August Moths (1 Viewer)

[LizandDave]

Couple of moths today

Just 2 moths today. I did have a third, which was a micro with a lot of white in it, but it flew off straight away after 20 minutes in the fridge!

Anyway, Id'd a Mouse Moth and a Garden Rose Tortrix. On reading about the former, it did what it is supposed to do and scuttled off when I tried to catch it, rather than flying. Made it rather easy to catch, but a bat would find that strategy frustrating I think
Dave

 

[LizandDave]

Setaceous Hebrew today, an Orange Swift, Agriphila genicula.
Any news from someone else?
Dave

 

[Mary]

Just how much would a full moon affect the number of moths caught, especially using a 40w actinic? Monday night gave just 13 macros of 7 species, though 2 of them were new. This was a huge drop from previous cloudy/moonless nights. I'm looking for a cloudy night as soon as possible to make a comparison.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Personally, I believe that catches drop by a significant amount. If I attempted to put a figure on it, I would simply be making it up. I also believe that MV's drop off more than actinics.

Difficult to think of how to set up an experiment to model such things.

This may be worth a read:-

http://www.hindawi.com/isrn/zoology/2012/238591/

All the best

 

[Andy1979]

I'm staying in Dorset for a couple of weeks, and the guys up at Durlston Country Park are kindly putting their trap out for extra nights so I can go through it. So far I've gone through it from 19/8 and 21/8. Nothing spectacular yet, but highlights have been:

Pebble Prominent, Galium Carpet, Common Wave, Jersey Tiger, Tawny-speckled Pug, Foxglove Pug, White-spotted Pug, Dark Sword Grass (6 last night), Yellow-tail and Barred Rivulet.

On the micro front; Ypsolopha dentella, Acleris literana, Eucosma campoliliana and Agnopterix umbellana (pic).

Cheers,

Andy M.

 

[Surreybirder]

Old lady in the garden shed this morning (!)
I thought this maiden's blush was a bit more blotchy than most.
Ken

 

[tonyfenn]

Had two Large Red Underwings flying yesterday pm at Welney WWT. First ones i've seen, also saw my first Clouded Yellows there as well. Silver Y in garden this morning.

 

[billsbirding]

This smart Ethmia quadrillella was in the garden trap back on 21st August- the first record for Surrey, and one of apparently very few other records in the southern counties. Probably likely to be a wanderer/immigrant from populations further north or on the continent. Certainly one of the highlight of the season so far!

A Hoary Footman that was also in the trap probably had more local origins.

 

[Andy1979]

Nice one Bill! A county first, seemingly more likely in the moth-ing world than birding!!!

 

[MSA]

All gone rather quiet of late, but last night was better, with two new for me (pics below - Gold Spot and Chinese Character) and a Mother of Pearl; 57 macros of 15 species plus a few micros.

 

[Nerine]

Old lady in the garden shed this morning (!)
I thought this maiden's blush was a bit more blotchy than most.

|=)|

I think the Maiden's Blush I caught recently might be even more blotchy than Ken's!

Nerine

 

[billsbirding]

Nice one Bill! A county first, seemingly more likely in the moth-ing world than birding!!!

Thanks Andy. Yes, it does seem that way. The garden's 2nd claim to fame, coming a few days short of the two year anniversary of a very lost Jersey Mocha. I might be in one of the better counties for moths, but I'm certainly in the worst for birds!

A Yarrow Pug was new for the garden last night, and happened to be the 500th species to be added to the garden moth list after three and a half long years of trapping! The 499th species, Phyllonorcyter geniculella, was a commoner but much more colourful addition. Here's to the next 500 species, although with university on the doorstep I reckon it'll be a while...

 

[Steve Lister]

Reasonable garden catch here in Loughborough last night. Nothing special but the Yellow underwings finally got into double figures - 24 Large and 21 Lessers.

NFY were Mouse Moth (3) and Water Veneer - dead in the bottom as usual.

