Still catching up - ID help please

I have got really behind with identifying my moths and 25th July was a really big night for me. I've now reached the 100 species mark for the year (my first year of spotting), which I'm very pleased about. Here are a few that I'm either not 100% sure on or haven't got a clue about, so I'd appreciate some help please.

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Thanks, Jacqui
Speen, Bucks

Feathered Gothic, Small Square-spot, etc.

I've had two Feathered Gothics in my actinic trap over the last few days (first photo) - lovely moths! I've also had what I think is a Small Square-spot (second photo), plus a green moth which I can't identify (third photo - too large and doesn't look right for Tree-lichen Beauty). I'd be grateful for help with ID, please.

John Clough, Marlow

White Green Carpet

Having struggled to find moths in my trap I followed the advice given and am now catching again. (See my post of 31st August and replies).

Last night this very pale, washed out, Green carpet visited the trap.

It was very lively and it took 3 attempts to pot it indoors.

In contrast the brighter example below visited on the night of 28/29 August.

Alan Diver,

Tackley.

Garden Dart?

Among the many Square-spot Rustics captured on Monday night (2nd) was this specimen which looked different - it perhaps has a slight 'club' and relatively narrow forewings as shown below in comparison to a Square-spot (the latter taken last year and chosen for its similarities in overall size, colour and time of capture). Online images of Garden Darts don't seem to look much like this specimen, but the Guide description is plausible. Grateful for any comments, as usual.

John Thacker
Harwell, Oxon.

My second Clifden

Catches are starting to get more autumnal now in Wolvercote, Oxfordshire, with plenty of Large Yellow Underwings and Square-spot Rustics, though as yet not many of the classic autumn species, sallows and the like. However, some excitement this morning when I realised my second ever garden Clifden Nonpareil had shown up: not in the trap, but clinging to an old trampoline beside it, where I very nearly didn't spot it.

My previous one was in mid-October last year, and although very pleasing, was quite a battered specimen. This one was more or less pristine, and although I suppose it could be a migrant, I'd have thought it's likelier to have originated quite locally. When I let it go, it flew off strongly, so large that you'd take it to be a small bat or bird rather than a moth. A lovely beast.

Clifden Nonpareil, 3/9/19 - in its original position

Clifden Nonpareil, 3/9/19

Clifden Nonpareil, 3/9/19

Steve Goddard

Some more leaf mines

I am attempting to decipher some more leaf mines found in the garden and would welcome thoughts on these two.  They are obviously relatively old and I hope to find some more active ones over the coming weeks, but here goes:

In hazel, I think the two mines above are from Stigmella microtheriella.

The four shots above are two different mines from above and below in a variety of viburnam lantana.  I think they are from Phyllonorycter lantanella. There were four or five of these mines on a small shrub.

Comments welcomed.

Adam Bassett
Marlow Bottom

Hemp-agrimony Plume?

I think this may be Hemp-agrimony Plume.  Apparently it is common but I haven't seen one here before, so comments would be welcomed.

Richard Ellis
Chorleywood

Is European Corn Borer resident in Bucks?

I had no signs of any migrants in the trap here in Longwick this morning except this rather attractive European Corn Borer. I have had them a  couple of times before here but would be interested to know if they are resident?

I also had a few nice new arrivals such as Centre-barred Sallow, Old Lady and Red Underwing along with another burst of Light Emerald. The moth below looked initially interesting but I assume it is a rather plain, grey-ish and small (w/l 15mm) Flounced Rustic rather than something that has drifted in?

My fountain of knowledge is on holiday

Andy Newbold normally has to put up with me, buts he’s away so can anyone help
Got two moths last night in Sibford Ferris
First I think is a Purple Bar
The second I think may be my first Six-striped Rustic. Andy has had a few so I’ve been looking out for them
Appreciate the help

Westcott, Bucks

Very little has been happening here over the past week, hardly surprising because the nights of 31st August and 1st September were particularly chilly and numbers dropped off dramatically as the overnight temperatures descended well into single digits.  Indeed, on the night of the 1st the total catch was a mere 70 moths of 15 species shared between the usual two traps (one MV and one actinic).  The only items of interest were a pair of fresh Poplar Hawk-moths, although it was good to get another torchlight sighting of one of the garden's hedgehogs rummaging around for slugs amongst our patio plant-pots as I closed up the trap, the first one I've noticed since April.

