Westcott, Bucks

New species added to the garden list over the past few nights have comprised Epiphyas postvittana (25th), Blossom Underwing (28th), Powdered Quaker (29th) & Brindled Beauty (30th):

Epiphyas postvittana, Westcott 25th March

Blossom Underwing, Westcott 28th March

Powdered Quaker, Westcott 29th March

Brindled Beauty, Westcott 30th March

Powdered Quaker has a number of different forms but in our area only slight variations on this basic sandy colour are those most often seen, although the smart pinkish fringe shown here is perhaps a little unusual.  The Brindled Beauty was rather bedraggled, having suffered a bit in last night's rain.  Others which braved the weather conditions here last night included Agonopterix alstromeriana (1), March Moth (1), Red-green Carpet (1), Early Grey (2), Satellite (1), Clouded Drab (18), Common Quaker (6), Small Quaker (3), Powdered Quaker (2) & Hebrew Character (17).    

The new arrivals take the garden year list up to 57 species, of which 50 have been adult moths.  With the prospect of less rain tonight there's perhaps still the chance of one or two more to round off the first three months of the year.  Over the past 20 years adult species counts here for the first quarter have ranged between 11 (in 2013) and 57 (in 2021), while the average is 34.  This is the fifth year when the count has reached 50 or more and all five have been in the last seven years, which probably tells us something about how our climate is changing.

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

ID request

This moth was in my actinic trap in west Oxon this morning (28/3).

Can anybody help with the ID? I can't seem to find anything on the web that looks like this. Wing span is about 35mm. 

Thanks,

David

...and another!

 Found just now climbing up my garage door. About 10 mm long. Only had my phone to hand so image not very good, but hopefully a better angle for ID?
Phil

Unidentified larva

This appeared in my actinic trap last night, presumably having dropped in from trees above the trap. I think perhaps it is Angle Shades, but I don't have any reference books for larvae so I'm struggling.
 

Water Carpet

This Water Carpet, last night, was a garden first in Stoke Goldington, North Bucks. Not in the trap, but attracted to the actinic front-door lights before the rain arrived!

Very pale Twin-spot Rustic?

 At first glance thought this might be Powdered Quaker

Westcott, Bucks

After Small Quaker and Red Sword-grass were added to this year's garden list back on the 14th I've now had Mompha subbistrigella & Shoulder Stripe (15th), Oak Nycteoline (16th), Caloptilia stigmatella, Amblyptilia acanthadactyla, Twin-spotted Quaker, Early Grey & Chestnut (all 17th), Diurnea fagella & Red Chestnut (18th), Ypsolopha mucronella (19th), Double-striped Pug (20th) and Early Thorn & Tawny Pinion (both 23rd), all to the actinic light, so new arrivals have been turning up very much as expected thanks to the fairly benign conditions - albeit rather windy of late.  The nightly counts have been averaging about 50 individuals, Monday 20th proving to be the best of this period with 68 moths.  Needless to say the most numerous have been Orthosia species, mainly Common Quaker, Clouded Drab and Hebrew Character.

Ypsolopha mucronella in typical resting pose,
Westcott 19th March

Double-striped Pug, Westcott 20th March

Early Thorn, Westcott 23rd March

Tawny Pinion, Westcott 23rd March

Another larval record was added to the list on the 20th when this final instar caterpillar of Large Yellow Underwing was found on the lawn close to the light.

Large Yellow Underwing caterpillar, Westcott 20th March

This year's garden list currently stands at 53 species.  46 of those have been adult moths, meaning that if no more are added before the end of the month this will rank as the garden's fifth best count achieved during the first three months of the year.  The total to beat is 57 adult moth species (achieved in 2021).

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks   

 Mis-read flight period Mike-looks like it is Oak Nycteoline!

 Thanks Mike.Sorry but I couldn’t reply to your comment so doing so through fresh post.

Aha!Looks like one of the Oak Nycteoline variations but flight season all wrong?

Best

Will

Help needed to ID this micro

 

"Drab" antennae

Prompted by John Thacker's recent comment on my posting 'Lead-coloured Drab?', I decided to look more closely at the differences between the antennae of incerta and populeti.

None of the images online seem very clear, so I examined the antenna of a male incerta caught last night, photo below, which seems to show that it has a different structure from populeti—saw-toothed rather than comb-like, with fine hairs on the end of each tooth. Given that the image I posted in my query showed a comb-like structure, albeit with the 'teeth' not quite as long as might be expected, this is consistent with it being populeti, as Dave W had concluded.

    

incerta male

populeti male

                                                                        Original post

I don't imagine I have found anything that is not already known, but I personally found it an instructive exercise!

Bernwood Forest, Bucks

An away trapping session last night, more to give the generators an airing than in the expectation of seeing anything unusual, saw me spend three hours from dusk in Bernwood Forest accompanied by two MV traps.  They produced getting on for 2,000 moths with, very much as expected, Small Quaker out in the lead (1,245 counted, many more seen because as ever they were still arriving in droves as I packed up).  Other species around in good numbers included Yellow Horned (83), Small Brindled Beauty (75) & Oak Beauty (75), while the remainder included Diurnea fagella, Acleris ferrugana/notana, Tortricodes alternella, March Moth, Shoulder Stripe, Brindled Pug, Early Tooth-striped, Spring Usher, Dotted Border, Engrailed, Red Chestnut, Chestnut, Dotted Chestnut, Common Quaker, Lead-coloured Drab, Clouded Drab, Twin-spotted Quaker & Hebrew Character. 

Yellow Horned, Bernwood 17th March

Early Tooth-striped, Bernwood 17th March

Engrailed, Bernwood 17th March

Dotted Chestnut, Bernwood 17th March

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Small Eggar

This delightful but rarely seen little moth is now flying and will be on the wing for the next month.  It is restricted in range in our area, so is a species to look out for if you live in the far north of Bucks or the west of Oxfordshire. 

Small Eggar (male, reared), Westcott 17th March

This was one of five males which emerged here yesterday, resulting from a small batch of caterpillars liberated from a larval web found at the beginning of June last year on a roadside hedgerow north of Olney, Bucks (the second web I've found in that same area over the last few years).  If a female emerges she'll be taken back there.  The records from north Bucks form the western extent of a larger population covering northern Bedfordshire.

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks  

Much more worth while putting out the trap last night.

 Drizzle notwithstanding, last night produced 16 species in my actinic trap in Chorleywood. It occurred to me that some of my photos of common, early moths are a dozen years old; so I thought I'd try again, this time without a telephoto lens! 

Amblyptilia acanthadactyla, Small Quaker and Zelleria hepariella respectively. 

Acleris ferrugana / notana

At last some moths! , 65 moths of 11 species to the trap last night, including Yellow Horned and Brindled Pug.  

It helps that I've got a male sallow in flower in the front garden! 

[Edit] Thanks for Dave Wilton for putting me right on these, two Acleris ferrugana/notana which will need dissection to confirm.  (As usual at this time of year, I've forgotten almost everything I ever know about moths!.)

 

Neil Fletcher
Walter's Ash (VC24)

 Hi again!

This turned up last night - one of over 200 moths in the trap - 80% of them Common and Small Quakers!

I can't find anything like this in the books. Acleris shalleriana has the dark splodge in the right place, but surely the shape is all wrong?? Thoughts welcome.

Best wishes

David

Third time lucky

Last year I had the very early-flying tortrix Pammene giganteana to the MOL pheromone lure (actually aimed at Grapholita molesta) in the garden here on 14th March, having been prompted to use the lure after getting one to a light trap in Bernwood Forest four days earlier.  This year I tried the MOL lure in the garden on 12th and 16th March with no results but today a single rather battered male giganteana turned up to the SKI lure (for Grapholita lobarzewskii) in weak sunshine at 1.20pm after the pheromone trap had been outdoors for half an hour.  Last year I also had giganteana to the SUS lure (for Pammene suspectana), so if you have any of those pheromones for Pammene or Grapholita species it is worth trying them now, especially if you are close to mature oaks (the larvae of giganteana feed inside "oak apple" wasp galls).  I should add, though, that there is only one fairly young oak near me and no mature examples within a mile of our garden so it seems that the moth could turn up just about anywhere!

Pammene giganteana, Westcott 17th March

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks 

Lead-coloured Drab?

 I initially recorded this as Clouded Drab, but on looking at the images later, I wondered whether it is in fact Lead-coloured Drab. The feathering on the antennae seems a bit prominent for the former, but perhaps not prominent enough for the latter? So I'm unsure, but leaning towards populeti.

Phil T

Westcott, Bucks

Following the appearance of Lead-coloured Drab (5th, already mentioned in these pages) there was nothing new for this year's garden list until the 13th when a tiny Nepticulid moth was noticed indoors, running around on the bathroom floor (forewing length not much more than 2mm).  It could be one of a number of look-alikes so determination to species will have to await dissection.  The only adult I've seen previously this early in the year is Stigmella aceris, a couple of which were recorded during February 2019 (again, one of them indoors).

Stigmella species, Westcott 13th March

Last night (14th) was a better one than of late for the actinic light with two new species for the year-list turning up before the temperature dipped below freezing at about 11pm.  The regulars were joined by Small Quaker and a surprise Red Sword-grass:

Red Sword-grass, Westcott 14th March

Red Sword-grass, Westcott 14th March

It is difficult to work out the status of Red Sword-grass in our area because there are so few records of it, although this is the second for the garden here after a pre-hibernation example in November 2021.  It could be a migrant, or perhaps a wanderer from the west of the UK where the species is more widespread, but equally it could be resident at very low density.

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks   

Over Wintering Hummingbird Hawk Moth

 Was surprised to find an adult Hummingbird Hawk Moth on my landing window last Thursday. It is the first time I have seen one in the winter

Can't do this one!

 Hi,

Can anyone help to ID this - early August last year, near Chesham.

Many thankjs

David

Mompha check

First moth I have seen this month apart from a few in the car headlights.  This was flying around the house.  I think it is probably a well-marked Mompha subbistrigella although it is maybe a bit on the large size at almost 7mm in length.

Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon. 

Lead-coloured Drab

Garden moth counts since the beginning of the month have been around half a dozen each time and that's exactly what I got here last night.  Lead-coloured Drab was the first new adult species for the year-list since Oak Beauty on 20th February.  Two of them turned up, while the other four moths comprised Dotted Border (3) & Hebrew Character (1), all of which had arrived by 10pm.

Lead-coloured Drab, Westcott 5th March

Lead-coloured Drab, Westcott 5th March

Neither Lead-coloured Drab was particularly well marked but that's fairly typical for the species.  Both were males so had the most obvious feature to distinguish them from Clouded Drab:  antennae which appear visibly "feathered" to the naked eye.  Other clues are their size as well as the rounded wing-tips (both features similar to Common Quaker).  The lighter specimen at the top also has the hint of some small black wedges in the outer cross-line which can sometimes be quite prominent.   

As yet, the weather is showing little sign of warming up and we seem to be in for another particularly cold patch over the next few days so I'm not expecting much more moth activity until the weekend.

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks 

Unidentified micro

Can anyone help with the ID of this micro please? Taken at Lardon Chase on 2/6/21.

David Hastings