A swarm of bees!

 At the last count, there were at least 13 Bee Moths distributed around my house. Which means that there are more moths indoors than I am getting in the light traps each night!

Still a Lunar Marbled Brown was a smart arrival last night, and though I realise it's not uncommon, it was only my second ever. 

 

Buttoned Snout?

 

Is this little guy, disturbed when I was sprinkling compost on the veg patch this afternoon, a Buttoned Snout? It would be a new one for me if so, which would be cheering after the cold and not very rewarding nights. I also disturbed the nice fresh Green Carpet below, by the Oxford canal towpath. Perhaps the moths are giving daytime a go, understandably in current conditions.  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon.

PS this morning - Saturday 27 April: my debut hawk moths arrived last night, two Poplars which are always the first of the year but have only once come earlier than this since I started light-trapping here in 2013. That was in the sunny 'Pandemic Spring' of 2020 when the first arrived on 26 April.  Generally they make it in the first three weeks of May though I have had a start as late as the mid-20s. M. 

10km Square Species Counts

With so little going on at the moment in the mothing world because of this run of chilly nights, I've had time to look back again at 10km square occupancy in Bucks (last mentioned here in October 2021).  The data for 2023 is incomplete so the figures on the map below should be considered as minimums, but it is good to see that the number of squares with 1,000+ species, marked with black circles, has increased by two with another one almost there and three more in the lower 900s.  With in excess of 1,600 species recorded from Bucks we should be able to achieve 1,000 in every 10km square, especially in those which lie entirely (or mostly) within the county.   

The 10km Square SP82 (with its total in red) is still an embarrassment!  This square has the villages of Whitchurch, Mursley, Stoke Hammond and Wing in its four corners and is mostly agricultural desert with only tiny pockets of woodland and almost no other decent habitat for moths, so it isn't a surprise that its total should be lower than those squares which surround it, but I'm sure we can do better!  Its total has moved forward by nearly 100 species since the last review, mostly thanks to some regular trapping accomplished on the edge of Wing last year, and there are plans to visit two other sites in the area on a regular basis in 2024 which might improve things a little more, but the current total is still a very poor count for a square that lies entirely within VC24.  However, it is not all doom and gloom here and things will undoubtedly improve for the area in the future when the Forestry Commission complete the planting of a large community woodland project on Bucks Council land between Wing and the Liscombe Estate to the north (see here).  

Of the other squares, SP94 (shared roughly 50-50 with Bedfordshire) is also particularly poorly served with moth records, almost all of them coming from some trapping done at Moulsoe Old Wood back in 2010.  If anyone feels like visiting this area of Bucks, to the east of the M1 north of Milton Keynes, your records would be very welcome indeed!  

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Robbin' Robin

 I know that this isn't a birding blog, but I thought that you might like to see this year's cock Robin here, the most ruthless yet in a long and cunning line. Below are some recent arrivals who escaped his attentions with my help. Meanwhile a friend in the Isle of Wight, unfamiliar with moths, sent me a couple of pictures of what he thought after a spell of Googling might be a Burnished Brass. It was actually a Slender Burnished Brass, a spectacular moth which I've never seen before and which seems to reach the UK very seldom. Still, we can think of the Clifden Nonpareil and hope.  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon. 

Westcott, Bucks

In contrast to the number of new species I've been seeing in local woodland, the garden list has been progressing relatively slowly over the past two weeks.  There is often a lull in activity once the Orthosia species have begun to dwindle in number, although Clouded Drab, Powdered Quaker and Hebrew Character are still providing the bulk of each night's catch albeit in mainly single-digit counts.  New arrivals since 1st April have included the following, taking the site year-list up towards 90 species for 2024:

     (2nd)   Swallow Prominent

     (4th)    Streamer, Mullein

     (5th)    Lunar Marbled Brown, Tawny Pinion

     (6th)    Oak-tree Pug, Pebble Prominent, Great Prominent

     (8th)    Mompha subbistrigella (found indoors)

     (9th)    Muslin Moth

     (11th)  Tineola bisselliella (found indoors), White-spotted Pug

     (12th)  Incurvaria masculella

     (13th)  Grey Pine Carpet

     (14th)  Chamomile Shark

     (15th)  Chocolate-tip, Dark Sword-grass  

Incurvaria masculella, Westcott 12th April

White-spotted Pug, Westcott 11th April

Lunar Marbled Brown, Westcott 5th April

Great Prominent, Westcott 6th April

Chamomile Shark, Westcott 14th April

Mullein, Westcott 4th April

Dark Sword-grass, Westcott 15th April

Lunar Marbled Brown and Great Prominent are irregular visitors to the garden.  The appearance of a Lunar Marbled Brown one week later last year was the first to be seen here since 2009 while the Great Prominent above was the first since 2013, this despite them both being common in all the woods around here.  Mullein is a more regular visitor although can't be guaranteed every year.  However, the appearance of numerous larvae on some Great Mullein plants which sprung up in our front lawn last season meant that it was very much an expected visitor this Spring and indeed four different adults have appeared so far.  By far the best of this bunch, though, was the Chamomile Shark which is a completely new addition to the garden list (site macro number 461).  It is a species I've hoped to get here for a long time.  Its sightings appear to be quite random despite the food-plant being common locally, especially on disturbed ground such as arable field corners.

During sunnier interludes over this two-week period I've been trying a variety of pheromone lures in the garden but the only success I've had was mid-afternoon on the 14th when a single very obscurely marked tortrix turned up to the SUS lure (for Pammene suspectana).  It clearly wasn't the target species and its legs and thorax weren't "shaggy" enough to be Pammene giganteana, so it'll have to await dissection before its identity can be established.  In addition to the above, on the 13th I noticed the first very early larval webs of Yponomeuta cagnagella on our garden spindle.

Pammene species to SUS lure, Westcott 14th April

Larval web of Yponomeuta cagnagella, Westcott 13th April

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Woodland visits

On Thursday night I took a couple of MV traps to Wendover Woods which is one of two Forestry Commission sites in Bucks which I have permission to survey regularly this year.  Not having been to Wendover for more than a decade I'd forgotten just how many conifers are present and finding decent areas of deciduous trees wasn't that easy, but the ride I eventually chose had a lining of old hazel coppice as well as other tree varieties, with the conifers to the rear.  Thirty species turned up in the usual three-hour stint but the only ones of any real interest were singletons of Dotted Chestnut and White-marked.  The latter is a moth which I rarely encounter in Bucks and this was the first for three years, but unfortunately it wasn't a particularly well-marked specimen.  

White-marked, Wendover Woods 11th April

Last night (Friday 12th) I ran the same two MV traps for the same length of time at the other FC site, Bernwood Forest, and the results were significantly better with 40 species recorded.  The Prominents, which were noticeable by their complete absence at Wendover, were out in force here with Iron, Pebble, Great, Swallow, Lesser Swallow, Pale, Coxcomb & Scarce all recorded.  Great Prominent was actually the most numerous moth seen (68 of them), while next in line was Epinotia immundana with 60 (the most I've ever recorded of this micro on a single night).  Wendover produced very few micros but at Bernwood there was a reasonable selection, the others being Dyseriocrania subpurpurella, Caloptilia stigmatella, Semioscopis steinkellneriana, Esperia sulphurella, Acleris ferrugana/notana & Pammene argyrana.  Also of interest were Scalloped Hook-tip, Seraphim, Scalloped Hazel & Grey Birch, while a single Square Spot was, I believe, a new species for the already very extensive Bernwood site list.

Epinotia immundana, Bernwood 12th April

Seraphim, Bernwood 12th April

Square Spot, Bernwood 12th April

Scarce Prominent, Bernwood 12th April

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Early Tooth-striped

I had this Early Tooth-striped come to the garden trap last night. Not the most exciting moth to look at, but a new addition to the garden list after 12 years of trapping so exciting for me.

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Lesser Swallow Prominent

 Also in MV trap on 11/4

I am basing this on the very clear,short white wedge.I do struggle with these 2 though!

Shears?

 Is this a dark Shears. Confused on this one.

Steve Lockey (Garsington)

Emperor with eggs!

 I had this lovely Emperor in my MV trap this morning 

Note the eggs

Should I put it in a tree?

Quaker-ish?

 

Things are humming along nicely here with Streamer, Frosted Green, Herald and Swallow Prominent livening up the eggboxes, but this visitor has me puzzled, especially by its pronounced veining. Is it just a Common Quaker or may I hope for something more interesting? I'm sorry that I'm neglectful on sizing but those familiar with eggboxes should get a pretty fair idea.  All help much appreciated as ever. Martin Wainwright, Thrupp Oxon

Cuttlebrook Corridor, Oxon

A few nice moths last night at our temporary rental property in Thame next to Cuttlebrook. Highlights were Pinion-spotted Pug and Chamomile Shark  and also had Pine Beauty and Streamer and a couple of migrants, Diamond-back moth and Rusty-dot Pearl. The best night of the year so far with 21 species. 

Update 090424- also had an Orthosia reidentified by Martin which I wasn't sure of as a Northern Drab- a first for me. Thanks Martin for id. 

Garden year list now on 45 species. 

Pinion-spotted Pug

Chamomile Shark 

Northern Drab

Pugs, I'm afraid!

 OK - I'm really not good at these, but I'm going to suggest that the first is Double-striped and the second is Oak-tree. Please put me straight! Thanks, David

And another thing . . . .

 Just checking! I think I have here Dyseriocrania subpurpurella and (less sure about this next one) Ypsolopha ustella. I've lightened the second image a bit to show more detail.

Confirmation (or otherwise) appreciated.

Thanks!

Acleris literana?

Several appeared in my trap last night, but only one like the first image shown below. I'm assuming they're both the same species - is the first image a frequent form of  A literana? It's new to me.

Thanks, David

Unexpectedly early record

Catches here in Wolvercote, Oxfordshire, haven't been enormously substantial so far this year (though not noticeably worse than the same time last year); but they did include on 31st March a very unexpected Least Black Arches. The Bible refers to a flight season beginning in May for this species, though the Hampshire Flying Tonight page does imply a very few records on the same date; I took quite some time looking for anything I could have mistaken for LBA, but I'm very confident that's what it is.

Least Black Arches, 31/3/24

Steve Goddard, Wolvercote

ID help please

Grateful for help with these. Think I'm happy with red chestnut but two darker ones have me flumoxed.

Red chestnut

Alan Diver 

Tackley Heath

30 March

Westcott, Bucks

Orthosia species continue to dominate the nightly catches here, accounting for 37 of last night's 45 individual moths.  As at 31st March the garden year-list stood at 63 species (59 adults, four early stages), with adult additions during the second half of March being as follows:

     (16th)  Blossom Underwing

     (18th)  Brindled Beauty

     (19th)  Amblyptilia acanthadactyla, Brindled Pug

     (20th)  Powdered Quaker

     (26th)  Plutella xylostella, Nut-tree Tussock

     (30th)  Emperor Moth (daytime, to EMP lure), Scorched Carpet, Herald

     (31st)  Chinese Character, Brimstone Moth

Plutella xylostella, Westcott 26th March

Scorched Carpet, Westcott 30th March

Herald, Westcott 30th March

Nut-tree Tussock, Westcott 26th March

Blossom Underwing, Westcott 16th March

Over the past 20 years I've recorded 99 different adult moth species in the garden here during the first quarter of the season (53 macros, 46 micros).  While the 2024 count of 59 is a record for any individual year, exceeding 57 achieved in 2021, those 59 species comprised 38 macros (only just a record total, beating 37 recorded in 2017 & 2019) and 21 micros (not a record because 22 were seen in 2021).  So, despite the way things were looking back in February, the first quarter species total wasn't hugely better than what has been achieved here over the past few years.

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

A good night for...

 ...caddis flies! 

A total of 69 Stenophylax permistus (ID based on a sample) to my actinic traps last night, but only 19 moths.