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!