Surprisingly Busy

For some reason there was quite a lot of activity around the garden actinic trap here last night.  Just over 70 moths of 20 species were present in it by 6am this morning and they included the garden's first Merveille du Jour of the year (at last) as well as Mottled Umber (1), Satellite (1) and Dark Chestnut (2) which are firsts for this autumn.  The fact that the garden is surrounded by ivy may account for the greater numbers but just why last night was better than the previous few nights is not really obvious because there was little difference in the weather.  If you've got flowering ivy in or near your garden it is well worth going out to look at it with a torch after dark at the moment, especially if you've yet to see Brick this year because that is certainly the most common species found on it around here. A quick check of our ivy just now this evening (7.30pm) produced Pale Pinion (1), Grey Shoulder-knot (1), Dark Chestnut (3), Brick (5), Red-line Quaker (1) & Lunar Underwing (1), of which Pale Pinion and Grey Shoulder-knot were not amongst the moths in last night's trap.

Mottled Umber, Westcott 14th October

Dark Chestnut & Satellite, Westcott 14th October

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks  

Cold and windy.

It's been another windy night up here on the hill, 7 moths of 6 species though which included FFY Red and Yellow-line Quakers, so it was worth persevering!. Mind you LYU's still at no.1 with 2 specimens.

Steve Lockey (Garsington)

On point of packing trap away for winter

After several days with overnight temperatures down as low as 0°C and zero moths I wondered if it was worth continuing but pleased I did. Last night the temp was a little higher and I was rewarded with a Setaceous Hebrew Character and this Green-brindled Crescent. The latter a first for the garden and I don't believe even I could have messed up the ID.

Tom Stevenson, Benson

Tawny Pinion

Having never caught Tawny Pinion in the autumn before it was nice to find one arrived at the Rothamsted Trap at CEH Wallingford. Nicer still it hadn't entered the trap fully so I was able to give it its freedom. Marc Botham

Cold nights

After being on holiday in Crete, with night time temperatures still in the 20's, Sunday night's return to 6 degrees was a shock. The moths must be shocked too, with only 5 or 6 species the last 2 nights. Sunday 11th, Red-line Quaker and Green-brindled Crescent were NFY, with a Pink-barred Sallow and a few E postvittana. Last nights NFYs were November Moth agg x2 and a lovely fresh Merveille du Jour. 6 E postvittana, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Beaded Chestnut and a very small male Willow Beauty completed the catch. Tonight so far Blair's Shoulder-knot is NFY. Nice not to have any Large Yellow Underwings!

Darren Seaman, Milton Keynes.

Summer Stragglers

A near-frost by dawn meant that last night's garden catch here at Westcott, Bucks was of only 13 species but the two illustrated below made a pleasant change from the more usual autumnal fayre.  As it happens neither was a record-breaking sighting (in fact 9th November 2011 is my latest ever record for Willow Beauty) but they were still good to see.  The "Novemnals" topped the list with seven individuals, while the others comprised Common Marbled Carpet (1), Red-green Carpet (2), Large Yellow Underwing (4), Setaceous Hebrew Character (1), Green-brindled Crescent (1), Brick (4), Red-line Quaker (4), Beaded Chestnut (2), Lunar Underwing (1) and Sallow (2).  The previous night, which had been a good deal warmer, brought in 118 moths of 24 species and they included the migrants Udea ferrugalis and Silver Y.  October is often the best month for migrant activity but the only other such visitor here so far has been a Dark Sword-grass on the 6th.  My nicotiana flowers still await a customer... 

Bordered Beauty, Westcott 11th October

Willow Beauty, Westcott 11th October

Dave Wilton

Pearly Underwing

Pearly Underwing in Didcot garden on Saturday night (10th October). Marc Botham, Didcot

Dark Sword-grass, and a flamboyant caterpillar

Only 8 moths in last night's actinic garden trap (almost outnumbered by caddis flies). However, one of the moths was a garden first - a Dark Sword-grass.

While doing a little bit of tidying up in the garden yesterday, I came across this wonderful character - a Pale Tussock larva.

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Needs a polish

This arrival on Sat/Sun night is the least burnished Burnished Brass I have ever encountered. I don't think it's worn particularly badly although maybe there has been scale loss, particularly affecting the metallic, reflecting/refracting ones; I've tried zooming in but the photo isn't good enough. The wing edges are not frayed, so far as I can see. I'm also having difficulty in telling whether it's juncta or aurea, though that is probably just me. From the middle photo, I'd guess juncta. I just wondered if dull ones like this are part of the normal pattern. Any thought appreciated, as always. Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

Autumn blues

Frustrating times in Wolvercote, Oxon., of late: invariably we've found that any warm nights have been offputtingly wet, or that I've been home too late for it to be worth putting the trap out; and the actinic bulb hasn't produced anything much. We did try with the MV on Saturday night, and got a slightly better selection than the usual smattering of underwings Yellow and Lunar -- but still only fourteen individuals (to be fair, we've recently had Red-line Quaker and Blair's Shoulder-knot, species we quite like). I'm guessing the first individual below is a washed-out Beaded Chestnut (we had another rather better-marked individual, too), but the second, although it recalls Drabs and Quakers, has so far eluded us - anyone know what it is?

Steve and Xander Goddard

Presumed Beaded Chestnut, 10/10/15

Unknown, 10/10/15

Worth waiting

I still want a Clifden Nonpareil more than anything else but meanwhile Griposia aprilina will do me fine. Thank goodness someone wasn't content with Linnaeus' name for it (why aprilina when it flies in Octoberlina?) and came up with the wonderful Merveille du Jour instead.  A very nice f.capucina of the Green-brindled Crescent came to call here as well. The Merveille was on the lawn by the trap and I very nearly trod on it; another useful lesson in inspecting the surroundings carefully before getting on to the eggboxes. Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

Late Straw Dot?

Following John Langmaid's post on UKMoths this week about a late Straw Dot, I've just found one (attracted to a lighted window) in Walters Ash, Bucks.  Is this a particularly late record in this area?  My latest record before this was 18th Sept.

Neil Fletcher

November Moths

The contents of the garden trap here at Westcott, Bucks have dwindled from 29 species on the 5th to 14 species last night and the numbers of individual moths have taken a tumble too.  Lunar Underwing has passed 1,500 individuals but I'm only getting a handful each night now with Red-line Quaker and Beaded Chestnut beating it for quantity.  Another Dark Sword-grass on the 6th has been the only sign of migrant activity, while new species for the garden year list include Green-brindled Crescent (5th), Feathered Thorn (8th) & November Moth (9th).

To head off likely requests, I should add that last night's two November Moth males here both had their private parts inspected.  November Moth, Pale November Moth and Autumnal Moth can't be separated safely on wing pattern.  The males can be done by dissection but this is usually unnecessary because there are differences between the projections on the eighth sternite of the abdomen underside.  These can be viewed under a hand lens or low-powered microsope if the scales are carefully brushed away (comparison pictures are available on the Dissection Group web-site here), although in my experience the moth rarely survives the experience even if temporarily anaesthetised.  So far as I'm aware - and this is contrary to the notes given in the field guide - females of the three species are not separable even by dissection.

November Moth, Westcott 9th October

Dave Wilton

Dusky-lemon sallow

Bit of a surprise in what was a fairly empty trap here in Longwick last night - Dusky -Lemon Sallow - a garden first. Still the odd migrant around during the week with single Rush Veneer and Rusty Dot Pearl.
Not sure where my nearest Elm is!

Agonopterix subpropinquella?

I think this is A. subpropinquella but as it's a species I've not seen before confirmation/correction would be appreciated. The photo with the ruler is only for size as the colour is not true.

Thanks,
Nigel

Micros in the woods (2)

Of course it is not just hawthorn in the woods...

 Ectoedemia albifasciella mine on oak.  A couple of these on the trees; also a couple of 'green island'-forming Ectoedemias, but the mines were not far enough progressed to identify them.

Coleophora milvipennella(?) case on birch - can anyone confirm the ID?  I did not look at it too closely as I thought it was the common Coleophora serratella, forgetting that the larval case of this species does not look like this in the autumn.

Micros in the woods

Hi All,

I make occasional visits to the Oxford area where I grew up, and try to do a bit of moth recording whilst there.  Last weekend I went to Wytham Woods where I was studying leaf-miners that feed on hawthorn - the majority of the Stigmella species as well as the two hawthorn-mining Phyllonorycters and Parornix anglicella were there.  A few case-bearers and the like turned up too.

 Stigmella oxyacanthella

 Coleophora spinella

 Stigmella regiella

Predated Psyche casta case (presumably by a bird)

Wearing of the green

Green-brindled Crescent and Brindled Green enlivening things here. Now I want a Merveille du Jour, please. Actually what I really want is a Clifden Nonpareil. It can only be a matter of time...  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

Getting the blues - more than once!

It's turning in to an astonishing year for Clifden Nonpareil (= Blue Underwing) in Berkshire. In the last week or so another has been reported from Newbury, Paul Black has now found two at Snelsmore Common, while Barry Murrer has also notched up two on separate occasions in his garden near Thatcham!

The question is whether they are migrants or breeding. They are thought to be breeding in parts of Hampshire and Wiltshire, and given the number that have been reported in Berkshire now it looks like local breeding is a distinct possibility. It will certainly be worth having a close look at Aspen trees next summer for the caterpillars.

Barry Murrer's second Clifden Nonpareil from Thatcham, Berkshire:

Confirmation please + Meal Moth

I think I have my first Deep- Brown Dart - can someone confirm.

The other picture is what I assume to be a Meal Moth. It turned up in my greenhouse. Again another first.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

A warmer night brings some new moths

Last night's somewhat damp garden trap attracted 56 individuals, comprising 26 different species. Of these, 5 were new additions to this year's garden list - Red-green Carpet (2), Feathered Thorn (1), Blair's Shoulder-knot (1), Merveille du Jour (2, both on the outside of the trap) and Barred Sallow (1).
No prizes for guessing which of these 5 was my favourite -

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Confirmation please

This looks rather like a Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella) but I have been wrong so often in the past I thought I should check. If so the book says immigrant - long way for a tiny thing like this to fly!

Two wet nights

Still no migrants here at Westcott, Bucks despite the very wet but warm southerly breeze!  However, 29 species in the garden from each of the last two nights (38 different species overall) was quite a reasonable result.  This time of the year often brings out unexpected sightings of extra broods and last night the trap brought in singletons of Cochylis hybridella and Magpie, neither of which I've had previous records for in October.

Cochylis hybridella, Westcott 5th October

Magpie, Westcott 5th October

While dog-walking between downpours this afternoon I checked out our village's solitary London Plane.  As usual at this time of the year it is covered in active mines of Phyllonorycter platani, as well as a few from Phyllonorycter leucographella which I've not noticed on it before (both species appear on the photo of a leaf upper-side below, the latter being the two smaller brownish mines on the left side of the picture). 


Phyllonorycter mines on London Plane, 6th October

Of more interest, though, was the discovery of several vacated mines of Antispila treitschkiella on nearby hedgerow Dogwood.  The smaller size of the oval cut-out (which the larva uses to form its cocoon) is what distinguishes the mines of this species from those of the rather similar Antispila metalella which uses the same food-plant.

Mine of Antispila treitschkiella on Dogwood, 6th October

Dave Wilton

Help please

After catching little besides Lunar and Yellow underwings  for what seems like the last month something different. As well as these two which are giving me problems also a Beaded Chestnut.

 Tom Stevenson, Benson

Marvellous!

A single MV trap run in local woodland here in Bucks last night produced a typical selection for the time of year.  They included two particularly nice moths, the first being everyone's favourite autumnal species the Merveille du Jour while the second was the much-declined Figure of Eight.  The latter was a rather scruffy individual, having spent time under the moth-trap's sheet which always seems to be their favourite place to hide away. 

Merveille du Jour, 4th October

Figure of Eight, 4th October

Dave Wilton

 

Bordered Straw?

The trap here in Longwick had the usual autumn fayre last night but included a pristine Buttoned Snout and a not so pristine migrant which I think is still identifiable as Bordered Straw?

Another Brick on the wall...

Brick, Westcott 3rd October

In fact two Bricks to the garden trap at Westcott, Bucks.  It proved to be my 300th macro species of the year here, which means that by the end of December the garden should have surpassed 2014's record macro total of 307.  This is quite amazing considering how dire we all thought the first six months of this year were!

Mention of Brick reminds me that this is another common species which can cause some confusion on first sighting, in particular with Yellow-line Quaker, so I've added the photo below of both moths side-by-side:

Yellow-line Quaker (left) and Brick (right), 3rd October

The outer red and yellow cross-line of Brick is nowhere near as straight as that on Yellow-line Quaker and even on worn specimens of Brick you can usually still see some of the red reticulations which are obvious across all of the forewing on fresh examples. 

Considering how cold it got last night (only just above freezing here) I was quite pleased with the catch to a single actinic trap:  Emmelina monodactyla (1), Large Yellow Underwing (3), Setaceous Hebrew Character (1), Common Wainscot (2), Deep-brown Dart (1), Black Rustic (5), Brindled Green (1), Brick (2), Red-line Quaker (2), Yellow-line Quaker (1), Beaded Chestnut (16), Lunar Underwing (79), Pink-barred Sallow (7) & Sallow (6).  Lunar Underwing has now passed 1,200 individuals this season and, as usual, is doing its level best to become the garden's top species of the year.  It will be very interesting to see what the next two much warmer (if rather wet) nights bring in.

While giving our massive willow a 'hair-cut' this afternoon so that my wife and I can drive our cars beneath it rather than through it, one of the branches fell to earth with more of a thump than the others thanks to the presence of this fully-grown Poplar Hawk-moth larva:

Poplar Hawk-moth caterpillar, 4th October

Dave Wilton

  

What a beauty

With all due respect to Richard's amazing pictures the real thing is so much more colourful. Apologies but I'm getting excited finding a Mallow amongst what seems to have been almost solid Lunar Underwings! Though I did have a Black Rustic yesterday. The Mallow was species number 138 for my garden this year in 167 overnight trapping and a grand total of 2062 moths. Which raises the issue - are these records of relevance and, if so, who should I send them to and in which format? At the moment they are in an excel spreadsheet.

Woodland: almost a waste of time!

Two nights ago I ran three MV lights in the Forestry Commission's Homefield Wood near Marlow, Bucks and managed a count of 68 moths of 25 species (poor but nonetheless rather as expected for the time of year).  A very late Pretty Chalk Carpet was perhaps the most interesting thing caught.  However, some leaf-mining by torchlight added considerably to the list and I also managed to find a couple of Spectacle caterpillars feeding on nettle.  Last night a three hour session with two MV lights in ancient oak woodland closer to home produced only 39 moths of 13 species, hardly the most productive night's trapping even though the temperature remained in double digits right to the end!  The only thing worthy of note here was the appearance of an 'honorary moth', the spectacular brown lacewing Drepanepteryx phalaenoides which I've seen once or twice previously in Bucks but always in someone else's trap.

Spectacle caterpillar, 29th September



Drepanepteryx phalaenoides, 30th September

Dave Wilton

LYU's still number one.

Up on the hill it's still LYU's at number one totalling 28 out of a catch of 55 (15 species). An always welcome Large Ranunculus a Dark Sword-grass and FFG Large Wainscot,- which is unusual up here - we do have a pond though!. No Quakers as yet, 4 Rush Veneers on the28th.

Steve Lockey (Garsington)