It was all change again last night, with the minimum temperature at 14C and numbers back up to normal (501 moths of 56 species).  Fluctuations like this, caused by the weather, are nothing unusual at this time of year.  The highest counts last night were provided by Setaceous Hebrew Character (150), Common Wainscot (72), Square-spot Rustic (67), Vine's Rustic (44) & Large Yellow Underwing (44), while grass moth numbers have now plummeted to single digits.  There was nothing new for the year but noteworthy amongst the remainder were Ypsolopha sequella (always a welcome sight), Bordered Beauty (three of them, it usually only appears here as a singleton), a single Nutmeg and two Old Ladies (they seem to be having a very good season).  Of the autumnal species, Centre-barred Sallow and Frosted Orange are currently appearing nightly and the other chestnuts and sallows will no doubt join them soon enough.  Lunar Underwing should start within the next week and by the end of the month I'll be inundated with them.

We're approaching the "proper" migrant season now and I notice that Convolvulus Hawk-moths have started to appear in the country already, although all I've had here recently are Plutella xylostella, Udea ferrugalis, Nomophila noctuella and Silver Y. Daytime visits to our buddleias by Hummingbird Hawk-moth have been far fewer than last year's record count but they are still appearing, with singletons noticed yesterday and today.            

The following moths have been new for the garden year-list over the past week, taking the species count for this year to 576 so far:

(27th)  Ypsolopha alpella, Epinotia tenerana
(29th)  Peacock Moth

Ypsolopha alpella, Westcott 27th August

During the night of the 31st I had the largest bat casualty I've ever knowingly suffered here, a Red Underwing (which is a fairly common moth in the garden at this time of year).  It hopefully gave its captor indigestion because I presume the culprit will have been a Brown Long-eared Bat which, apart from the much smaller Pipistrelles, seems to be the only species we get regularly on patrol around the trap.

Remains of a Red Underwing, Westcott 31st August

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks 

Dioryctria abietella

The moth Gods must have known it is my birthday today and as a gift presented me with what I am pretty sure is Dioryctria abietella.  It was in my Robinson trap in the garden at Newport Pagnell and is a new one for me and the garden. It  was 1 of 127 moths of 17 species of which Large Yellow Underwing(48), Vine's Rustic(26) and Setaceous Hebrew Character(20) were the 1-2-3.

It seems there has been some confusion in the past with this and another species,D.sylvestrella, with the angled cross line at four fifths being critical. 

I did run a few traps at Linford Lakes Nature Reserve last night and that yielded 217 moths and 34 species.  Large Yellow Underwing(51), Setaceous Hebrew Character(47) and Square-spot Rustic(37) accounted for more than half of the total.  

Moths for ID or confirmation please.

Brownish Pyrausta purpuralis

Small dusty wave.

Pyralidae?

Agriphila inquinatella?

Both Agriphila tristella?

Rusty-dot pearl.

Alan Diver,

Tackley.

Red underwing

Unfortunately this  Red underwing

Succumbed in the fridge.

Alan Diver,

Tackley.

Depressaria pulcherrimella?

Wondering if this is Depressaria pulcherrimella. I have it prepped to go to have it's bits checked but it has alot of pink on it.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford

Carpet moth

I was a bit stumped with the carpet moth that appeared last night, but I think it must be Flame Carpet (without any of the flame).  It is the right size for it. I've not seen anything like it before, has anyone else?

Adam Bassett
Marlow Bottom

The Holy Grail

Remarkably, in the very next Sonning garden trapping session after responding to a tweet from someone about how jealous I was that they had trapped a Clifden Nonpareil, I landed a stunning specimen of the very same iconic species. When I replied to the tweet, I had an unusually strong feeling that it was going to happen to me very soon, but then I forgot all about it, so my jaw hit the floor when it appeared from under the penultimate egg box in the trap this morning. I had a pretty amazing close encounter with a tiger on an expedition in Nepal earlier this year, but this is right up there with it as a truly memorable lifetime experience.

Nettle-tap

Following DW's exhortation to check our Nettle-taps, his photograph rang a bell and I found I had photographed, what I think is, Prochoreutis myellana on the 25 July this year. It came to light on the night of 24/25 July.

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Alan Diver,

Tackley.