Ancylosis oblitella from July

Back on the 10th July I posted a picture of this moth.

It was suggested it could be a Delplanqueia species. However, Peter has now checked it for me and I can report it is male Ancylosis oblitella. Steve Trigg, Cookham

Late Six-spot Burnets

Jan Haseler has sent what she describes as "an appalling picture taken with shaking hands on a mobile phone of a moth on a flower blowing in the wind"! Despite these constraints, the photo clearly shows one of at least 11 Six-spot Burnets that Jan saw at Corner Field at Moor Copse reserve on 25 September.

Late Six-spot Burnet - photo by Jan Haseler

This is the latest ever record for Berkshire; the next latest one was on 3 September, in 2021 from Martin Corley, and otherwise the Berks records run up to 17 August. 

Looking at the records on iRecord there was one also reported on the same 25 Sept date this year in West Lancashire. But it's certainly an unusual occurrence.

Berkshire county moth checklists again - another update for micro-moths

The other day I posted a link to the Berks Moth Group resources page, from where you can download the updated checklists of Berkshire macro- and micro-moths. I was aware that the micro-moth list was incomplete, because of the species listed in Brian Baker's 1994 book that have never made their way onto the county database (the macros were added some time ago but we never completed the micros).

So I started going through the book to add any missing species to the checklist, expecting to find no more than a dozen or so additions. But I had completely under-estimated just how many species had been recorded in 'historic' times but not more recently.

I've now added all the Baker species to a new version of the micro-moth checklist, and this has taken us from the previous total of 991 micro species (of which 75 species had not been seen in the 21st century) up to 1,086 species (of which 168 species have not so far been seen in the 21st century). If you had already downloaded the 24 September version of the checklist please discard that, and use the 27 September version instead.

The additions include some migrant species that were seen once over a hundred years ago and never again (e.g. Evergestis extimalis, Marbled Yellow Pearl), and some smaller and harder-to-recognise species that were recorded occasionally in the past but seem to have dropped off the radar. An example of the latter is Elachista luticomella, Yellow-headed Dwarf, which was recorded eight times between the late 1800s and 1985 but not since, although it is a widespread species that could well survive in the county.

This has been an eye-opening exercise, and I wish I had done it years ago! The challenge now is to see how many of the 'missing' 168 species we can find again.

Evergestis extimalis (from the Netherlands, not from Berkshire!).
Photo by Bj.schoenmakers via Wikimedia.
Recorded once in Berkshire, at Bradfield, around year 1900.

Coleophora lassella

 In my last batch of moths checked by Peter there was a Coleophora lassella. The moth was caught in my garden light trap back in July. It looks to me as if it is quite a good record although I don't know how many records there are from the region. 

Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

Further late broods

A couple of moths which sometimes undergo partial second broods.  Seen in Bernwood Forest last night (25th September) was Lozotaeniodes formosana which occasionally appears again at this time of year.  Similar late sightings for Bucks were reported in 2006 and 2018. 

Lozotaeniodes formosana, Bernwood 25th September

Rosy Footman also produces an occasional second generation and this year sightings were made in Bernwood on both 16th and 25th September.

Rosy Footman, Bernwood 16th September

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks 

 

Another Clancy's Rustic in the garden trap

 Another male this morning. 

Westcott, Bucks

Now that the autumn species have started flying in earnest, Sunday night's moth count in the garden (261 moths of 40 species) was fairly typical of current catches.  Lunar Underwing accounted for 75 of them, while Black Rustic (46) and Large Yellow Underwing (37) provided the other high counts.  New arrivals for the year-list over the past ten nights have slowed considerably:

     (16th)  Beaded Chestnut, Blair's Shoulder-knot

     (18th)  L-album Wainscot

     (19th)  Barred Sallow

     (21st)  Green-brindled Crescent

     (24th)  Pine Carpet, Dusky-lemon Sallow

L-album Wainscot, Westcott 18th September

Green-brindled Crescent, Westcott 21st September

Dusky-lemon Sallow, Westcott 24th September

Apart from the new arrivals there hasn't been a great deal of interest over this period.  A melanic example of Cydalima perspectalis appeared on the 16th (only the second I've seen here of that form).  Unlike some other gardens in our three counties this moth has yet to become a nuisance around my traps although it is certainly appearing much more frequently now (yet another singleton appeared here last night, 25th).  A late Yellow-tail turned up on the 16th and, as expected, there have been further visits from Clifden Nonpareil (including a pair in the same trap on the 20th) with the garden total for 2023 now standing at six individuals.  The year's second example of Buttoned Snout turned up at a lit window on the 21st while another Pinion-streaked Snout visited the trap on the 24th along with a male Vapourer.    

