Rosy Footman and Dewick's Plusia

I ran my actinic trap on 21 July and had a bumper catch, amongst which was one of my favourites, a Rosy Footman. Also attracted to the light but finding its way through an open window into my bedroom was a Dewick's Plusia, the first I have had here.

John Clough, Marlow

That's just being greedy

Lappet is a wonderful moth in serious decline across the country but thankfully the Bucks/Oxon border area is still one of its strongholds and I'm very happy that it continues to be a regular here in the garden.  Since 2018 this site has averaged half a dozen visitors per year but prior to that I was lucky to get one or two annually so if anything the moth might be doing better than it was - long may that continue.  Based just on my own records, in 2021 it also seems to be having a longer season than usual locally because the first example appeared here at Westcott on 14th June and, with three more singletons in between, I had another pair last night which equals my latest ever date for seeing the species. 

Lappets, Westcott 23rd July

I trapped one in Finemere Wood on 14th July and Robert Manasse had singletons in Rushbeds Wood on two visits there around the same time, while in the recent past I've also had it in Bernwood Forest and even at Grangelands up in the Chilterns.

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

5 pugs and one other

 Help with the ID of these would be much appreciated.

                                        Bleached?

Dave Ferguson, Beaconsfield

id help please

 Hi can you confirm the id of some moths from my Banbury Garden please,i think they are as follows

Red twin spot carpet,Mottled rustic,not all sure about the middle one,Short cloaked moth and Kent black arches

many thank Mike,Banbury

A few more micros

 A few from Thursday night.

The first at 8mm looks rather like Gypsonoma oppressana. Maybe a little on the large size?

These two are small 6mm and then 5mm in length. Any help with these welcome.

Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

More new species for the parish list

Five new species in my Robinson trap in the last week to add to my 27 year Sonning parish list (now up to 366 macro-moth species from two sites - my small garden and Ali's Pond LNR). Hot on the heels of Yarrow Pug, Lunar-spotted Pinion and Suspected come Kent Black Arches and Slender Brindle. Given that I normally average app 6 new macro-moth species each year, this has been quite a week. It'll be interesting to see what tomorrow's storms bring with them from the south!

Kent Black Arches

Slender Brindle

A possible Engrailed and a micro

I wondered if the moth below is a 2nd generation Engrailed? Caught in the garden trap last night, and the fw measures 14mm.

The attractive micro below was also from the same catch. Is it one of the Endothenia species?

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Down on the Farm

On Wednesday evening I took the opportunity of having another trapping session at a site near Tingewick in northwest Bucks where I've been invited back to repeat a regular survey conducted ten years ago.  This is on a working farm bordered by the River Ouse with some very nice flood-plain meadows, hedgerows and field margins but not really the kind of place one would associate with lots of moths so for the total that night, from three MV lights, to reach 193 species (90 micros and still counting) was quite a pleasant surprise.  There was very little that wouldn't be found in any garden in the county but a small number of wetland species, mostly micros, suggested that it might perhaps be of more interest next month when the more uncommon Wainscots start to fly.  There were certainly more reeds and rushes in the Ouse and in some very nice ponds on site that weren't there ten years ago.  The wetland moths included Orthotelia sparganella (which I haven't seen anywhere for a few years now), Limnaecia phragmitella, Clepsis spectrana, Calamotropha paludella, Chilo phragmitella, all the China-marks and Round-winged Muslin. 

Orthotelia sparganella, Tingewick 21st July

Nymphula nitidulata, Tingewick 21st July

Round-winged Muslin, Tingewick 21st July

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Trying to catch up

 Our trip to the Hook Norton Railway Cutting BBOWT reserve with 4 traps on Tuesday night yielded 107 macro species and around 72 micros (still work in progress). Trapping in the garden on Wednesday I only used the 20w Wemlite to try to keep the catch manageable but still picked up these 4 for identification/ checking.

Possible Scoparia subfusca (13mm)

Unknown Tortrix (8mm)

Possible Rhodophaea formosa ? (14mm)

Pammene regiana? (8mm)

As always any help appreciated.

Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

Worminghall, Bucks

 A few highlights of this busy week from our Worminghall garden. Identification corrections welcome. 

Mere Wainscot

Fen Wainscot

Olive

Kent Black Arches

Italian Tubic

Also a brief Black Hairstreak in the garden last weekend 

Westcott, Bucks

I think you'll all agree that the third week of July was pretty good for moths, whatever your particular garden situation or trapping regime.  Six nightly counts in a row of 100+ species here was very pleasing. The number of new species was certainly greater than anticipated and the garden total for the year is now less than a week behind 2020.  The list currently stands at 496 species so will comfortably pass 500 well before the end of this month, meaning that the usual 600 or more by the year's end should now be achievable very easily.  However, we must not forget how dire the weather was earlier in the season and that is certainly still having an effect on overall numbers.  The Footman moths seem to have been unaffected (Common Footman and Scarce Footman are currently the most abundant species here with the former producing getting on for 100 per night and the latter not far behind), but next in line are the Uncertain/Rustic pair and Chrysoteuchia culmella (both 20-30 night) with very few others regularly achieving double digit counts.  It will be interesting to see what happens with Heart & Dart and Large Yellow Underwing next month.     

To recap, I run two traps nightly in the back garden, one 125wt MV and one twin-30wt actinic.  The MV is run underneath a gazebo because the base (a "Really Useful Box") isn't waterproof, while the actinic Robinson is run on top of a patio table.  Each night the traps are closed up just before dawn.  That task currently starts at 4am and usually takes less than half an hour, but during the last few really busy nights it has taken more than an hour to check for and make a note of moths outside each trap and pot up any that need to be looked at more closely.  The actinic in particular needs careful attention because there could easily be as many micro-moths sitting on the vanes as there will be actually inside the trap.

While the overall numbers of moths in the counts below will be accurate, the species totals are on the conservative side.  On the 18th, for example, I retained seven Coleophorids and four Phyllonorycters for later determination, probably all different, but each batch was counted as just one species.

     (15th)  262 moths of 73 species; Lozotaeniodes formosana & Agriphila tristella both new for the garden year-list.

     (16th)  480 moths of 111 species; Argyresthia goedartella, Pammene aurita, Acrobasis advenella, Acrobasis suavella, Agriphila straminella, Small Scallop, Maple Pug, Buff Footman & Least Yellow Underwing all new for the year. 

     (17th)  556 moths of 102 species; Oegoconia sp (retained), Gelechia senticetella, Carpatolechia fugitivella, Grapholita janthinana, Black Arches, Marbled Beauty & Broad-barred White all new for the year.

     (18th)  866 moths of 157 species; Parectopa ononidis, Ypsolopha dentella, Athrips mouffetella, Epinotia tedella, Pyrausta purpuralis, Nomophila noctuella, Agriphila selasella, Dingy Footman, Blackneck & Small Rufous all new for the year.

     (19th)  689 moths of 142 species; Acleris variegana, Eudemis profundana, Epiblema costipunctana, Galleria mellonella, Sitochroa palealis, Scoparia basistrigalis, Crambus pascuella, Dusky Sallow & Suspected all new for the year.

     (20th)  584 moths of 136 species; Cameraria ohridella, Ypsolopha scabrella, Anacampsis populella (retained), Gillmeria pallidactyla, Endothenia ustulana, Epiblema foenella, Catoptria pinella, Maiden's Blush & Plain Pug all new for the year.

     (21st)  632 moths of 138 species; Borkhausenia fuscescens, Epermenia chaerophyllella, Clavigesta purdeyi, Hypsopygia glaucinalis, Bordered Beauty, Purple Thorn, Magpie Moth, Tree-lichen Beauty & Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing all new for the year (actually the Magpie wasn't counted because I saw a larva of that species in the garden back in May). 

Epiblema foenella, Westcott 20th July

Magpie Moth, Westcott 21st July

Black Arches, Westcott 17th July

I always find that photos of Epiblema foenella never do justice to this really smart moth.  This particular example was an enormous female with a wing-length of 14mm, quite a bit larger than the size range given in the field guide.

Attempts to identify other orders caught in the traps have rather fallen by the wayside this week as it has taken me long enough just to get the moths sorted.  However, the star attraction last night has to be this rare crane-fly to which I'll now give honorary moth status!

Ctenophora ornata, Westcott 21st July

I've seen it three or four times in the Chilterns but this is the first definite record for the garden.  Back in 2018 I did have one in the trap the night after one of those other sightings but decided not to count it because it might have been the same individual I'd brought home to photograph (it had managed to escape).  

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Balsam Carpet

Another very busy night on 21 July - in fact an all time record for species diversity in my East Oxford back garden with 57 species (I have no idea how people who regularly catch 100+ manage!). New for the year included Wax Moth, V-pug, Marbled Beauty, Beautiful Golden Y, Small China-mark, Phycita roborella, Pammene aurita and perhaps the most interesting species, a Balsam Carpet. I've had this once before (11 July 2019) and at the time Dave Wilton suggested we would see more of them - he was right!

Balsam Carpet, East Oxford, 21 July 2021

ID questions

ID questions

I'm puzzled by the moth shown below, caught in my actinic trap on 17 July 21. Could it be a faded or unusual Dun-bar? I make that suggestion on the basis of the diagonal lines, as well as the shape and size.

The insect shown below also came to the same trap, and I can't work out what it is. Perhaps it's a caddis fly, but most that I see are much less colourful.

Very many thanks,

John Clough, Marlow

Pug puzzle

I am struggling to decide whether this is a Foxglove or a Toadflax Pug.  

Foxglove Pug seems more likely because there are plenty of foxgloves in the garden, but no toadflax as far as I am aware. However on closer inspection, the way the outer edge of the central cross-band meets the leading edge does look better for Toadflax. Perhaps it's too worn to tell...or maybe it's neither?

Phil T

New parish records coming thick and fast

Set the Robinson trap at Ali's Pond LNR last night and picked up new parish records for Suspected, Lunar-spotted Pinion, Oncocera semirubella and Recurvaria leucatella, along with new site records for Engrailed and Small Emerald. Other firsts for the year included Small Scallop, July Highflyer, Freyer's Pug and Ruby Tiger. Other recent additions to my 27 year parish list include Yarrow Pug and White Satin Moth. 

Oncocera semirubella

Recurvaria leucatella

Suspected

White Satin Moth

Another micro

 Following a very productive trapping session at the Hook Norton Railway Cutting BBOWT reserve we have many micros to sort. However I am stuck on this one that looks as if it should be obvious. 7mm in length. Very active, running more than flying!

Andy Newbold, Sibford Ferris, Oxon.

Schoenobius gigantella?

This moth came to my MV light sheet in oak woodland near Witney last night. It looks to me like a ♀︎Schoenobius gigantella. An unlikely habitat I would have thought. It's c24mm in length, so probably not Donacaula forficella, which as far as I can see, is the only likely confusion species. Would welcome any comments ....