July Moths (1 Viewer)

Andy1979 said:

Last night gave me two NFGs and a few NFYs:
Lesser Common Rustic (NFY) I usually wait for a stone bonker one before I claim
Andy M.

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Hi Andy

IMO one can't be certain of Lesser and Common Rustic on external features alone. Although there is a slight tendency for small dark individuals to be Lesser, all shapes and sizes and colour forms occur within the two species, in varying proportions. We've had several people looking at a large number of specimens over the years and they've always come to the same conclusion, that it was impossible to be certain based on colour pattern.
Martin

Cheers Martin. I suppose I'll just need to keep a few each year for submission... I almost always record Common Rustic agg, and wait for the obviously smaller (in direct comparison), dark jobs to call it a Lesser, but am also more than happy to accept that they can't be certain. Nevermind, it's only the end of July, so there are plenty more NFYs to go yet!

Andy M.

As you say, small dark jobs are likely candidates for checking.
Good luck with your NFYs
Martin

Last night gave me three NFYs one of which was NFG and my first since 2010:

Pebble Hook-tip - 1 NFG/NFY
Setaceous Hebrew Character - 1 NFY
Straw Underwing - 1 NFY

Andy M.

Sorry its a bit late but Thank You Thomas and Dave for the ID, it's nice to be able to put a name to a micro for a change.

MSA said:

Not massive numbers or variety last night, but a Mocha was new for me, and a rather nice-looking beast to boot -

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Lovely moth :t:

Pancalia leuwenhoekella was a very welcome addition to my garden list last night.Very attractive moth but difficult to identify without taking photos as it is quite tiny.

Dave W

I’ve done my best to bring the year-list up to date before the end of the month. Belatedly Platyptilia gonodactyla was added from Charmouth and Rhyaconia pinicolana and Batia lunaris from Tyntesfield NT. Nothing is left in the fridge save for some gendets to dispatch.

I decided that a Silvery Gem at Cley NWT Reserve was a fridge too far and was compensated by fitting in a trip to the New Forest on Saturday 26th July before a day at the cricket at The Rose Bowl on Sunday 27th July. (Sunday as a result was a day spent mainly snoozing in the blistering heat rather than scrutinising the rather defensive tactics of the Indian bowling line-up having only grabbed one hour’s kip in the car the night before!)

Nevertheless the fatigue was worth it, as the New Forest added Goat Moth (larva), Zelleria hepariella, Devon Carpet, Peacock, Four-spotted Footman, Pine Hawk-moth, Small Purple-barred, Small Wainscot, Pandemis corylana, Barred Hook-tip, Waved Black, Aplota palpellus, Dioryctria sylvestrella, Agriphila geniculea, Dioryctria simplicella, Apodia bifractella, Triangle, Light Crimson Underwing, Acleris sparsana, Webb's Wainscot, Oleuthreutes arcuella, Great Oak Beauty, ‎August Thorn, Lesser Common Rustic, ‎Ypsolopha alpella, Sparganothis pilleriana, Crambus pascuella, Crambus uliginosellus, Bactra furfurana, Bactra lacteana, Anacampsis populella, Psoricoptera gibbosella, Argyresthia brockeella, Paraswammerdamia nebulella, Eulamprotes atrella, Pyla fusca & Dioryctria schuetzeella.

The garden traps and a bit of adjacent habitat have also added Brown-veined Wainscot, Agriphila selasella, Tissue, Twin-spotted Wainscot, Euzophera pinguis, Oidematophorus lithodactyla & Orange Swift. From further afield, a bred Juniper Pug was also a nice moth to see. I have never recorded this moth ‘down south’ so I do wonder if I overlook it.

I then took up another fridge-related opportunity yesterday evening. The first Spotted Clover for many a year was doing a passable impersonation of a Norwegian Blue (parrot rather than butterfly) when I saw it and despite the attendees participating in a modern Monty Python classic involving sugar solution and a cotton bud, it was soon pining for the fjords. Nevertheless what little conscience I have was persuaded that it just about had the faculties to be added to my yearlist before leaving this mortal realm. A Lesser-spotted Pinion from the same fridge was showing significantly better vital signs as were Tree-lichen Beauty, Clavegesti purdeyi, Pseudococcyx posticana, Metalampra italic & Grapholita janthinana as refugees from Suffolk in the company of some fellow Python devotees.

After recording around 640 species on the patch last year - all leps (the first year I had kept a patch yearlist including micros), I have had one eye on 1,000 leps in the year if I managed to get a bit more mobile this year. That plan included a number of trips aborted for the weather including this weekend when I had hoped to go to Scotland so I am not sure that I will still be able to make that target but as at the end of the month the leps yearlist stands at 813 with 24 butterflies, 425 macros & 364 micros and the patch leps yearlist stands at 534 with 19 butterflies, 305 macros & 210 micros.

All the best

Dusky Hook-tip

Had a Dusky Hook-tip in an 80W MV trap on 30/7/2014. At St Margaret's at Cliffe Kent. Brings the Macros to 249 this year. Pictures and list here

Around 70 species in the garden trap last night, with 3 NFMs - Great Dart, Sharp-angled Peacock and Euzophera pinguis.

Slippery slope! Or perhaps not.

Twitched a Blomer's Rivulet this morning near Falmouth. A few other nice bits I've not seen before like Oak Eggar and Devon Carpet. Might try and do some trapping myself in August ...

Last night wasn't particularly productive, but did give me two NFYs:

Horse-chestnut Leaf Miner (Cameraria ohridella)
Least Yellow Underwing

Andy M.

First trap session for a week last night, predicted pouring rain meant I placed it under the conifers with only the actinic light in use. As expected pretty poor results with LYU dominating and only a few species worthy of note. My second ever Lesser Swallow Prominent and also second ever Clouded Border and a single Shuttle-shaped Dart.

Dave