Cydalima perspectalis, Westcott 16th September

Yellow-tail, Westcott 16th September

Vapourer, Westcott 24th September

Migrants have been few and far between over this period.  Several species are currently around in exceptional numbers even this far inland but the only one to have reached Westcott is Delicate which has now achieved double figures in the garden since the first this year on 25th June.  This could be another Mythimna species in the process of becoming established in the southern UK, following in the footsteps of  White-point and L-album Wainscot.     

There are actually very few new species left now which could be added to this year's garden list.  The only macro-moths which I can guarantee to get which haven't already been seen are December Moth, Spruce Carpet, November Moth, Pale November Moth, Feathered Thorn, Scarce Umber, Figure of Eight, Sprawler, Red-line Quaker, Yellow-line Quaker, Brick & Merveille du Jour.  There are one or two other possibilities like Autumnal Moth or Northern Winter Moth which are occasional autumn sightings here, while Oak Rustic also springs to mind (it appeared in November 2019 but hasn't been seen since), but anything else will be down to luck.  We're still in peak migrant season, of course, and you never know what long-distance travellers might yet turn up, which is why it is worth persevering even though the season is winding down.

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks      

Convolvulus Hawk-moth

 Bad photos because I decided just to take night shots and then let it go away from the trap. Amazingly docile to start with, I guess it was a bit cold. Quite noisy when it got flying.

Getting to see quite alot of Delicates, I've had singletons for the past month or so, two the night before last. I'd only had one single siting before in 2019.

No Clifden Nonpareil so far this year.

 

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

Berkshire county moth checklists

Updated checklists for macro- and micro-moths in VC22 Berkshire are now available on the BMG resources page. The all-time species list currently stands at 653 macro-moth species and 991 micro-moth species.

Or at least that's what I think the totals are! It's taken a while to sort out the updates, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that they are out of date already - we've already had four macro-moth species added to the list in 2023 (Portland Ribbon Wave, Banded Pine Carpet, Alder Kitten, Plumed Fan-foot). If you spot any errors or omissions please let me know.

Thanks to John Thacker for assistance with record verification, Les Finch for checking and correcting the macro-moth list, and everyone else who had provided advice or sent in one or more records. These updates are part of the ongoing work across our three counties towards an update of the records for the Upper Thames online moth atlas.

L-album Wainscot in Cookham

Following on from Robin's post earlier this month reporting L-album Wainscot in Denham, 3 L-album Wainscots were in my garden trap this morning here in Cookham.

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Clancy's Rustic in Bucks

 Following Martin's recent Oxfordshire record of Caradrina kadenii, one came last night (24-25th Sept.) to mv in Denham, Bucks. Robin

Grey Pine vs Spruce Carpet.

 I've been looking at these two moths cross-lines and the various descriptions of how they differ and I'm struggling. I'm thinking the mainly brown one is Grey Pine Carpet and the greyish one is Spruce. Can anyone help? 

 

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

Clancy's Rustic new for VC23 Oxfordshire

Clancy's Rustic Caradrina kadenii this morning in my garden to Robinson MV. Unless anyone has caught one one this year this is the 1st for VC23 Oxfordshire. Also a Clifden Nonpareil, only the 2nd here and Dewick's Plusia. Yesterday 4 Dewick's Plusia and a Scarce Bordered Straw. 

I am also plagued by Box-tree Moth. Numbers have gradually built the last 2-3 years. Last year they peaked in double figures. This July I estimated 100 in one night. Last week 90 in one night. Yesterday morning 150, today 153. 

Anyway, look closely at your Pale Mottled Willows!

Martin Townsend

Beautiful Marbled

 A couple of pics of a Beautiful Marbled on 07/09/23 in my Penn Garden. I initially had to give the moth a second take as having just brought trap inside, it

had flown unseen onto ornamental flowers & I thought for a few seconds it was an artistic add on. Not sure how many this year but note Peter had one in August.   

Westcott, Bucks

With the overnight temperature having dropped into single digits here for the last three or four nights it is hardly surprising that counts from the two garden traps have fallen even further (for example 80 moths of 18 species on Wednesday 13th, only one of them a micro-moth).  Numbers will pick up again shortly when species such as Beaded Chestnut and Lunar Underwing - which don't mind chilly nights - get going properly, but for now I have to be thankful that there have still been a few things of interest and that newcomers for the year-list have continued to appear:

      (6th)  Caloptilia semifascia, Pinion-streaked Snout

      (7th)  Tawny-barred Angle, Clifden Nonpareil, Black Rustic

      (8th)  Acleris emargana, Sallow

      (9th)  Cacoecimorpha pronubana, Mallow, Small Wainscot, Lunar Underwing

     (10th)  Deep-brown Dart

     (11th)  Large Wainscot

     (12th)  Brindled Green

     (14th)  Pink-barred Sallow

     (15th)  Orange Sallow, Brown-spot Pinion

Sallow, Westcott 8th September

Large Wainscot, Westcott 11th September

Orange Sallow, Westcott 15th September

Brown-spot Pinion, Westcott 15th September

Pinion-streaked Snout is the one rarity here amongst those listed above, this being only the seventh record for the garden although it has now visited for three years in a row.  This small macro-moth is easily missed amongst all the worn Scoparid micros at this time of year.  Clifden Nonpareil has been an annual in the garden since 2017 and a second example appeared on the 11th with plenty of time yet for more to show themselves.   

Other nice moths seen were Dewick's Plusia (12th, 15th) and Webb's Wainscot (6th, 8th, 11th & 12th), of which the latter has now made 26 visits to the garden this year since the first on 21st July.  Late appearances after quite a gap in sightings have included Treble Brown Spot (13th), Magpie Moth (13th) and Short-cloaked Moth (11th), all of which could potentially be attempts at an extra brood.

 

Treble Brown Spot, Westcott 13th September

Migrants over this period included Udea ferrugalis (6th, 7th, 11th), Vestal (6th, 11th), Dark Sword-grass (two on 9th, 11th),  Delicate (8th, two on 11th, 14th, 15th) & Silver Y (6th, 11th, two on 14th).  The re-appearance of Ostrinia nubilalis over the past week, as well as increased numbers of Angle Shades and Pale Mottled Willow, may also have been the result of immigration. 

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Unidentified tortrix

I feel I should recognise this moth from last night's garden trap, but can't put a name to it. The forewing length is about 8mm.

Help much appreciated. Steve Trigg, Cookham

Dark Spectacle?

Stoke Goldington (North Bucks)

I've never knowingly come across one before in the garden (or anywhere else!), but I think this is Dark Spectacle which came to actinic light last night, along with my 4th Delicate of the year:

Unusually marked Vine's Rustic?

 I am fairly sure that this is Vine's (Denham MV 14/9/23), but the cross lines are much stronger than usual in my opinion. In the frig for the moment.

Other views welcome please!

Robin

L-album Wainscot in Denham

Somewhat surprised to find l-album in yesterday's Denham MV (11-13th Sept - two nights); even more surprised when a second one (less worn - better costal cilia - top photo) was in the trap this morning, 13-14th Sept. Martin tells me there are a couple of other records this year, and the Bucks total is still only about 10.

Evidence that it is slowly moving north.

Robin

Stigmella assimilella?

 I had this micro in my MV trap on the 7th September and also back in August.

Please can someone confirm my tentative ID?

Box-tree moth explosion

 Anyone else experiencing an explosion in Box-tree moth catches? I had ones and twos per year from 2017 until 2021 when I got 6 in the year. 2022 I got 40. 

Night before last I had 30. As I went out to the trap there was one in the hedge. Last night there was one on the kitchen door and one in the bathroom plus a dozen in the trap.

I wonder there is enough Box locally to sustain such large populations and I'm hearing about much larger catches elsewhere.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

R. sacraria and emergence of C. perspectalis in Denham

 Not much evidence of migrants in Denham until one R. sacraria sitting on bench by MV trap this morning! On train so no photo attached.

But somewhat concerned to have over 40 C. pespectalis in traps 10-11 Sept., and only a few in the pheromone traps. On the whole not a major problem as larvae on our Box this year. These numbers are far in excess of any previous night. I suppose I cannot exclude a non-linear effect from the combination of the pheromones and the traps!

Robin

Macro ID problems

I had these two moths in my actinic trap in west Oxfordshire today.  One was very worn, which doesn't help with identification. The other one doesn't look worn but has few obvious markings.

Any suggestions gratefully received!

David Hastings

Mystery 1

Mystery 2

Hedge Rustic?

I have just read Dave Wilton's account (9 Sept 23) of the Hedge Rustics he caught recently at Yoesden Bank, and his comment that this is not a common species in Bucks. I attach a photo of a moth which came to my actinic light trap here in Marlow on 4 Sept 23, which I think must be a Hedge Rustic.

Is this Agriphila inquinatella?

Having seen Dave's earlier post about heathland trapping, which featured a picture of Agriphila inquinatella, I took a closer look at my latest catch of grass veneers. I thought this one looked like a possible candidate for inquinatella.

I also found in my garden trap this very tiny (length 3mm) micro. Is it possible to identify it?

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Making the most of the weather

If only this warm spell had come in July.  By the beginning of September the number of active moth species has usually fallen off a cliff so this period has really been a waste of excellent night-time temperatures!  Still, one has to make do with what one gets and on Thursday night I made a last-minute decision to venture out and make my monthly visit to BBOWT's Yoesden Bank near Radnage, Bucks.  I took just two traps, a 15w synergetic Heath and a 125w MV Robinson, and surprisingly the former out-performed the latter.  70 species were recorded altogether but there was little of note, although it was good to see nine examples of Argyresthia semitestacella and four of Hedge Rustic (the latter not a common species in Bucks).  Large Yellow Underwing, Square-spot Rustic & Common Wainscot provided the highest counts.

Hedge Rustic male, Yoesden Bank 7th September

Hedge Rustic female, Yoesden Bank 7th September

Last night (8th September) I was joined once again by Martin Albertini and Neil Fletcher, this time at BBOWT's Grangelands reserve near Princes Risborough, Bucks.  Here we managed over 100 species between us although again there wasn't a great deal of particular interest.  Antler Moth was good to see, while species to be expected now that Summer is over included Brindled Green, Black Rustic, Brown-spot Pinion, Barred Sallow, Centre-barred Sallow & Autumnal Rustic (as well as one more Hedge Rustic).  Migrants comprised Plutella xylostella, Cydia amplana, Udea ferrugalis and yet another Delicate, of which Cydia amplana (a rather worn example) is a good record for Bucks with sightings still in single digits.

Autumnal Rustic, Grangelands 8th September

Cydia amplana, Grangelands 8th September

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Possibly off-topic, but any ideas...

 I would appreciate any suggestions for what is responsible for this! These appear every year, and I have never managed to pin down what they are. Essentially it appears to be a very fine (invisible to my eyes) silken thread with a dead cedar needle hanging from the end, as if weighting it down. There are number of these hanging from the ends of the lower branches of a large Atlas Cedar in my garden. In the past I have assumed that the needle suspended from the thread was there by accident, but there are so many all the same that this really cannot be the case. I am reminded of the silken thread that Yponomeuta sp. use to escape danger, so assume it may be similar, but I have never seen any larvae of any kind anywhere near, so perhaps something entirely different---maybe not even a moth?

The only "insect-like" object I have found nearby is this, which may have nothing to do with the threads and which is also a complete mystery!

Small moths

 I ran my traps at home on the night of 6th September for the first time in six weeks as a result of being away in France for a month.  The warm night resulted in a good catch: 368 moths of about 53 species.  A few aspects are worth mentioning.

Every so often, I find in my trap a moth which is of smaller than normal size for its species: I expect we all do.  However, on Wednesday night an unusual number of such cases was present.  I recall small versions of Frosted Orange, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Garden Carpet and Turnip Moth (plus a fifth example, but I forgot to note which one!).  There are a couple of examples below, using composite images to compare them with normal-sized individuals caught on the same night.  In the case of the Setaceous Hebrew Character, I took two consecutive images at the same distance from the subject, using a prime lens on the tripod-mounted camera.

Frosted Orange
Newton Longville, 6th September

Setaceous Hebrew Character
Newton Longville, 6th September

There were a couple of very late Ingrailed Clay, one with slightly-deformed wings.  This is the normal one:

Ingrailed Clay
Newton Longville 6/9/23

I had three new-for-the-garden species.  One is a technicality: a Svensson's Copper Underwing.  Previously I have recorded the copper underwings as the aggregate, having only twice examined active individuals to check the hindwings: these were both Amphipyra pyramidea and the experience was too traumatic to repeat on non-anaesthetised moths.  For the first time, I anaesthetised all four Amphipyra individuals caight that night and checked the hindwings of all of them.  Three were A. pyramidea, but one (also a smallish individual) was A. berbera, so goes onto the garden list as a new species.  The other two new-for-the-garden were Epinotia nisella and Nephopterix angustella.

Nephopterix angustella
Newton Longville, 6th September

I am left with two mysterious macros.  The first is about the size of a Pearly Underwing, but the very eliptical shape of the "oval" stigma doesn't seem right.  The second has the greyish tone, peppery appearance and the size of a Vine's Rustic.  I suspect it is in the Xestia genus, but the central area of the wing doesn't match anything I can find.  The hindwing was essentially plain.  It might even be yet another version of Square-spotted Rustic.

Mystery 1

Mystery 2

Tim Arnold
Newton Longville, Bucks

Treehopper

 In a fairly full but unexciting trap on 8th was this weird insect. It is Ledra aurita, a treehopper. It does not appear to have an English name so I hereby name it 'Mouse-eared Treehopper'. My thanks go to Martin Harvey for identifying it. 

Dave Ferguson, Beaconsfield

Cypress Pug

 A first for me in MV trap last night