Steve

 

[Surreybirder]

I've not been posting much lately as I've been travelling but I managed to get my first new macro for the garden in just about two years - orange swift.
http://www.wildlife-galleries.co.uk...moths/Hepialidae/orange-swift-ex-IMG_1546-800
Also had my first lime-speck pug for several years
http://www.wildlife-galleries.co.uk...hs/Geometridae/lime-speck-pug-ex-IMG_1563-800
Otherwise, nothing out of the ordinary. But I did get a butterfly tick yesterday - my first brown hairstreak for Surrey. It was high up in an ash tree, impossible to photograph.
Some nice photos in this thread - well done for getting nice micro shots, Billsbirding! Most of mine are rubbish.
Ken

 

[Jonny721]

A nice haul of 151 moths of 41 species this morning. It's not often that I'm happy to see a yellow underwing in the trap given the usual plague of Large Yellow Underwings (only 39 this morning, up to 85 recently), however my first Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing changed this negativity towards the group. The best moth was a Red Underwing on the wall by the trap, a new one for the garden but it flew off as I tried to pot it so no photos! Other highlights 2 Mouse Moth (also new for garden), Tawny-speckled Pug, Yellow-barred Brindle, 3 Poplar Hawkmoth, Swallow Prominent and 2 Angle Shades

 

[MSA]

Best from last few nights (subject to possible "first for County" micro - Gypsonoma minutana - in ID requests, currently with County Recorder for confirmation) was this Jersey Tiger over 29-30.8; apparently one on nearby Hengistbury Head the day before was the first there for over 20 years!

 

[Paul Chapman]

A retrospective identification of a tricky dark and relatively uniform Pale-shouldered Brocade took the patch yearlist to 564. I started off thinking that it may be a Dog's Tooth and then moved to Dusky Brocade before finally moving to Pale-shouldered Brocade courtesy of the hindwing and the hairy eyes.

The next addition was then Old Lady on the morning of 19th August.

Since, on the morning of 20th August, my back garden moth traps added a patch macro tick for me in Four-spotted Footman with a female in the actinic and a male in the MV five yards round the corner! There is a previous patch record in the County Atlas from 1999 but only two other 1km squares in recent years - in contrast to its status further south in Somerset where it occurs regularly. Totting up makes this my 436th macro species for the patch.

I then finally picked up a second brood Common Wainscot as a year tick and a few more have followed. Other additions have been Agriphila inquinatella, Madder Pearl (Mecyna asinalis), Tawny-speckled Pug and Centre-barred Sallow (22nd August), Digitivalva pulicariae, Carnation Tortrix, Pyla fusca and Galium Carpet (26th August), Pyrausta despicata (27th August), Caloptilia rufipennella and Caloptilia semifascia (28th August) and Lobesia littoralis and Palpita vitrealis (29th August).

Migrants have continued with good numbers of Silver Ys and the odd Dark Swordgrass, Rush Veneer and Diamond-back as well as the Palpita vitrealis which was both a cracking lifer and patch tick.

An Ear sp. on 29th August looked more interesting than the usual Salterns so is retained for further examination. Large Ear seems a real possibility and if so, it would be a new moth for the patch and the county but it is definitely one that would require a gendet for confirmation.

As a result, the patch year-list ended August on 580.

A few photos attached - the tricky Pale-shouldered Brocade; the female and male Four-spotted Footman; the Galium Carpet; and the Old Lady.

All the best

Paul

 

[Paul Chapman]

A few more photos - one of the Common Wainscots; a Dark Swordgrass; a September Thorn (my first of the later brood); the Madder Pearl; and the rather battered Palpita vitrealis.

All the best

Paul

 

[Paul Chapman]

Also three of the micros - a Caloptilia semifascia; Scrobipalpa acuminatella; and the Pyla fusca.

Finally, the Ear sp. to be determined. The line and the discal spot on the underside of the hindwing are persuasive of Large Ear apparently (per Skinner). I'll post the result in due course.

All the best

Paul

 

[tittletattler]

Since, on the morning of 20th August, my back garden moth traps added a patch macro tick for me in Four-spotted Footman with a female in the actinic and a male in the MV five yards round the corner!

Me and the boy had up to 14 per night around that time at Lee in North Devon. Nice looking moth.