A few queries

Inevitably, I've had a few recently in my garden in Wolvercote, Oxfordshire, which I'm not so sure of -- all suggestions very welcome. First, I think the following, both from 7th May, are probably Seraphim and/or Small Seraphim, but I don't know whether I have both species, or slightly different individuals of one of them; the first one was about 15mm in wing-length, but I didn't get the measurements of the second

Seraphim or Small Seraphim?, 7th May 2018

Seraphim or Small Seraphim?, 7th May 2018

Secondly, the inevitable 'couple of pugs': the first, from 11th May, was about 9mm in wing length, and I wondered about Oak-tree, but I don't really know; the second is 5th May, and I suppose might simply be a Common.

Possible Oak-tree Pug, 11th May 2018

Possible Common Pug, 5th May 2018

And finally, the traditional couple of micros -- both from that big catch from May 7th. The first, with apologies for the appalling photo, I just can't trace; the second might, I think, be Swammerdamia pyrella -- I know Swammerdamia species are usually hard to distinguish, but this seems to have traces of the coppery termen which that species apparently boasts.

Mystery micro, 7th May 2018

Possible Swammerdamia pyrella, 7th May 2018

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Steve Goddard

All hail!

I've waited a while before my first post (or two) of the year, but can't resist posting this beauty which showed up in my garden trap in Wolvercote, Oxfordshire, on 10th May, as one of only eight individuals which featured: the first adult Emperor Moth I've ever seen. I saw a caterpillar some time in the 1980s in the Blackdown Hills, Somerset, and had assumed there was no prospect of one in lowland Oxfordshire, but there it was: absolutely gorgeous!

Emperor Moth, 10th May 2018

Emperor Moth, 10th May 2018

Emperor Moth, 10th May 2018

Prior to that, 7th May was by some way the best night of the year so far, with at least 27 species and 50+ individuals in the traps, including numerous NFY: White-pinion Spotted (a rarity here), Least Black Arches, Poplar Hawkmoth, Lesser Swallow Prominent and Puss Moth (not really NFY, there was one on the 5th, too) among them.

Least Black Arches, 7th May 2018

Lesser Swallow Prominent, 7th May 2018

Puss Moth, 7th May 2018

White-pinion Spotted, 7th May 2018

Steve Goddard

Least Black Arches?

Not a great example and not a great photo. It's had a bit of an adventure. I saw it a couple of nights ago on the kitchen window and tried to pot it but it flew inside. I think since then it nearly ended up in the washing up but I managed to find it this morning. I think it must be dehydrated as it's sitting on my photo background mat which was damp and it's got it's proboscis on the mat.

The second not so good pic is of a caterpillar at Harcourt Arboretum taken last week. There were hundreds hanging off some of the trees - presumably in attempt to find a new home. Any ideas what it would be?  


Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

Aethes tesserana

This really smart day-flying tortrix was found while surveying on the National Trust's Bradenham estate in Bucks yesterday.  Not the best of images but from it you can clearly see that the pictures in the micro-moth field-guide and on UK-Moths really don't do this colourful species justice!  There are about a dozen records for VC24, all except one from chalk grassland sites in the Chilterns.

Ched George
Radnage, Bucks

A better night

The cloud cover at Westcott was supposed to disappear well before midnight last night but in the end it stayed in place, keeping the temperature up for a good couple of hours longer than expected - it was certainly nice to have the forecast wrong in a good way for once!  The moths seemed to respond and even though numbers were still somewhat depressed there was a pleasing variety of colours amongst the 28 species which came to the trap, including ten more new for the garden year-list:  Pseudoswammerdamia combinella, Roeslerstammia erxlebella, Anania hortulata/Small Magpie, Maiden's Blush, Clay Triple-lines, Broken-barred Carpet, Clouded Border, Clouded Silver, Eyed Hawk-moth & Pale Tussock.

Roeslerstammia erxlebella, Westcott 11th May

Eyed Hawk-moth, Westcott 11th May

Pale Tussock, Westcott 11th May

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks   

Oak-tree Pug? - and Lime Hawk-moth

Just looking for confirmation of this pug please. I think it is Oak-tree which I have had several of this year. I am not 100% sure though, due to the black band across the abdomen which doesn't seem to be normal in pics I have seen on t'interweb, but can't see what else it could be. Included the Lime Hawk-moth because - well they are just so flipping photogenic !

Clouded-bordered Brindle? and Pug

I think the first is a Clouded-bordered Brindle.

Re the pug - suprisingly obliging as in not flying off immediately.

 Catches still way down in numbers of moths and variety - is that other people's experience?  It seems year on year it's getting worse - and I've only been trapping since 2013.
 
Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

A tiny micro from a small catch

Despite the temperature holding up more than forecast and the wind dropping I only had 13 moths of 10 species last night. The catch did include my first Coronet and Scalloped Hazel of the year as well as this rather nondescript micro that is barely 5mm in length. Any help with this one welcome.

Andy Newbold Sibford Ferris Oxon.

Oranges and lemons

Congratulations on the century, Dave, and I hope the year continues to go so well. Here, I'm pleased to have a different part of the spectrum with an Orange Footman and my first Brimstone of the year (nice to have so many of their beautiful butterfly namesakes plus Orange-tips around in the sunshine too). May I just check my pug, which I'm guessing is Brindled?  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

100 up

The micro Bryotropha affinis, found flying around indoors last night, proved to be the 100th species for this year's garden list at Westcott.  Achieving that figure by 10th May has been beaten only twice in the last ten years (5th May in 2017 and 6th May in 2011) and the average date for the decade is about 17th May.  Maybe I've just been lucky with new species because the trap contents, especially over the past three days, have been rather poor.  Take last night's effort:  two lights run to see if there was any difference between the type of bulb, the 125wt MV attracting nine moths of six species (Lychnis new for the year) and the twin-30wt actinic managing eight moths of six species (Dagger sp. new for the year).  Results almost equally as dire!

Lychnis, Westcott 10th May

Dark/Grey Dagger, Westcott 10th May

A check of the disused railway cutting west of the village this morning produced Rhopobota stagnana (3), Grapholita jungiella (1), Pyrausta purpuralis (12), Common Heath (5) & Burnet Companion (3).  Unfortunately all three examples of Rhopobota stagnana were the rather boring and drab male - the female is at least a little bit more colourful!

Rhopobota stagnana, Westcott 11th May

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks

Flying prawn

Nice to have the Flying Prawn in the trap this morning, aka the Pine Beauty. Interestingly, after recent abundance (as with some from Wednesday night, below), it was alone in the eggboxes apart from one Muslin, one Hebrew Character and a caddis fly.  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

Marbled Brown

A few new moths for me so far this week that have included Lobster moth, Maidens Blush, Orange Footman, Knotgrass, Scalloped Hook Tip and Least Black Arches. I also caught what I think is a Marbled Brown rather than a Lunar Marbled Brown. Please could someone confirm this? And a pug....my guess is a worn Ochreous Pug?

Marbled Brown?

Ochreous Pug?

 

Lorna Woolhouse, Checkendon, South Oxon

Day-flyers

This afternoon I spent half an hour at the National Trust's Smalldean Lane Bank near Bradenham, Bucks successfully looking for Duke of Burgundy.  Day-flying moths seen while there included Falseuncaria ruficiliana (2), Grapholita jungiella (10+), Pyrausta aurata (3) and Small Yellow Underwing (2).

Falseuncaria ruficiliana, Smalldean Lane Bank 10th May

Small Yellow Underwing, Smalldean Lane Bank 10th May

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks

Toadflax Brocade

Eight species new for the year here last night amongst which the star was a Toadflax Brocade.  The others were Broken-barred Carpet, Campion, Light Brocade, Marbled Brown, White-pinion Spotted, Agonopterix arenella and Esperia sulphurella.

Richard Ellis
Chorleywood

Away Trapping in Bucks

On Friday night I ran a couple of traps at BBOWT's Calvert Jubilee reserve.  As was to be expected beside such a large lake, it got chilly very quickly, indeed far cooler than the exceedingly optimistic forecast which was based on cloud cover of which in the end there was none!  Very little turned up, only 18 species and the majority just as singletons, but all was not lost as the moths did include Frosted Green and Great Prominent which were new to the site list from when I last trapped there regularly six or seven years ago. 

On Saturday two MVs were run in Bernwood Forest and, although again it proved to be another fairly chilly three-hour session, the traps did perform a little better and the tally reached 30 species.  Great Prominent was the moth of the evening with 85 recorded.

On Monday night Martin Albertini and Marc Botham joined me at Rowley Wood north of Slough where between us we ran six lights for the usual three hours.  Helped by the warm temperatures, this was an excellent night for the time of year!  Around 70 species were recorded and they included Rivulet which appeared in a couple of the traps.  Unlike the rather similar Small Rivulet, this is a very uncommon moth in Bucks and I've only ever recorded it from the greensand on the Bedfordshire border, although I see there are records from nearby Black Park from the 1980s and Richard Ellis gets it occasionally in his garden at Chorleywood.  However, the "moth of the night" for me at Rowley has to have been a Chamomile Shark which came to one of Marc's lights, this being my first encounter with the species.  While the records suggest it is found right across the county, it must be very thinly-spread.  Leaving aside Dave Maunder's larval find in 2015 (link), there have been only eight post-millennium records in Bucks and the last was eleven years ago.  Other new sightings for the year included Nematopogon swammerdamella, Tachystola acroxantha, Elachista rufocinerea, Elachista apicipunctella, Ancylis mitterbacheriana, Scoparia ambigualis, Ochreous Pug, Dwarf Pug, Tawny-barred Angle, Brown Silver-line, Pale Oak Beauty, Lobster Moth, Pale Tussock & Knot Grass.  Grey Birch put in a good showing, appearing at every trap.

 

Rivulet, Rowley Wood 7th May

Chamomile Shark, Rowley Wood 7th May

Finally last night (Tuesday 8th) I went to Hog & Hollowhill Woods near Medmenham which produced a rather disappointing tally of about 30 species - and not a single prominent.  There were quite a few moths and if you like Orange Footman, Marbled Brown or Nut-tree Tussock it was certainly the place to be (85 Nut-tree Tussocks between the two lights).  Also, more than 30 cockchafers meant that there was always plenty of activity inside the traps!  New species for me for the year included Barred Hook-tip, Clay Triple-lines, Freyer's Pug and White-pinion Spotted.

Clay Triple-lines, Hog & Hollowhill Woods 8th May

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks

More at COAM

Taking advantage of the weather, I left the light on again at the museum, this time at the other end of the site from where I've been so far this year.
Several new species for my year list included Cochylis atricapitana, Orange Footman, Broken-barred Carpet, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Scorched Carpet, Maiden's Blush, Lesser Swallow Prominent, Bee Moth, Yellow-barred Brindle, Flame Shoulder, Purple Thorn, Chinese Character and Marbled Brown.

Also the tiniest Streamer I've seen, more the size of a pug than a normal streamer. Best I can do for a size comparison is a very standard-sizer Cockchafer!

Finally, can anyone suggest an id for this micro (I do still have it and will try for a better pic, but for now...):

and this caterpillar:

Dave Morris, Chalfont St Giles

Westcott, Bucks

Even though the Met Office was rather optimistic with its forecast overnight minimum temperatures, especially on the 4th and 5th, the garden year-list here at Westcott has continued to grow with the following additions over the past few days/nights:  Seraphim, White-spotted Pug, Lesser Swallow Prominent, Coxcomb Prominent (all 4th), Adela reaumurella, Garden Carpet, Small Phoenix, Currant Pug, Muslin Moth, Flame Shoulder (all 5th) and Monopis weaverella, Depressaria radiella, Epinotia immundana, Pyrausta aurata, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Yellow-barred Brindle, Spectacle (all 6th).  It is always nice to see Adela reaumurella dancing around in the garden during the daytime although I'm surprised not to have recorded Incurvaria masculella yet which is usually a regular around our hawthorn.  Pyrausta aurata has started to emerge from our small patch of cat-mint.  Last night's catch (7th) added Common Pug, Scorched Carpet, Poplar Hawk-moth, Iron Prominent, Dotted Chestnut and, saving the best until the end, a fantastic Pinion-spotted Pug.  In Bucks there seem to be only six post-millennium records of this Nationally Scarce species and none that I'm aware of since 2010.  Needless to say it was new to me and a new addition to the all-time garden list (the 34th pug species to have been recorded here).

Epinotia immundana, Westcott 6th May

Pyrausta aurata and friend, Westcott 6th May

Garden Carpet, Westcott 5th May

Currant Pug, Westcott 5th May

 

Pinion-spotted Pug, Westcott 7th May

 

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks

Pug and Caloptilia syringella?

I noticed one of the pugs was sitting differently this morning. The second picture is the same moth - any chance it's an Ochreous Pug?

I'm assuming the micro is a Caloptilia syringella - seems more grey than they usually are though.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

Marbled Brown and a micro query

Some very nice moths came to the garden trap on Sunday night, such as Scorched Carpet and Chocolate-tip, but the highlight for me was a Marbled Brown - a new addition to the garden list.

A couple of very small micros, measuring just 4mm, also appeared in the trap. Below is a photo of one. I don't know if an identification is possible?

Steve Trigg, Cookham