If new moths continue to arrive at the rate they are at the moment then the garden could be on its way to a record-breaking Spring. 25 adult species have been recorded here so far this year (plus another four as early stages), of which Tortricodes alternella & Satellite (both 15th), Dotted Border & Common Quaker (both 16th), Ypsolopha ustella, Mompha epilobiella & Clouded Drab (all 17th) and Hebrew Character (18th) have turned up since the last report.
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| Ypsolopha ustella, Westcott 17th February |
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| Tortricodes alternella, Westcott 15th February |
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| Common Quaker, Westcott 16th February |
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| Hebrew Character, Westcott 18th February |
The garden Pale Brindled Beauty total for 2023 has now reached 75, surpassing the previous highest count of 65 in 2019. Amongst the micros,
Agonopterix heracliana has been particularly busy of late with a dozen different individuals spread over the past four nights. I've also had two more
Acleris visitors, one bright
cristana and one poorly-marked
schalleriana, but these two species were recorded here back in January.
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| Acleris cristana, Westcott 15th February |
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| Acleris schalleriana, Westcott 18th February |
Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks
It's nice to see that you and some other people are finding good numbers of moths, Dave. Things are still very quiet for me at home: three moths of two species (Pale Brindled Beauty and Common Quaker) on Saturday night, and last night brought six moths of three species (Common Quaker, Dark Chestnut, Agonopterix heracliana - smallish at 9mm and not a trace of pink underneath). I have had three blank nights so far this year, compared to none last year - I try to put the traps out twice a week if the weather suits.
ReplyDeleteYou reported a couple of ichneumons at Bernwood. Here, these have been making up for the lack of moths. They all seem to have been Ophion obscuratus agg. - there were 19 of them on Saturday night and 22 last night. They were everywhere: in, on and under the trap, on the sheet behind, and in the tray of empty pots that I had optimistically left out. Their high numbers and the low number of moths may of course be connected!
Hi Tim,
DeleteI get good numbers of the ichneumon wasp Ophion obscuratus agg. here in the garden too and they always seem to peak about now, which makes me wonder how they seek out their prey with so few caterpillars active at the moment. 24 last night was the highest count so far this year, but my highest count ever in the garden was 30 on 24th Feb 2012.