Heathland trapping

Martin Albertini, Neil Fletcher and I trapped at Stoke Common, Bucks on Monday night (4th), mainly to check up on the only established colony of Heath Rustic in the county.  Sure enough, two individuals came to light, as did good numbers of Neglected Rustic (in both colour forms) and True Lover's Knot which are also heathland specialists.  More than 90 moth species were recorded altogether and other macro-moths of interest included Oak Lutestring, Pine Carpet, Cypress Pug, Oak Processionary, Jersey Tiger, Antler Moth, Hedge Rustic, Clifden Nonpareil (which unfortunately suffered wing damage from  an angry Hornet in the trap) and a late Blackneck.  As you'd expect at this time of year, there were not that many micro-moths around but it was good to see Agonopterix nervosa, Aristotelia ericinella, Agriphila inquinatella & Dioryctria simplicella.    

Agonopterix nervosa, Stoke Common 4th September

Agriphila inquinatella, Stoke Common 4th September

Heath Rustic, Stoke Common 4th September

Neglected Rustic, Stoke Common 4th September

Clifden Nonpareil, Stoke Common 4th September

Last night (6th) the three of us visited similar habitat at nearby Black Park, a site that hasn't been trapped properly for well over a decade.  Although there was no sign of Heath Rustic, the restored heathland there produced even better numbers of Neglected Rustic (this time 80+ individuals) and a double-digit count of True Lover's Knot.  With similar species numbers to the Stoke Common total, Oak Lutestring, Cypress Pug, Oak Processionary, Jersey Tiger & Clifden Nonpareil were again amongst the other macros.  A fully-grown caterpillar of Fox Moth wandered up to one of the traps, while a couple of early examples of Brindled Green suggested that the mothing season may be drawing to a close!  On this very warm night it was migrant species which made a noticeable impact in our notebooks, with Vestal (6) and singletons of Delicate and Pearly Underwing being shared between the lights.  As at Stoke Common, micros were in relatively short supply but a single example of the fern-loving antipodean crambid Musotima nitidalis was a very nice record for Bucks.

Oak Lutestring, Black Park 6th September

True Lover's Knot, Black Park 6th September

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks