Spruce carpet/November moth

 Grateful for help with these 2 queries

November moth?

Spruce carpet?

Both moths came to trap on Tackley Heath SP465202 25/27 Oct

Alan Diver

Tackley

Juniper Carpet

This appeared on the house wall rather than in the actinic trap this morning. I think it is a Juniper Carpet but there don't seem to be many recorded in Bucks. I was thinking of potting it up but the rising sun hit the wall and it flew off.

Janice, Milton Keynes

Autumn Moths

 I have had some nice autumn moths over the last couple of weeks.

Merveille de Jour (5)on 9th together with Black Rustic(4),Yellow-line Quaker,Beaded Chestnut (15)and Blair’s Shoulder Knot(2)A first for me was a Cypress Carpet,which turned up last night too.

First Sprawler on 22nd together with 5 Red-green Carpet.

Last nights highlight was a Dark Swordgrass.

Oak Rustic

 Only had one of these before but there are other records for the village.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

A couple of queries

 The first two moths were trapped on Otmoor on 8th Oct. Sorry I didn't have time to post earlier. I think they are probably small forms of the Large Wainscot?  Both had quite dark hindwings

These were in my trap in Merton this morning, along with a late dark Arches as noted elsewhere. I think the first is a Chestnut looking at wing shape. I am assuming the second is an Autumnal/November (and can't be separated from a photo) but I haven't seen one so brightly marked before.

Another late Dark Arches - Denham

 19th October, so another in the 'long tail' of emergence times. A bit of the worse for wear!

Robin

Radford's Flame Shoulder and a squashed macro

 Migrants have been avoiding Sibford until last night when what I hope is a Radford's Flame Shoulder turned up (I have been wrong before). There was also this moth squashed under the trap which looks familiar but I can't place it.

Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

Leaf Mines

This is the annual reminder, as if it was still needed, that we are currently at peak leaf-mining season which means that records for many of our smallest micro-moths are out there to be had with only a little bit of effort.  Getting on for 40 species have been recorded this way in our garden during 2023 and additions to the year-list so far this month have included mines of Stigmella anomalella (on dog rose), Stigmella oxyacanthella (on apple), Stigmella salicis (on narrow-leaved sallow), Phyllonorycter emberizaepenella (on snowberry), Phyllonorycter klemannella (on alder), Phyllonorycter spinicolella (on blackthorn) & Phyllonorycter ulmifoliella (on birch).  All of these mines were active, meaning that there was a larva present (or in the case of Phyllonorycter emberizaepenella an intact pupal cocoon).

Stigmella anomalella on dog rose, Westcott

Phyllonorycter emberizaepenella on snowberry, Westcott

It is even worth searching amongst fallen leaves.  The image below shows an early mine of Stigmella luteella in a "green island" which was found on the lawn under one of our birch trees back in September.  Although most of the leaf is showing decay, the larva has caused a chemical reaction in a section of it to ensure that there is sufficient nourishment left to complete this part of its life cycle.

Stigmella luteella on birch, Westcott

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks  

Dark Arches

Continuing my run of "late" records, there was a Dark Arches in one of my traps last night. This is my second October record, the previous one being on 18/10/2020. The other >99% of my records have been in June, July and August - all the more remarkable because I usually miss six or seven weeks of that period at home each year due to absence.

The phenological chart on the Upper Thames atlas site does show a continual but barely-noticeable run of records stretching from the end of its main season at the beginning of September all the way into early December.

Dark Arches
Newton Longville, 16 October 2023

In other respects, the end of the warm spell had a large effect on the number of moths caught: between the two traps there was a grand total of eleven moths of six species.

Tim Arnold
Newton Longville, Bucks

Westcott, Bucks

We barely avoided a frost in the garden last night so the catch was significantly reduced, just 13 moths of seven species, down from three-digit counts of anything between 20 and 40 species over the past couple of weeks.  The 125wt MV trap was put away for the winter at the end of September, so it is the twin-30wt actinic alone doing all the work now for the next six months or more.  Lunar Underwing is now almost over, having achieved a total of 823 individuals to date.  That might seem OK but the average here over 20 years is for around 1,200 annually and in two of the past five years it has put in counts of well over 2,000.  Centre-barred Sallow achieved its highest ever total here (324), Black Rustic has done quite well (380 to date) and Green-brindled Crescent (75 so far) seems on course for a reasonable year, but many of the autumnal species - in particular the other Sallows - haven't done all that well here in 2023.  I've only had single specimens of Brown-spot Pinion and Dusky-lemon Sallow so far and this cold snap could well mean that'll be it for both species this year.

The garden Clifden Nonpareil count for this season reached a pleasing ten individuals on the 13th, equalling the previous highest total achieved here in 2021.  I've also had the moth at four other sites in Bucks this year (on Stoke Common in the far south and, more locally, at Finemere Wood and in small tracts of woodland near Granborough and on the edge of Wing), so it really could turn up anywhere now.   

Newcomers for the year-list have comprised November Moth (8th), Pale November Moth (10th) and Yellow-line Quaker (10th).  Both of the Epirrita species had their octavals checked and I have had a couple of candidate Autumnal Moths too, one I don't see here very often, so they'll get checked in due course.  New for the season although not the year-list have been Dark Chestnut (2nd), Satellite (8th), Chestnut (10th) and Grey Shoulder-knot (13th).  

November Moth, Westcott 8th October

Yellow-line Quaker, Westcott 10th October

Satellite, Westcott 8th October

A good part of this period was brilliant for migrants but for the most part they managed to avoid Westcott!  I did have further examples of Vestal (7th) and Delicate (8th and 12th, taking the garden count to 14 this year), but that was all.

Delicate, Westcott 12th October

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Breaking some minor garden records

The last two occasions on which I have run the moth traps have turned up some interesting results, although not of any great significance.

The earlier occasion was the night of 28th September and started off as a mistake: I put up the traps without having checked the latest weather forecast, and sure enough it was a very wet night.

There was a reasonable count of moths all the same and amongst these was the first Palpita vitrealis for the garden; the latest-ever Burnished Brass (by two weeks) and the earliest-ever Feathered Thorn (also by two weeks).

Palpita vitrealis
Newton Longville, 28 September 2023

There was also some interest amongst other invertebrates. I don't know if it was due to the rain, but I recorded significantly more caddisflies than I have ever had at home before (69 of 7 species).

Found sitting soggily on the sheet was a fly which looked particularly attractive with its horizontally-striped eyes.  This was Stomorhina lunata, sometimes called the Locust Fly because its larvae eat the eggs of the latter.  Locusts being in short supply here, this was long believed to be a long-distance vagrant, but I happened to chat with Erica McAlister earlier this week and she told me that some of the individuals found very far from the coast are now suspected of being resident, presumably with a different larval diet.

Stomorhina lunata
Newton Longville, 28 September 2023

The night of 7th October was dry and warm with southerly winds winds which may be why there was a Vestal in the trap the next morning - another new species on the garden list.

The Box-tree moths, Cydalima perspectalis, have been much more numerous this year, and that night they smashed the garden record with 55 individuals present, including four of the melanic form.

There was a significant number of "latest ever" records for the garden, presumably enabled by the run of higher-than-seasonal average daily temperatures. These included Autumnal Rustic (9 days later than my previous latest record), Centre-barred Sallow (2 weeks later), Frosted Orange and Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (both 1 month later) and Least Carpet (a stonking three months later than before: part of what seems to be a very small second generation?).

Autumnal Rustic
Newton Longville, 7 October 2023

Amongst the other inverts was the somewhat misleadingly-named burying beetle Necrodes littoralis (frequently found away from the coast) which had only its second occurrence in the garden.

Tim Arnold
Newton Longville, Bucks

Another Clancy's Rustic

 Dear All

The fourth kadenii here yesterday morning, a female. Please also see my comments below on a Large Nutmeg correctly identified by the captor, and on a disputed tortricid. 

Martin

OK - what on earth is this?

 Hi there,

Trapped last night in the garden near Cholesbury Common, and among other things had my first ever L-album Wainscot. But this one has stumped me completely. It's just a bit smaller than Red-green Carpet. What am I missing? I still have the moth if it is of interest.

Best wishes

David

My posts

 Grateful for guidance. I'm sure I've looked back on my old posts in the past but can't find how at the moment.

Alan D 11/10/23

Merveille du jour

 

This Merveille du jour came to my trap on Tackley Heath 4th Oct. I have recorded it a couple of times in my garden 2017 and 2020.

Incidentally, Tackley Heath is "An Oxfordshire Local Wildlife site". I have just created a webpage on iRecords for the Heath. TVERC conducted a survey on the Heath last year and I'm hopeing they will be able to upload their results to this webpage.

Alan Diver

Tackley

Pale Mottled Willow or ?

 The striking difference from the usual rather 'smooth' looking C. clavipalpis is this one, MV Denham 5-6 October. It has a emarkably 'rough' appearance. Head hairs are whitish, so correct, but the general appearance, to me at least, is very odd. Peter will dissect it in due course.

If anyone has lots of photos to go through, that might just help!

Robin

r

Musotima nitidalis, second appearance in Great Haling's Wood, Denham

The last one was 31st July, and this one 6-7th October, in exactly the same place (Heath Trap regular position in woodland, but plenty of Bracken very close). 

Robin

Second Clancy's Rustic in Denham

 Like Martin, a second turned up  night of 5-6 October in Denham.

Robin

Small tortrix

I had this small tortrix in my garden trap last night. The forewing length is about 4.5mm. I don't know if it is identifiable from this picture?

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Micro confusion

 Hi there,

I'm confused by a very small micro that chose to fly onto my jumper while I was sat in the garden at about 5.00pm last night. It is no more than 6-7mm long. So I'm thinking E. immundana or R. naevana, but I guess it could be a small specimen of Z. isertana or C. splendana.

I told you I was confused!! Here it is - any help welcomed:

Large Nutmeg

 Bit late to say the least. Maybe a second brood? 

 

 

Garsington, Oxford.

New Acleris for me?

Stoke Goldington, North Bucks, 3rd Oct

There are not many micros about at the moment, so any that turn up tend to get a closer grilling than usual. Initially glanced over as E. postvittana, on closer scrutiny I think this could be Acleris rhrombana, which would be a garden first.

The unusually marked Vine's Rustic IS, after dissection, Vine's Rustic.

 I thought I should update you all - Peter dissected this for me - the costal indent on the very well defined cross line clearly CAN occur in Vine's Rustic. I wonder how common this feature is and re-attach the same photo!

Might some readers look through their Vine's Rustic photos to see how frequently this occurs?

Robin

Westcott, Bucks

A few more species have been added to the garden list over the past ten days, reducing to single digits the number of macro species still expected to appear this year:

     (28th)  Brick

     (29th)  Acleris sparsana

     (30th)  Merveille du Jour

       (1st)  Feathered Thorn

      (2nd)  Red-line Quaker

      (3rd)  Figure of Eight, Autumnal Rustic

The only unexpected visitor amongst those above was Autumnal Rustic which is a completely new moth for the garden (macro no. 460).  The Atlas shows quite clearly the lack of records in NW Bucks, although I did get one rather unexpectedly in Bernwood Forest two years ago (not yet mapped) so perhaps its fortunes locally are improving.  The specimen below was on the small side and rather worn but the moth must be right at the end of its flight period now.

Autumnal Rustic, Westcott 3rd October

Despite reasonable conditions, migrants over this period have been few and far between at Westcott.  The only one worthy of note was this very pink Vestal on 1st October:

Vestal, Westcott 1st October

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Clifden Nonpareil wings

I was heartbroken to see these wings on the patio. Obviously it was warm enough for bats to find a meal again. Do dead moths count for recording purposes on iRecord?

Janice, Milton Keynes

Is this a Pinion-streaked Snout?

I found this small moth in my garden trap this morning. I think it must be a Pinion-streaked Snout. The size and shape certainly seem correct.

In addition, could I just double-check that this micro below is Plutella porrectella?

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Marvellous as ever

I'm playing Snap with you, Dave: the Merveille made its debut here last night in a notably green lot of visitors - I think a Red-green Carpet bottom left rather than an Autumn Green, plus a Hawthorn Shieldbug. The Pine Carpet below came the night before and I continue to be overwhelmed by Box moths, though I don't know of any box near to our garden. I can't help feeling that they've expanded their diet though the various internet sources suggest not. Does anyone have any evidence on this?  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

 
 

Finemere Wood, Bucks

A three-hour trapping session in Finemere Wood last night produced a reasonable selection of seasonal species, including my first examples this year of Figure of Eight (14) and Merveille du Jour (3). 

Merveille du Jour, Finemere Wood 30th September

Amongst the other species seen were another late Yellow-tail and three Pine Carpets which included the nicely marked specimen below.

Pine Carpet, Finemere Wood 30th September

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

A micro for ID please

 I think that this, which came to my MV light last night, is probably Ypsolopha vitella, rather than a dull sequella, but the date seems rather late for the former.

Thanks

Phil