photograph all moths of which I'm uncertain after visual examination (with hand-lens if necessary) or for which a photo would be a good idea to support the record, and I also photograph the first appearance of a species each season and anything else that's unusual.  Moths in the first category are recorded in my notebook with "TBC" or "?" after the provisional name (if I have even got that far). This helps me to remember what I'm supposed to keep until it's checked.  I don't normally release any moths with uncertain ID until I've checked the photo and come to a definite confusion: many still without a positive ID end up on this blog or in the freezer.

This approach assumes that a confident ID after visual inspection is a correct ID.  That's what went wrong with one of the moths that I caught on 17th October.  I had got tied up in an urgent project from 18th onwards, so I fell behind on several things, one of which was going through the photos.  As the only identification of which I was uncertain was a hoverfly, I had released the moths I had photographed: all of these were meant to be "first of the season", including Pine Carpet, Acleris rhombana, Large Wainscot, Yellow-line Quaker and a Caloptilia stigmatella.

In the end, I didn't get around to going through the photographs until this evening.  Imagine my surprise when the photo of the "Caloptilia stigmatella" came up on the screen and it was plainly wrong.  Worse, I had somehow been confident in this erroneous ID.  So instead of labelling it and moving straight on to the next photo, I needed to think again.

Caloptilia sp.
Newton Longville, 17th October 2022

So which Caloptilia species was it?  Having been completely wrong with my visual ID, now with the photo I didn't recognise what species it was.  After considerable research, it now appears to me that it could be either C. hemidactylella or C. honoratella; C. falconipennella is also a possibility.  Any of these would be a notable find and all need the genitalia to be done, but the moth is somewhere in the garden celebrating its liberty and toasting my incompetence.  As some kind of consolation, perhaps someone could at least confirm that I'm now on the right track (albeit a track that is going to lead nowhere in the absence of anything to dissect), or tell me that I've gone wrong again and it's a more common species.

There is no alder nearby, and the nearest Sycamore of which I'm aware is a couple of hundred metres away, but I do have Field Maple in the garden. 

Tim Arnold
Newton Longville, Bucks

Oak Rustic

Trapping has been a bit disappointing lately so I've only been putting it out on likely favourable nights. This morning the trap only held LYU and LBAM. However, on a window frame was this, which I think is Oak Rustic. Presumably the strong south winds had blown it to North Bucks.

Janice Robertson
Milton Keynes

You don't always need a moth trap!

 I ran the garden moth trap on Tuesday, hoping there might be a migrant around.

Unfortunately nothing unexpected.

However, I was out quite late last night and was delighted to find this waiting for me on the lighted window by the front door when I returned just after midnight.

Vestal (Rhodometra sacraria)

Neil Fletcher
Walter's Ash (VC24)

Green brindled crescent both forms?

 Intrigued to find what I think is both forms of Green brindled crescent (Allophyes Oxyacanthae and the melanic A O .ab capucina) in my trap last week. So perhaps confirmation that suburbia is increasing here in leafy south bucks!

Death's-head Hawk-moth

 The Death's-head Hawk-moth from the caterpillar that was found in Sibford back in August finally emerged as a pristine adult moth yesterday. 

Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon

Rosy Footman

A trapping session in Bernwood Forest a couple of nights ago produced three examples of Rosy Footman. The moth does sometimes attempt a small second brood although the last time I recorded any at this time of year was back in 2014.  It was so nice to see some moths that weren't in autumnal colours!

Rosy Footman, Bernwood Forest 19th October

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

A couple of micros

 These two from last night.

I think the first is Acleris rhombana based mainly on wing shape (10mm in length)

The second possibly Ypsolopha ustella (8mm in length)

Although I have recorded both before neither are frequent visitors to the garden.

Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

Worminghall, Bucks

A few recent additions to the year list this weekend including Red and Yellow-line Quaker, November moth agg, Figure of Eight, Feathered Thorn, Brindled Green and Grey Shoulder Knot now takes the garden year list here to 482. Still getting 60 or so moths of 15 or so species on recent evenings. 

4 Rush Veneer in last night's stormy conditions. 

Also a mystery moth which I presume is something obvious but worn. 

Figure of Eight- only get one or two a year

One of last night's Rush Veneer was constantly in this resting position (trying to be something more interesting like a Gem)

I presume this is something obvious which has thrown me because its worn. Any help with identification much appreciated. 

Latest Nonpareil to date

Here's a nice trio of moths this morning, including my latest-ever Clifden Nonpareil. This wonderful creature is now in its fourth consecutive year of visiting the MV trap and I thought it might be interesting to check my numbers. They are:

2019 One on 19 September (my first ever)

2020 Three on 3 September followed by seven more, the last on 2 October. Annus mirabilis - the year March Botham entertained six in one evening.

2021 Three on 20 September

2022 One on 5 September and now this one, today.

Wonderful that it seems established and flourishing.  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

Westcott, Bucks

Things are still ticking over in the garden here and some of this month's expected new arrivals have now turned up:  November Moth (9th), Pale November Moth (12th) & Merveille du Jour (13th), leaving Feathered Thorn and Sprawler to appear any day now.  Having had the two most common "Novemnals" I've now given up checking each and every one until I see a decent candidate for Autumnal Moth.

Micros have been almost non-existent over the last four or five nights but the macros are still doing reasonably well for the time of year.  Last night was a good example of current catches, with the temperature falling only to 8C here (although it did feel a bit colder than that at dawn!):  Red-green Carpet (2), Common Marbled Carpet (1), November Moth agg (7), Figure of Eight (1), Green-brindled Crescent (6), Vine's Rustic (1), Angle Shades (1), Barred Sallow (2), Beaded Chestnut (7), Red-line Quaker (5), Brick (2), Lunar Underwing (3), Dark Chestnut (2), Merveille du Jour (1), Black Rustic (5), White-point (1) & Large Yellow Underwing (5).

Merveille du Jour, Westcott 15th October

Other macro-moths seen over the past week have comprised Mallow, Cypress Pug, Willow Beauty, Pink-barred Sallow, Sallow, Chestnut, Blair's Shoulder-knot, Satellite, Deep-brown Dart, Turnip Moth, Shuttle-shaped Dart, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Square-spot Rustic & Setaceous Hebrew Character.  The Cypress Pug and Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (both on the 12th) were my latest ever records.

A quick look at dead stems of yarrow Achillea millefolium in a sheep field off our road on the 11th found the usual large numbers of cases of Coleophora argentula in amongst the seed-pods, often several to one plant.  These active cases are quite easy to spot at the moment once you get your eye in (they over-winter like this). 

Yarrow seed-head with three cases of Coleophora argentula

Active case of Coleophora argentula, Westcott 11th October

I still haven't managed to track down Ectoedemia hannoverella on the many black poplars around our village, but while searching for it there have been quite a few sightings of Stigmella trimaculella which is easy to find at the moment along with the vacated "snail trail" mines of Phyllocnistis unipunctella.

Active mine of Stigmella trimaculella, Westcott 11th October

Finally, a quick search of narrow-leaved sallow Salix cf cinerea in our garden on 11th October produced a mine of Stigmella salicis, a species still undergoing research which should end up in a split.  To aid placing mines to the eventual correct species it is necessary to record the type of food-plant and (at the least) noting the position of the egg.  The example below is from "Cluster six" (egg upper-side, mine quite contorted), see here.  

Mine of Stigmella salicis, Westcott 11th October

Mine of Stigmella salicis, Westcott 11th October

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

CORRECTED: Rushmere mines and caterpillars

Thanks to Neil Fletcher for organising a Bucks Invertebrate Group field trip to Rushmere Country Park yesterday. One of the aims was to look for leaf-mines, and Neil and Tim Arnold will have a much longer list to add, but we also saw a couple of nice caterpillars.

UPDATE: I initially thought the larva in the two pictures below was the gelechiid micro-moth Pseudotelphusa paripunctella (Tawny Groundling), from spun leaves of oak. However, on further reflection it seems much more likely to be the more common relative Teleiodes luculella (Crescent Groundling). So it's not a new species for me after all, but instead a cautionary tale about the need to check identification options more carefully!

It was fun watching this Ancylis mitterbacheriana (Red Roller) hard at work spinning up its leaf fold.

There were at least half a dozen of these reddish-brown larvae beaten from Gorse. I wasn't sure what they could be, but thanks to Robert Homan for suggesting that they are likely to be one of the Blastobasis species, possibly B. lacticolella.

Finally here is a leaf-mine on oak, simply because I liked the shape! It's one of the Stigmella species, but there are plenty to choose from on oak and it is often not possible to identify to species without rearing them through.