• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Moving into May (1 Viewer)

Brian Stone

A Stone chatting
With temperatures about to go stratospheric around here this weekend and May just around the corner a few more moths are putting in an appearance. Hopefully there are more to come so here is a new thread for them all!

I'd appreciate opinions on the depress I have put down as Agonopterix arenella please.

The other pics are:
Muslin Moth Diaphora mendica
Chinese Character Cilix glaucata
 

Attachments

  • muslin_28apr05_420a.jpg
    muslin_28apr05_420a.jpg
    54.4 KB · Views: 205
  • muslin_28apr05_420b.jpg
    muslin_28apr05_420b.jpg
    37.7 KB · Views: 227
  • chinese_character_28apr05_420a.jpg
    chinese_character_28apr05_420a.jpg
    40 KB · Views: 223
  • chinese_character_28apr05_420b.jpg
    chinese_character_28apr05_420b.jpg
    49.3 KB · Views: 243
  • arenella_28apr05_420.jpg
    arenella_28apr05_420.jpg
    49.6 KB · Views: 260
It's getting better

Well done Brian re new thread, I was just thinking the same thing myself.
Last night was good, min temp 8.7 deg C, Cloudy, mainly dry, mostly calm. 149 moths of 21 species with a couple of new moths to me - a Lobster Moth and a Maiden's Blush - see below - plus another unid'd, unphotographed micro that I don't think I've seen before - piccie later - and a pug (wingspan 18mm - Dwarf Pug?) that I need some help with - see below.

E. subpurpurella (59)
Brindled Pug (26)
Clouded Drab (20)
Lesser Swallow prominent (8)
Hebrew Character (8)
Common Quaker (7)
Great Prominent (3)
Grey Pine Carpet (2)
Lunar Marbled Brown (2)
Nut-tree Tussock (2)
Acleris literana (2)
Scalloped Hook-tip (1)
Swallow Prominent (1)
Lobster Moth (1) - new to me
Water Carpet (1)
Maiden's Blush (1) - new to me
Brindled Beauty (1)
Pale Pinion (1)
Elachista rufocinerea (1)
Unid'd micro (1)
Unid'd Pug (1)

Always grateful for any help with the unid's.

The next couple of nights could be really good.
Hope everyone catches good numbers and species.

All the best

Pete H
 

Attachments

  • Lobster Moth 5626t.jpg
    Lobster Moth 5626t.jpg
    79.8 KB · Views: 222
  • Lobster Moth 5634t.jpg
    Lobster Moth 5634t.jpg
    98.8 KB · Views: 229
  • Scalloped Hook-tip 5640t.jpg
    Scalloped Hook-tip 5640t.jpg
    67.8 KB · Views: 211
  • Maiden's Blush 5657t.jpg
    Maiden's Blush 5657t.jpg
    85.3 KB · Views: 226
  • Pug 5680t.jpg
    Pug 5680t.jpg
    77.5 KB · Views: 257
Last edited:
God, pugs are hard! That looks a bit like Dwarf Pug (Eupithecia tantillaria) but it would be a bit early, even by the standards of your garden ;) How big is it?

Jealous of the Lobster Moth BTW. Please try to find the larva this summer.
 
Last edited:
Dwarf Pug

Thanks Brian,
Wingspan 18mm.
Looking at Jim Porter's 'British and Irish Pug Moths' it states that the Dwarf Pug has a charasteris pale basal and dark sub-basal band on the abdomen - see plate 3 moth 26 then look at the body colouring on my photo and the photos on UK Moths.They seem to match up together with the other possibles don't have this coloration. What do you think?

I do wish there was more info on body and leg coloration and shape for macros somewhere.

Pete H
 
Dwarf Pug

Brian,
Checked out Mike's site and the date does tie in with one of the photos shown. I've also checked the Suffolk Moths 'What's flying tonight' pages I have printed and they show Dwarf Pugs 18-25 Apr - 24 at 4 sites and 25 Apr-02 May - 24 at 8 sites and the pictures all show the black band on the abdomen. I'm happy with that.
Pete H
 
Pete Haynes said:
Well done Brian re new thread, I was just thinking the same thing myself.
Last night was good, min temp 8.7 deg C, Cloudy, mainly dry, mostly calm. 149 moths of 21 species with a couple of new moths to me - a Lobster Moth and a Maiden's Blush - see below - plus another unid'd, unphotographed micro that I don't think I've seen before - piccie later - and a pug (wingspan 18mm - Dwarf Pug?) that I need some help with - see below.

E. subpurpurella (59)
Brindled Pug (26)
Clouded Drab (20)
Lesser Swallow prominent (8)
Hebrew Character (8)
Common Quaker (7)
Great Prominent (3)
Grey Pine Carpet (2)
Lunar Marbled Brown (2)
Nut-tree Tussock (2)
Acleris literana (2)
Scalloped Hook-tip (1)
Swallow Prominent (1)
Lobster Moth (1) - new to me
Water Carpet (1)
Maiden's Blush (1) - new to me
Brindled Beauty (1)
Pale Pinion (1)
Elachista rufocinerea (1)
Unid'd micro (1)
Unid'd Pug (1)

Always grateful for any help with the unid's.

The next couple of nights could be really good.
Hope everyone catches good numbers and species.

All the best

Pete H

It's dithguthting, it's dithpicable, and it's bloody annoying. Last night I trapped for eight hours and got 1 Hebrew Character, and that was the best night of this week. Rant over.

Today I had several Peacocks, 1 Orange Tip male, 1 Green-veigned White, 6 Green Hairstreak and several bee and shieldbug species. So tonight I'm off into the wilds to see if I can do better. It's been the hottest day of the year so far with continuous sunshine so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for tonight.

Another failure and I will commit thukithide.

Harry Eales,
Reporting for Bird Forum
from the far North East of England.
Brassed off and really p***ed at all the goodies
those southerners are getting every night, half of which I have never seen.
 
harry eales said:
all the goodies
those southerners are getting every night, half of which I have never seen.
not quite 'all' Harry :C
I've had 4 Orthosias (moths not species) in total so far this week.
But I looked out the window this evening and could see a moth flying round the trap so who knows.............! :bounce:
Ken
 
Good morning!
Knew it would be raining so only had the one MV trap on. Earliest Mottled Rustic
on record by 2 days, though had to go to May 24th for the next one. Muslin Moth
is about right with timing. Been a while since a small Quaker and this one was fairly fresh.

* new for year.

0649 Esperia sulphurella 1
1853 Oak-tree Pug (Eupithecia dodoneata) 1
1917 Early Thorn (Selenia dentaria) 5
2003 Pebble Prominent (Notodonta ziczac) 1
*2063 Muslin Moth (Diaphora mendica) 1
2179 Pine Beauty (Panolis flammea) 1
2182 Small Quaker (Orthosia cruda) 1
2186 Powdered Quaker (Orthosia gracilis) 1
2187 Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi) 2
2188 Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta) 1
2190 Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica) 18
2306 Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) 1
*2387 Mottled Rustic (Caradrina morpheus) 1
 
Can't compete with Angus but at least a few moths were flying last night.
I had
1 green carpet (really fresh) (new for year)
3 worn pugs
1 worn Orthosia
5 Lunar marbled brown
3 20-plume (nfy)
4 Brimstone (nfy)
1 8mm micro (poor photo attached)
Ken
 

Attachments

  • 20-plume1.jpg
    20-plume1.jpg
    35.8 KB · Views: 191
  • worn_pug1.jpg
    worn_pug1.jpg
    43.1 KB · Views: 204
  • worn_pug2a.jpg
    worn_pug2a.jpg
    36.7 KB · Views: 209
  • mircro1a.jpg
    mircro1a.jpg
    25.3 KB · Views: 233
  • lunar_marbled_brown.jpg
    lunar_marbled_brown.jpg
    81.3 KB · Views: 244
Surreybirder said:
Can't compete with Angus but at least a few moths were flying last night.
I had
1 green carpet (really fresh) (new for year)
3 worn pugs
1 worn Orthosia
5 Lunar marbled brown
3 20-plume (nfy)
4 Brimstone (nfy)
1 8mm micro (poor photo attached)
Ken
1st worn pug, probably Brindled, 2nd is Double-striped and I can't help with the tortricoid moth.
 
Angus T said:
I can't help with the tortricoid moth.

...and its such a great pic too ;)

I had a damp start at my LNR this morning and not a great deal there really. Unfortunately wasn't able to stop on in the evening at all so nothing else to report.

15W actinic Skinner
1919 Purple Thorn (Selenia tetralunaria), 1
2006 Lesser Swallow Prominent (Pheosia gnoma), 1
2007 Swallow Prominent (Pheosia tremula), 6
2188 Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta), 4
2190 Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica), 1
Black Sexton Beetle (Nicrophorus humator), 1

Brian
 
Angus T said:
I now have a good suggestion

1136 Epinotia immundana
Thanks, Angus.
The flight-season and 'alder feeding larvae' would seem to strengthen it's claim. I'll see what my CR comes up with!
Ken

Brian Stone said:
...and its such a great pic too
Mike Wall has got some nice shots of E immundana on his site. Here's a sharper one, but it's somewhat smaller! :bounce:
 

Attachments

  • mircro1b.jpg
    mircro1b.jpg
    25.5 KB · Views: 233
Last edited:
Funny night last night!!

Hi all,

Expected a really good night (for me) with the min temp at 12.3 deg C and no wind and lots of cloud (in fact we were in that cloud with water dripping off everything and light drizzle starting at 03.00). Managed 95 moths of 22 species with some really nice ones and not huge numbers of anything in particular. New species to me were Clay Triple-lines, White Ermine, Coxcomb Prominent(2) and a Tortrix (I've looked all through the tortrices on UK Moths but am not happy with any of them - any ideas please?). Three Lobster Moths just for you Brian - all from outside the trap, as were the Coxcomb Prominents! (Anyway, how do you go about finding the Lobster Moth larvae?)

In order of quantity :

Clouded Drab (15)
Common Quaker (12)
Brindled Pug (11)
E. subpurpurella (11)
Hebrew Character (9)
Lesser Swallow Prominent (7)
Twenty-plume Moth (6)
Nut-tree Tussock (4)
Brindled Beauty (3)
Lobster Moth (3)
Coxcomb Prominent (2)
Great Prominent (2)
Engrailed (1)
Waved Umber (1)
Clay Triple-lines (1)
White Ermine (1)
Grey Pine Carpet (1)
Angle Shades (1)
Lunar Marbled Brown (1)
Pine Beauty (1)
Unid'd Tortrix (1)
Unid'd mini micro (1) - still very twitchy

All the best

Pete H
 

Attachments

  • Clay Triple-lines 5691t.jpg
    Clay Triple-lines 5691t.jpg
    62.4 KB · Views: 258
  • Ermine White 5721t.jpg
    Ermine White 5721t.jpg
    64.5 KB · Views: 232
  • Ermine White 5722t.jpg
    Ermine White 5722t.jpg
    82.1 KB · Views: 201
  • Coxcomb Prominent 5701t.jpg
    Coxcomb Prominent 5701t.jpg
    74.5 KB · Views: 216
  • Tortrix 5728t.jpg
    Tortrix 5728t.jpg
    69.9 KB · Views: 1,153
Last edited:
Pete Haynes said:
and a Tortrix (I've looked all through the tortrices on UK Moths but am not happy with any of them - any ideas please?).

Pete H
Without going through books, I think it's 0986 Syndemis musculana, if irc

Have yet to record it this year.

Some more good ones there Pete, Clay Triple Lines is fairly rare in Ireland, though I have recorded it.
 
After a sunny day yesterday I was expecting a few more moths last night.
I had my first Least Black Arches, a small, but nicely marked moth.


Here's a list of my rather modest catch:
Common Quaker 1
Hebrew Charachter 1
Early Grey 1
20 plume moth 2
Double striped Pug 1
Least Black Arches 1
2 pug sp,

Fingers crossed for a few more tonight.
 

Attachments

  • lbarch.jpg
    lbarch.jpg
    80.5 KB · Views: 230
Good morning all,

Min of 9C and foggy.
The farmyard MV saved my bacon as not many in the other 2 traps. The Silver Y
are not my first of year as I had one in January.
7 new species for year and another couple new for this April, so tried to make
up some of the shortfall compared to past couple of April's.I was delight to see
a Red-green Carpet as usually I get a few of these in the Spring and a lot
earlier.

Farmyard MV 67 moths 21 species
Garden MV 10 moths 6 species
Garden Actinic 20 moths 10 species.

Can't offer an explanation of why my garden was so poor.

*new for year

0130 Incurvaria masculella 1 Day
0464 Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella) 2
0649 Esperia sulphurella 1 Day
0672 Parsnip Moth (Depressaria pastinacella) 1
*0966 Cochylis atricapitana 1
*1722 Flame Carpet (Xanthorhoe designata) 1
*1725 Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (Xanthorhoe ferrugata) 1
1746 Shoulder Stripe (Anticlea badiata) 1
1747 Streamer (Anticlea derivata) 1
*1760 Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata) 1
1769 Spruce Carpet (Thera britannica) 5
*1835 White-spotted Pug (Eupithecia tripunctaria) 1
1852 Brindled Pug (Eupithecia abbreviata) 1
1858 V-Pug (Chloroclystis v-ata) 10
1862 Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata) 7
1881 Early Tooth-striped (Trichopteryx carpinata) 4
1917 Early Thorn (Selenia dentaria) 5
*1920 Scalloped Hazel (Odontopera bidentata) 1
2003 Pebble Prominent (Notodonta ziczac) 1
2015 Lunar Marbled Brown (Drymonia ruficornis) 1
2078 Least Black Arches (Nola confusalis) 8
*2087 Turnip Moth (Agrotis segetum) 1
2091 Dark Sword-grass (Agrotis ipsilon) 2
2186 Powdered Quaker (Orthosia gracilis) 6
2187 Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi) 1
2190 Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica) 29
*2214 Chamomile Shark (Cucullia chamomillae) 1
2236 Pale Pinion (Lithophane hepatica) 3
2441 Silver Y (Autographa gamma) 2

And nearly forgot, first Grasshopper warbler of year reeling away this morning
 
Warning! This thread is more than 19 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top