A second record of Porter's Rustic in Upper Thames region

Recently Paul Black got in touch to pass on the exciting news that he had recorded the first ever Porter's Rustic (Athetis hospes) in Berkshire, only the second record for Upper Thames as a whole, after Richard Ellis's in 2008 on the eastern edge of Buckinghamshire.

Paul found the moth on 24 September in Leckhampstead, while trapping in a pumpkin field - a habitat I had not previously considered targeting for moths!

If anyone is lucky enough to find another one it is worth checking that the hind wings are bright white with darkened cilia at the tip. A rather similar species, Athetis lepigone, has been found in the UK this year, I think as an immigrant to the east coast. It has the hind wings a duller grey with darkened veins, as shown on the Lepiforum site.

Porter's Rustic, Berkshire, photo by Paul Black

Porter's Rustic, Berkshire, photo by Paul Black

Porter's Rustic, Berkshire, Paul's specimen, photo by Martin Harvey

Westcott, Bucks

Apart from 19th-21st when I was away, two traps continued to be run in the garden throughout this period.  However, from 29th September onwards I substituted a second twin-30wt actinic for the 125wt MV which has now been "retired" until 2025.  Not only does that give the neighbours a rest from the bright light, but actinic tends to out-perform MV here during the winter months.  Looking to the future, I'll probably have to rethink the garden operation in three or four years time when my stock of 30wt bulbs runs out.  I've been in the habit of changing them annually because, unlike MV bulbs, they do tend to lose their effectiveness after a while.  Just like 125wt MV bulbs, the manufacture of 30w T8 actinic tubes of the necessary length (450mm) is no longer permitted in the UK and Europe so replacements have already become exceedingly difficult to get hold of.  

On the final night of September the combined catch from the two traps comprised 218 moths of 26 species, including Large Yellow Underwing (39) and Lunar Underwing (86), which is much as expected for the time of year.  Newcomers for the 2024 year-list are still trickling in and adult moths added during the second half of September were as follows:

     (17th)  Plutella porrectella

     (18th)  Pink-barred Sallow, Dusky-lemon Sallow

     (22nd)  Amblyptilia punctidactyla, Mallow, Beaded Chestnut, Blair's Shoulder-knot

     (23rd)  Caloptilia stigmatella, Epermenia chaerophyllella, Green-brindled Crescent, Barred Sallow

     (24th)  Pine Carpet, Large Ranunculus

     (25th)  Brindled Green

     (26th)  Red-line Quaker

Caloptilia stigmatella, Westcott 23rd September

Plutella porrectella, Westcott 17th September

Epermenia chaerophyllella, Westcott 23rd September

Mallow, Westcott 22nd September

Large Ranunculus, Westcott 24th September

Blair's Shoulder-knot, Westcott 22nd September

Large Ranunculus is a really good record here, this being the first since 2019 and only the sixth ever recorded in the garden.  Other moths of interest over this period included Lilac Beauty (17th and a late example on the 30th), Delicate (25th and 30th) and Dark Sword-grass (30th). 

One unwelcome but interesting development in the garden traps this year has been the number of Hornets seen.  A large Queen appeared on 9th May and then further examples visited between 2nd August and 24th September (22 in all).  This is not a large number compared to what I can expect in woodland at this time of year, where I've had two or three times that total in a single trap, but up until this year Hornets have been an exceedingly rare sight in the garden.  Wasps, on the other hand, are usually around in large numbers during late-summer but this year have been almost non-existent.    

Hornet, Westcott 9th May

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks    

AI - how well does it work?

I wonder how many of us are using the AI facility on iPhones - the little bug which comes up when you click the 'i' information icon below an iPhoto.  I've come to it only recently because of being slow to update my phone, but it seems trustworthy on obvious insects such as the Brimstone butterfly and the Brimstone moth.

As a little exercise, I'm posting a series of small, brown moths - the bane of my life - from a recent night's trapping with their AI description. Over to you Dave, and other experts to mark them as correct or not. In the top composite, looking from left to right in successive rows, the phone says: Willow Beauty, Willow Beauty, Lunar Underwing, Straw Underwing/Clouded Drab (though judging by Phil T's recent post, I think this may actually be a Deep Brown Dart), Double Square-spot, Archips podana,  White-point, Square-spot Rustic and another Lunar Underwing.

For the second composite below, it says: Pale Mottled Willow, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Square-spot Rustic and a third Lunar Underwing.

Im really interested to know how well it's done and mightily relieved if it's as generally reliable as appears to be the case.  Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon

Another Otmoor Micro query

 I am not sure if it's possible to identify this moth from these photos? I've only got as far as a Tortrix. Looks paler in the hand than in the photos! Thanks for any suggestions!

Black Rustic?

Despite the lack (almost) of any white edging to the kidney-mark, is this Black Rustic, (rather than Deep-brown Dart)?  FL of 19-20 mm probably too big for the latter. Not had one yet this year so haven't got my eye in! Thanks, Phil T

Micro help please!

We were rechecking our egg boxes this morning and came across two of these tiny micros that we think are Lyonetia prunifoliella (blackthorn blister moth). We were trapping on Otmoor RSPB, so plenty of blackthorn! Are we correct? I understand it's not that common. Thanks!

A few mines...

 I have been regularly searching my Snowberry hedge for mines without much success, only finding numerous short white vacated mines that I could not identify (below). Hence I suspect they are not from a Symphoricarpos-specific species. 

However I realised that I should have been looking on the underside of the leaf as well as the upper surface, and doing that yielded a single mine which I initially felt could posssibly be Phyllonorycter emberizaepennella; however the mine is probably not large enough and the larva does not look right, having a couple of dark spots on the last two segments, so I suspect it is almost certainly not. So suggestions sought please!  

                              

Larva from mine on Symphoricarpos

Mine on Symphoricarpos Stowe 20-09-2024

I also found a couple of mines on a crab-apple, one of which I think is a vacated mine of Lyonetia clerkella. 

Lyonetia clerkella mine? Stowe 20-09-2024

The second mine I have been unable to identify, so would appreciate some guidance  here as well! The leaf was curled up with the mine in the fold as below:

Mine on Crab-apple Stowe 20-09-2024

On opening it up I found a very small green larva 

Mine on crab-apple Stowe 20-09-2024

L-album Wainscot & the rise of the Delicates

 Very little in the trap this morning but first one I spotted was my first L-album Wainscot, the next one was a Delicate (8 here so far this year) and then 2 White-points. 

I'm thinking that the Delicates are now breeding locally, I got my first one in June and since then they've been poppping up.

I've had relatively few White-points this year but they've still certainly increased in the last 10 years here.

On the other hand Common Wainscot seem to be well down this year and I've not seen a single Brown-line Bright-eye.

Mark Griffiths, Garsington, Oxford.

Westcott, Bucks

Only a few adult species were added to the garden year-list during the first two weeks of September.  Co-inciding with ivy coming into flower locally, it was good to see Lunar Underwing arriving in force last night (15th) with seven individuals which at least means that overall moth numbers should improve rapidly now for a while even if the variety changes little.

     (1st)  Scrobipalpa ocellatella, likely Pammene spiniana (both retained)

     (4th)  Black Rustic

     (5th)  Palpita vitrealis, Small Mottled Willow, Old Lady

     (6th)  Nomophila noctuella, Brown-spot Pinion

     (7th)  Elachista maculicerusella, Cacoecimorpha pronubana

     (8th)  Sallow, Deep-brown Dart  
     (14th)  Acleris emargana

     (15th)  Lunar Underwing

Elachista maculicerusella, Westcott 7th September

Possible Pammene spiniana, Westcott 1st September

Old Lady, Westcott 5th September

Sallow, Westcott 8th September

Pammene spiniana would be a very good record for Bucks although I have had it once before in the garden.  It seems reluctant to come to light.  This somewhat worn specimen will be checked (as was the first one in 2020) because its condition makes it difficult to separate from some of the other Pammene species.

This was a busy period for migrant moth activity across the UK.  Single examples in the traps here of Delicate (4th September) and then Palpita vitrealis, Small Mottled Willow & Red Admiral (all 5th, the Small Mottled Willow a very battered and worn specimen), Nomophila noctuella (6th) and Dark Sword-grass (7th & 10th) were the only species of any interest although on the 5th the totals in the garden of Large Yellow Underwing (45), Setaceous Hebrew Character (61) & White-point (40) may also have included a percentage of long-distance travellers.  I also ran a couple of traps at BBOWT's Leaches Farm reserve for three hours from dusk on the 6th and possible migrants there included Nomophila noctuella (1), Delicate (5) and Scarce Bordered Straw (1).  Unfortunately there were no sightings for me anywhere of Porter's Rustic (quite a few records across much of the southern UK) or Convolvulus Hawk-moth (many records, especially in the north-east).  However, the "migrant season" will be with us for a while yet so there is still hope, even here in land-locked Buckinghamshire!            

Palpita vitrealis, Westcott 5th September

Delicate, Westcott 4th September

Small Mottled Willow, Westcott 5th September

Scarce Bordered Straw, Leaches Farm 6th September

In order to keep the garden year-list ticking over in early-Autumn I usually have to resort to hunting for leaf-mines and 2024 has been no exception.  We are at the peak time now for this activity and there are currently many different mines out there, especially of those difficult-to-identify Stigmella and Phyllonorycter species, most of which are specific to a particular food-plant.  Yesterday I added Stigmella oxyacanthella (found on hawthorn, but also uses apple and pear) and Phyllonorycter spinicolella (on blackthorn) to those already seen here recently.  The image below is a back-lit view of the oxyacanthella mine showing the distinctive bright green larva and its reddish frass.  As a word of caution it is worth pointing out that mines of Stigmella crataegella (specific to hawthorn) are identical but the latter is active as a larva between late-June and early August while oxyacanthella is active at the same stage during September and October.  Vacated mines can be impossible to separate. 

Stigmella oxyacanthella mine on hawthorn, Westcott 15th Sept

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks

Phyllocnistis xenia leafmine

I was on a field trip with the Bucks Fungus Group to Wotton today.  This is a private site with marvellous parkland and a large lake.  There are many non-native trees, including lots of White Poplar Populus alba.

I had a good look at these and found several mines of the Kent Maze-miner Phyllocnistis xenia which is a Nationally Scarce B species with only a handful of records in each Upper Thames VC.

The mine occurs on both White Poplar Populus alba and Grey Poplar P. alba x tremula.  (If you are not sure how to ID tree species, there are several apps which are very helpful, e.g. Seek, Obsidentify etc.)

I've found the mine a few times, and I've always found them on low growth, often on saplings, as I did today.  I'm not sure if that's because the mines only occur low down, or because those are the only ones I've been able to look at!

The mine is distinctive, a wide silvery corridor, snaking and covering a large part of the leaf, and with a thin black line of frass.  

Happy hunting!

 

 

Neil Fletcher

VC24

Friday 13th

Unlucky for some.  I was expecting a poor garden catch after just eight moths in similar conditions on Thursday night, but a grand total of three last night between two traps was scraping the barrel somewhat for mid-September even though we were quite close to having a frost here!  Rosy Rustic to the MV, Large and Lesser Yellow Underwings to the actinic. 

Total catch, Westcott 13th September

Dave Wilton Westcott, Bucks 

One bit of excitement in a poor catch last night

Lyonetia prunifoliella Stowe 09-09-2024

Tiny, but surprisingly easy to spot on the egg box, as it gleams like silver!
 

Scrobipalpa ocellatella

Based on previous confirmed records I'm pretty sure this is Scrobipalpa ocellatella. I suspect the species may be breeding locally now, following the invasion of 2022, as this is the third year I have recorded it here.

Scrobipalpa ocellatella Stowe 07-09-24

Death's Head Hawkmoth caterpillar

This beast was found by a neighbour on the lawn of his back garden in Wolvercote, Oxford: he posted it to the local WhatsApp group, and I've now put it in a tank with earth in it. I'm tempted to try to rear it to adulthood, and would be grateful for advice: is it a good idea to try to? Is the caterpillar about to try to pupate? If not, what should I try to feed it on? (my neighbour's garden doesn't have potatoes, still less Deadly Nightshade, so I'm unclear what it's been eating). And when might it be likely to emerge as an adult, if it did pupate?

Steve Goddard

Alternative to 4am

 A few weeks ago I posted to ask if anyone had found a way of dissuading birds from treating the moth trap as their breakfast buffet, and Dave W responded to say he got up at 4am to see if there was anything interesting and then went back to bed. I tried this but wasn't a fan of it.

So I came up with this arrangement - a 1" square mesh cage around the trap which took 30 minutes to fashion. Whilst I doubt the hawk-moths would get in everything else seems to - I was hoping it would keep some LYUs out - and it definitely keeps the birds ot and moths are once again found resting on the outside of the trap. And I get to stay in bed until a sensible hour.

Andy

L-album Wainscot

I had 2 examples of L-album Wainscot in my garden moth trap last night. This a moth I only first recorded in 2022, but it has now appeared in three consecutive years.

Steve Trigg, Cookham

Antispila treitschkiella in VC22 ('old' Berkshire)

I planted a sapling of the yellow-flowered dogwood Cornus mas twenty-odd years ago in my garden, and it is now a relatively large tree. Following reports from this blog about the finding of the leaf miner Antispila treitschkiella on this dogwood in Bucks I have been keeping an eye out for this on my tree. Yesterday I saw the obvious signs on a couple of leaves and the scan of one is shown below. Of the three Antispila species found in the UK, A. treitschkiella has been found to be specific to Cornus mas, not other dogwoods (Nieukerken et al. 2018), so the identification is straightforward. The size of the hole cut by the larva also indicates A. treitschkiella although there is some overlap with the other Antispila species (i.e., not diagnostic). 

John Thacker, Harwell

Pheromone power part II

A week or so ago, I noted how my pheromone trap had attracted a Gypsy Moth, despite it having been washed and having no lure in it. Following that, I washed the trap again thoroughly in soapy water. So I was amazed to find yet another Gypsy Moth in the trap this morning. This despite it being inside the garage, which is closed at night, apart from a very slightly open window. Clearly these pheromones are very powerful and persistent! 

Acrobasis tumidana in Denham - probably new to Bucks.

 Pleased to see this in the trap 31st August - 1st September. Released  - I was not aware it could be new to VC24! Maybe it has wandered off to another site! The photos are not over-exposed - it really is quite 'pale'. The raised scaling around the ante median line is characteristic, and there is, just visible, some evidence of another raised tuft at the wing base.

Bad start to September!

 Because I can't believe that I'm having to ask about these two as they are in good nick and quite distinctive. Please no humiliating sneers when someone confirms the IDs which I imagine are obvious.

Thanks (I think!)