Westcott, Bucks

New arrivals for the 2024 garden list have tailed off significantly now and there are very few species left which are guaranteed to put in an appearance this year, Sprawler, Scarce Umber and December Moth (as well as Winter Moth which was seen back in January) being the only ones that spring to mind.  Added over the past two weeks have been:  

     (1st)  Merveille du Jour

     (3rd)  Brick

     (4th)  Acleris sparsana

     (5th)  Figure of Eight, Yellow-line Quaker

     (7th)  Musotima nitidalis, Feathered Thorn, Scarce Bordered Straw

     (9th)  November Moth

     (15th)  Pale November Moth

November Moth (genitalia checked), Westcott 9th October

Figure of Eight, Westcott 5th October

Merveille du Jour, Westcott 1st October

There have also been a few "seasonal firsts" recently of moth species already recorded post-hibernation much earlier in the year but which have appeared again now as freshly-emerged specimens.  They include Satellite (3rd October), Chestnut (5th), Dark Chestnut (6th), Grey Shoulder-knot (12th) & Cypress Carpet (14th), while Red-green Carpet has been seen regularly in the traps since 22nd September.  The first Mottled Umber of the winter appeared last night (15th).

Cypress Carpet, Westcott 14th October

Mottled Umber, Westcott 15th October

One or two late individuals of summer species have visited the traps, the most unexpected of which was Chocolate-tip (1st October).  This was very unusual and may be an attempt at a third brood because the last example I saw was way back on 19th July.  Yellow-tail (6th), Dark Arches (14th) & Copper Underwing (15th) were somewhat less remarkable, but sightings of Neocochylis molliculana (7th & 9th) were my latest ever records for that species.

Neocochylis molliculana, Westcott 7th October

The only obvious migrants of late have comprised Plutella xylostella (2nd, 6th, 15th), Udea ferrugalis (2nd, 15th), Scarce Bordered Straw (7th) and Palpita vitrealis (14th), but Delicate has appeared almost nightly in the garden throughout this period (17 individuals) and I suspect many of them will be migrants because there has been quite an influx at coastal sites.  However, as has already happened with White-point, Delicate is a species which I believe may also be in the process of becoming established in our area.  There was another sighting here of Plumed Fan-foot (8th), this time during the day when it was disturbed from vegetation, and it may or may not have been a migrant.

Palpita vitrealis, Westcott 14th October

Lunar Underwing appears to be on the way out here now and to date I've managed 749 individuals since the first one on 15th September.  That might seem quite respectable but it is actually not a particularly good total for the garden because in eleven of the past 20 years the moth has achieved counts of more than 1,000 of which three have been over 2,000.  An oddity on 4th October was a noticeably tiny (but fully formed) example of Pink-barred Sallow which came to light here, having a forewing length of just 10mm.  It is shown below next to a normal sized specimen.   

Pink-barred Sallows, Westcott 4th October

A bit more casual searching for leaf-mines in the garden over the last couple of days has produced a number of new species for 2024, including vacated examples of Stigmella luteella (on birch) & Stigmella regiella (on hawthorn) as well as active mines of Stigmella microtheriella (on hornbeam), Ectoedemia intimella (on sallow), Ectoedemia occultella (on birch) and Tischeria ekebladella (on our very young oak).  I was particularly pleased to find Ectoedemia intimella, the mine being on a fallen leaf of narrow-leaved sallow Salix cinerea.  The species has only been recorded here once before, ten years ago, and again it was an active mine on a fallen leaf but on that occasion of Crack Willow Salix fragilis.  The tree is unfortunately no longer with us because it started to collapse in high winds three or four years ago so I thought I'd lost all its associated leaf-miners.  

Active mine of Ectoedemia intimella, Westcott 11th October

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks