Agonopterix umbellana confirmed

I posted a picture of this moth back on 2nd December.

It has now been checked by Peter and confirmed as Agonopterix umbellana. Not a county first, but still quite rare for our region. Steve Trigg, Cookham

Festive lamp conversion

Merry Christmas all!  I am hoping to attract three Wise Moths although it looks as though they will have to have travelled from very afar, being a type of Ghost Moth endemic to New Zealand.  All warmest and here's hoping for more everyday but still interesting arrivals in the New Year!  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

Update on Boxing Day: Well, Three Wise Moths duly appeared on Christmas Night; not Wiseana but a nice trio: Winter moth, Mottled Umber and the ever-increasing Cypress Carpet. Encouraged, I put out the trap again last night. Nobody came.  MW

Moth Dissection website

 It is that time of year again. We are still a little short of funds to keep the website up and running into 2025, so this is an appeal to anyone that sends me moths to dissect and hasn't done so, or anyone else who uses the fantastic website at all, to consider making a donation to help its upkeep.  https://mothdissection.co.uk/donate.php

Thanks

Peter

Wingless Females

I took a couple of MV traps to Finemere Wood yesterday evening because it was so mild, hoping to find the uncommon tortrix Exapate congelatella which flies at this time of year.  This is the fourth year I've looked for it there since getting a couple to light in mid-December 2020, but once again it failed to show.  There were quite a few other moths around with about 130 individuals brought to the lights, of which most were Mottled Umber (94 counted).  A quick look at the oak trunk to which I chained one of my generators produced a female Mottled Umber as well as two mated pairs of Winter Moth.

Mottled Umber female, Finemere Wood 15th December 2024

Winter Moth female, Finemere Wood 15th December 2024

The only other moths of passing interest were a couple of Pale Brindled Beauties, two early examples of "next year's moths".

Pale Brindled Beauty, Finemere Wood 15th December 2024

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Westcott, Bucks

Much as you might expect, the first half of December proved to be very quiet in the garden.  Ten different adult moth species were recorded (Plutella xylostella, Mompha jurassicella, Acleris schalleriana, Udea ferrugalis, December Moth, Winter Moth, Feathered Thorn, Scarce Umber, Mottled Umber & Red-line Quaker) but Storm Darragh mid-way through this period seemed to finish off many species as well as providing me with three blank nights.  Apart from the appearance of another December Moth last night (15th), the past week has seen only two of those ten species making continued visits and, unsurprisingly, they were Winter Moth and Mottled Umber.  

Mottled Umbers, Westcott 10th December

A Scarce Umber on 4th December was the latest I've had that species in the garden (until now they've always been confined to November here).  It also proved to be the 40th individual this year which is a site record, the previous high being 29 in 2023 - a rare good news story amongst this year's moths.

Merry Christmas one and all.  Not long now before the counter is reset to zero and we start all over again in 2025, which surely has to be a better year than 2024?!

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks  

Mystery pupa/cocoon

 Hello there,

I spotted this on cherry plum today and wondered what on earth it is! It was about 5-7mm long and had lengthwise ridges. Moth, sawfly, something else. Any ideas? Thanks.

E-moth

The latest edition of the E-moth newsletter from Butterfly Conservation is now available and can be downloaded here.

Spiny Hook-tip confirmed (and a thorny problem)

David Carter caught a male hook-tip in Windsor (Berkshire) on 8 November 2024. From the appearance and the late date Dave thought this was a candidate for Spiny Hook-tip, and it has now been confirmed following Peter Hall's dissection.

Congratulations to Dave on a new macro-moth species for the county (and the first confirmed record for Upper Thames as a whole as far as I'm aware). Elsewhere Spiny Hook-tip seems to be established in an fairly large area around Bristol and nearby parts of South Wales, since 2023 and maybe earlier, based on gen. det. records; confirmed or suspected records are now accumulating in a number of other English counties. The caterpillars feed on Holm Oak, but may also use other oaks and possibly birches.

The thorny problem is that Spiny Hook-tip is very similar to Oak Hook-tip, and as yet it is not clear to what extent the markings and colours overlap between the two species. Clues for Spiny Hook-tip seem to be focused mostly on the wing apex, where the black markings and contrasting pale patches often have a slightly different shape in the two species. Some individuals of Spiny also have a darker greyish tint over the wing as a whole. But the markings seem to vary between individuals, and it is not clear to me whether the distinguishing features are consistent throughout the year. And of course worn specimens will pose further problems. Further work is needed to clarify the extent to which the two species can be distinguished by sight.

The dissection for Dave's moth can be seen on the Moth Dissection website. See also a discussion on BirdForum about the records from other counties and some of the potential distinguishing features.

Spiny Hook-tip, Windsor, 8 November 2024, recorded and photographed by Dave Carter

Eupithecia satyrata?

A pug larva was found looping away on a beech leaf during our work party yesterday at Dancersend Nature Reserve. I think it may be Satyr Pug Eupithecia satyrata. Can a satisfactory identification be made from these photos?

 Mick Jones

Blogger problems?

I would be interested to know how many people are still having difficulty using Blogger.  One or two of you have mentioned to me problems which range between being unable to comment through to being unable to access the website at all.  If you are not able to add a comment below, I'd appreciate an email to the administration address [burnhamlodge (at) gmail.com] explaining what problem(s) you currently have and what version of Windows you are using.  I should say that I've never had trouble myself but I don't use Windows 11.  I can access the site on computers here using both Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 as well as via Safari on my iPhone and, so long as I'm signed in correctly to Google with the address which Blogger recognizes, there's been no difficulty adding comments using any of them.  It is important to stress that Blogger will only recognize you if you are still using the email address provided when you originally signed up to the blog.  If it has changed since then, you'll need to ask me for another invitation to join.     

Agonopterix umbellana?

In the garden trap this weekend was this moth. It looks like Agonopterix umbellana - is this correct? If so, it would be a new addition to the garden list.

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Westcott, Bucks

Things have quietened down considerably in the garden so on 17th November I reverted to "winter operations", running a twin-30wt actinic light inside the conservatory and then potting up before dawn whatever turns up at the windows.  In this period there were four occasions (19th to 22nd) when the temperature hovered around freezing at dusk and then fell further very quickly so no moths at all were seen, but otherwise I did get something for my trouble each night even though numbers fell significantly after that cold snap.

Active species here between 16th November and the end of the month were Mompha subbistrigella, Acleris schalleriana, December Moth, Red-green Carpet, Cypress Carpet, Winter Moth, Scarce Umber, Mottled Umber, Feathered Thorn, Satellite, Chestnut, Angle Shades & Silver Y, while singletons of Tineola bisselliella were found indoors on a couple of occasions.  This is far fewer species than the count for the same period last year (see here) but you can't have everything!  Last night (30th) brought in Acleris schalleriana (1), December Moth (6, including two females), Cypress Carpet (1), Winter Moth (6), Scarce Umber (1), Mottled Umber (1) & Angle Shades (1).  The Angle Shades on 28th and 30th were the only possible signs of migration.

Cypress Carpet, Westcott 30th November

Cypress Carpet has done really well here during October and November with 31 different individuals recorded, so it is definitely established now locally.  That's not bad considering the first to be seen here was in November 2021.  Three more followed in October/November 2023 and then ten appeared during May/June this year before the influx this autumn.

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks