Can you help with this moth-trapping questionnaire?

We circulated details recently of some research work being done by Iona Cunningham-Eurich, relating to parasitoid wasps. Iona has also requested help with a short questionnaire that asks you more generally about your moth-trapping interests and perceptions. Only takes about ten minutes and was thought-provoking to do!

Click here for the questionnaire.

Looking for confirmation - Bryotropha affinis?

 Looking for confirmation, is this Bryotropha affinis? Garsington, Oxford.

While I'm here, a couple of other micros that I'm more sure of, Platyedra subcinerea and from this morning,Assara terebrella.

 

Cryptoblabes bistriga

 After most nights this month with counts of species in the mid-twenties, suddenly Friday night went mad in the garden with 180 moths of 49 species, including this micro below which I am fairly confident is Cryptoblabes bistriga. If so, per the atlas, it seems to be not very often recorded in NW Bucks--up to 2022 at least--with just one record from 2010.

Scoparia pyralella?

 Photographed at Sands Bank Nature Reserve High Wycombe.  Would be grateful to know whether this is an early Scoparia pyralella or one of the other Scopariinae please?  Want to ensure the record on the transect sheet is correct.  Sorry that the colour is poor on the photo as taken in strong sun under the bush.

Red-Twin-spot Carpet?

 This moth caught night of 16th in my MV trap.

Very upright stance and general pattern suggest above but no spots!

Please confirm/advise.

Recording Clover Case-bearer types

I understand that even with very good photos of antennal features, that the similar greeny-bronze case bearer moths still need to be genitally determined to ascertain species. Are such specimens, with good photo but no gen det. simply to be recorded as Coleophora in iRecord, or is there a way of further narrowing down, as we do with Marbled Minor agg?

Pug ID ?

These two pugs were trapped on May 10th at Otmoor. Not sure if they both Mottled or possibly Brindled or neither of the above?? Apologies for quality of one of the pictures. 

Westcott, Bucks

As might be expected in the first half of May, there were a significant number of new arrivals here, with the following amongst those added to the garden year-list:

      (1st)  Monopis weaverella, Mompha epilobiella, Argyrotaenia ljungiana, Pseudargyrotoza conwagana, Dichrorampha acuminatana, Pebble Hook-tip, Common Carpet, Broken-barred Carpet, Ochreous Pug, Currant Pug, Seraphim, Yellow-barred Brindle, Purple Thorn, Pale Prominent, Buff Ermine, Ruby Tiger,

Silver Y.

      (2nd)  Coxcomb Prominent.

      (3rd)  Common Pug.

      (4th)  Esperia sulphurella, Scrobipalpa acuminatella, Iron Prominent.

      (5th)  Argyresthia trifasciata, Syndemis musculana, Cnephasia communana (retained for checking), Poplar Grey.

      (6th)  White Ermine, Orange Footman, Spectacle.

      (7th)  Sandy Carpet, V-Pug, Mottled Pug.

      (8th)  Maiden's Blush, Tawny-barred Angle, Willow Beauty, Common White Wave, Sallow Kitten, Poplar Kitten, Rustic Shoulder-knot.

      (9th)  Monopis laevigella, Notocelia cynosbatella, Anania hortulata, Figure of Eighty, Puss Moth, Treble Lines.

      (10th)  Celypha lacunana, Common Marbled Carpet.

      (11th)  Tinea trinotella, Bucculatrix thoracella, Phtheochroa rugosana, Epinotia immundana, Lesser Treble-bar.

      (12th)  Bryotropha affinis, Aethes smeathmanniana, Aphomia sociella, Grass Rivulet, Common Wave, Small Square-spot.

      (13th)  Caloptilia robustella (retained for checking), Argyresthia spinosella, Prays ruficeps, Common Swift, Light Emerald, Pale Tussock, Clouded-bordered Brindle, Marbled Minor (retained for checking), Light Brocade, Common Wainscot.

      (14th)  Crassa tinctella, Glyphipterix thrasonella, Clouded Border, Clouded Silver, Buff-tip, Snout.  

      (15th)  Knot Grass.

Pebble Hook-tip, Westcott 1st May

Grass Rivulet, Westcott 12th May

Sandy Carpet, Westcott 7th May

Ochreous Pug, Westcott 1st May

Puss Moth, Westcott 9th May

Marbled Minor agg, Westcott 13th May

Best of the bunch from this period, though, were the two micros on the 14th.  Crassa tinctella is a completely new moth for the garden and its larvae are thought to feed on lichens.  Glyphipterix thrasonella has only visited once previously and that was back in 2013.  This one is associated with rushes and is fairly common locally in the damp meadows along the River Ray catchment. 

Crassa tinctella, Westcott 14th May

Glyphipterix thrasonella, Westcott 14th May

Two female Emperor Moths visited over this period (one on the 1st, the other on the 5th) and both left some eggs in the trap which will be released in due course after they've hatched.

The Orthosia species have all but finished now.  Hebrew Character continued to appear nightly over this period until the 11th, by which time this year's total had reached 631 individuals, then another singleton appeared on the 14th.  The last Powdered Quaker was seen on the 8th while a single Clouded Drab visited on the 11th (the first since 30th April).  Of the other early species, Brindled Beauty has had its best ever year here with 41 individuals seen in the garden so far, beating 26 recorded two years ago.  Prior to 2019 it wasn't even an annual visitor and I'd be lucky to see two or three here in a season. 

Non-moths in the traps over this period have included a queen Hornet (9th, unusual here) and two of the large may-fly species Ephemera vulgata and Ephemera danica (both 12th, danica again on the 15th).  The very smelly sexton beetle Nicrophorus humator turns up most nights now and the first Cockchafer of the season appeared on the 12th.  

Ephemera danica, Westcott 15th May

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

id help please with 2 micros

 I've been failing to identify these two so would appreciate help please

Toadflax Brocade

 First for the garden here as it appears to be slowly spreading.

Steve Lockey (Garsington)

Buttoned Snout?

 This turned up in the Robinson on Sunday night. Never seen one before - have I got it right? And if so, how unusual is this - no hops around here!

Many thanks, David

Candidate for Pseudococcyx posticana?

 Trapped last night in Stoke Goldington. Caused a bit of head scratching, but could this well worn micro be a candidate for the Nationally Scarce B Pseudococcyx posticana? Is the red collar a distinguishing feature?

Grass Veneer?

 In the trap last night.  Not sure if it's Grass Veneer. Never had one before in the garden.

Steve Lockey (Garsington)

A couple of pugs for ID help please

 Not in the best condition I'm afraid, so I realise a definite ID may not be possible, but I think this is Oak-tree Pug,

and this I believe is Dwarf Pug

Thanks

Phil T

Pinion-spotted Pug

 I was pleased to find this in my MV trap this morning. Not surprisingly new for the garden.

                                                    Pinion-spotted Pug, Stowe, 06-05-2024

Help needed with a micro

I found this small micro (fw length 5mm) flying around my kitchen yesterday evening. I am struggling to identify it - can anyone help?

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Platyedra subcinerea ?

Having a tentative stab at this one - Platyedra subcinerea ?

Also a worn Pug. Undecided. Any ideas please.

Likely Gypsy Moth egg-batch

This afternoon I happened to notice an egg-batch about 4ft up a shaded east-facing wall of our house which was absolutely covered in several hundred freshly-emerged blackish larvae.  At first glance Vapourer seemed the likeliest but, on carefully scraping more than half of the larvae away into a pot in order to see what they'd emerged from, it became clear that these were something else.  The eggs were actually contained within a yellowish spongy mass of hairs (unlike those of Vapourer which are laid on the outside of the wingless female's cocoon).  They would appear to be those of Gypsy Moth, the males of which have been appearing with ever-increasing regularity in the garden trap since 2017 (35 seen last year), but as yet there has been no sign of a female.  The images below show the egg-batch after more than half of the larvae had been removed, plus the best shot I could manage of a single larva about 3mm in length.

Likely Gypsy Moth egg-batch, Westcott 4th May

Single larva, Westcott 4th May

I'll try rearing them on hawthorn, which is the tree that shades the wall on which they were found, and hopefully as (or if!) they grow their identity will become more obvious.

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks  

More variety

Yesterday (1st May) was a very pleasant sunny day and it was followed by a relatively mild night before the thunderstorms arrived locally in the early hours, so it stood to reason that it would be much better for moths than of late.  I took a couple of MV traps to Finemere Wood, Bucks for the usual three hours from dusk and about 40 species turned up.  Amongst them were several that I hadn't yet seen this year, including those shown below:

Common Swift, Finemere Wood 1st May

Brown Silver-line, Finemere Wood 1st May

Pale Tussock, Finemere Wood 1st May

Rustic Shoulder-knot, Finemere Wood 1st May

It was also good to see a few micros, including Plutella xylostella, Esperia sulphurella, Semioscopis steinkellneriana, Syndemis musculana & Pammene argyrana.  It looks as though the season is properly under way at last. 

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks   

Green Carpet (brown) Stoke Goldington, North Bucks

 

I understand that Green Carpet has a tendency to fade to brown over time. However, this individual looks fresh to me, and shows an unusual ground-colour that I don't think I've seen before.

Westcott, Bucks

The weather during the last two weeks of April was rather poor.  There were no blank nights but the number of additions to the site year-list suffered accordingly:

     (18th)  Adela reaumurella, Pseudoswammerdamia combinella, Least Black Arches

     (20th)  Frosted Green

     (22nd)  Poplar Hawk-moth

     (26th)  Garden Carpet, Flame Shoulder

     (28th)  Lesser Swallow Prominent

     (29th)  Lime Hawk-moth

     (30th)  Elachista canapennella (to be confirmed), Red Twin-spot Carpet, Green Carpet, Waved Umber,

                 Shuttle-shaped Dart.

Lime Hawk-moth, Westcott 29th April

Garden Carpet, Westcott 26th April

Flame Shoulders, Westcott 26th April

The two Hawk-moths were certainly early, but on looking back I see that neither was the earliest I've had here.  Poplar Hawk-moth has appeared twice before in April, the earliest being on the 21st (in 2011), while Lime Hawk-moth has managed three previous April appearances of which the earliest was on the 15th (in 2007).

Hebrew Character has been the one reliable moth in the trap each night and the count so far this year, since the first one on 4th February, has now reached 595 which is currently the second highest total ever for the garden.  There should be a few more to come yet but I doubt that this year's final total will beat the 706 recorded in 2010. 

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks  

Scarce Tissue?

 I think this is probably a Scarce Tissue but rather the worse for wear.

Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

Frosted Green?

 Not many moths in my MV in Sherington last night-2 Mullein the highlight.Struggling with this one.Closest I can get is a Frosted Green?