July 2008 moths (1 Viewer)

[black52bird]

What's this Pyralid?

Despite changeable weather, I'm getting 4 or 5 moths a night (much lower numbers than I'd normally expect at this time), and I lost one of the two 100w balcony lamps on Monday - now replaced, and glass all cleaned.

The Tree-lichen Beauty has started to appear as usual about now (picture 1), and last night I got the first Silver Y for a while, the first Straw Dot here of the year, 2 x Scoparia ambigualis and this Pyralid - a Pyraustinae of some kind, I feel, and somewhere around the Anania verbascalis area (picture 2). I've trailed through the UK sites, and Leps.it (which is very poor on micros) and funet.fi, which is good but doesn't have pics of everything, and the www.papillon-pitou-charette.org site....so I don't know where else to look now.....

Has anyone got any ideas what it might be (Harri are you out there??) or where else I might look for it?

Very best

David

 

[robhope]

One more and one less

Thank you John and Brian (I stand corrected - looking at the far left picture on Page 329 in W&T confirms that it is a Rustic).

robhope

Egrets, I've had a few

 

[Surreybirder]

Has anyone got any ideas what it might be (Harri are you out there??) or where else I might look for it?

Very best

David

I'd have a look somewhere around http://www2.nrm.se/en/svenska_fjarilar/a/anania_verbascalis.html

 

[black52bird]

I'd have a look somewhere around http://www2.nrm.se/en/svenska_fjarilar/a/anania_verbascalis.html

Thanks, Ken

I'll try that, though I think their photos are already included in the links from funet.fi. , aren't they?

I thought last night would be good after a dry fine day and with a warm (20C) moonless night....I added a nice fresh green V-pug and Conobathra tumidiana to the year list and there's a Plume Moth - one of the difficult thin brown-winged ones (!!) - to identify, but otherwise slim pickings. Today is bright and sunny - looks like the real Hungarian summer, so maybe tonight will be better.

Best

David

 

[SveinB]

Ran my trap up in the highland spruce forest, but it was a clear and really cold night- almost nothing flying. One moth in the trap:

Map-winged Swift- Pharmacis fusconebulosa

Svein B

 

[SveinB]

Two new ones from the highland spruce forest, and also the total catch from last night:

Exile- Apamea zeta 1
Northern Dart- Xestia alpicola 1

Svein B

 

[Surreybirder]

Last night was a bit of a waste of time - I had a look at the trap at about 11pm and there were lots of hornets buzzing around. I decided that it wasn't worth carrying on, so I just switched the trap off and left it.
By morning there were 12 hornets, all very dozy and a few moths.
These included
the drinker
blood-vein (nfy)
common footman
large yellow underwing
yellow-tail 2
mother of pearl (wings of)
willow beauty

Ken

 

[black52bird]

Micro help again,please

Should have been a good night last night - warm, no wind, no rain all day after a warm day the day before, but still numbers are low. Red Underwing and Flame Shoulder were new for the year.

I think I should know what this Micro is, but don't. A helping hand please.

Thanks

David

 

[Surreybirder]

It looks a bit like brown house moth, though I've not seen one with the darker rear end.
Ken

 

[SveinB]

Quite a good night here- about 250 macros of 35 species in the trap this morning. But nothing new. The best one was a Great Brocade- Eurois occulta.

Svein B

 

[Brian Stone]

Should have been a good night last night - warm, no wind, no rain all day after a warm day the day before, but still numbers are low. Red Underwing and Flame Shoulder were new for the year.

I think I should know what this Micro is, but don't. A helping hand please.

Thanks

David

One of the depressing moths (Depressariinae ) but I'll wager it's not a regular UK species.

 

[Surreybirder]

Only about 9 hornets last night, so I managed to get at the moths. Sorry the order is random, it's the order in which I took them out of the trap:

yellow-tail 5
rosy footman 6
riband wave 6
dark arches 2
buff arches
scalloped oak (nfy)
miller (nfy)
Endotricha flammealis 3
short-cloaked 1
brown-tail (nfy if correct)
rustic/uncertain 2
double square-spot
small fan-footed wave
common footman
dun-bar
Pyrausta purpuralis (I think) 2 (possibly nfy)
melanistic carpet (retained)
common wainscot (I think) (nfy)

The brown-tail really fooled me. I thought that it was dead but before I could get a decent shot of it, it was off.

 

[Surreybirder]

I thought I'd inflict a few more on you.
BTW, does anyone have any tips on how to take a photo of the moth trap in action? As you can see, my effort was not great

 

[Reader]

I ran the trap from 21:45 to 01:30 on Friday night. It was windy and clear and so my
numbers were well down on previous trappings.

My total catch was 135 moths for 41 species ID'd so far. I still have
four Micros to ID which if ID'd will make a total of 45 species. They
were:

17 x Large Yellow Underwing
16 x Dark Arches
11 x The Uncertain
11 x Mother of Pearl
8 x Chrysoteuchia culmella
7 x The Snout
6 x The Clay
6 x Bright-line Brown-eye
4 x The Flame
4 x Riband Wave (2 Banded)
4 x Marbled Minor agg
3 x Dot Moth
3 x Silver Y
3 x Lesser Yellow Underwing
2 x Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix
2 x Common White Wave
1 x Grey / Dark Dagger
1 x Hebrew Character
1 x Light Arches
1 x Peach Blossom
1 x Flame Shoulder
1 x Common Footman
1 x Garden Carpet
1 x The Dun-bar
1 x Early Thorn
1 x The Spectacle
1 x Common Rustic agg
1 x Heart & dart
1 x Smokey Wainscot
1 x Willow Beauty
1 x Cloaked Minor
1 x Agapeta hamana
1 x Eudonia mercurella
1 x Small Magpie
1 x Bramble Shoot-moth
1 x Spindle Ermine
1 x Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix
1 x Celypha lacunana
1 x Bud Moth
1 x Crambus pascuella
+ 4 Micros still to be ID'd.

A few photos from Friday night.

John

 

[Brian Stone]

The brown-tail really fooled me. I thought that it was dead but before I could get a decent shot of it, it was off.

That's a Yellow-tail. It has yellow all over the adbomen tip area and a dark spot on the forewing.

 

[Surreybirder]

That's a Yellow-tail. It has yellow all over the adbomen tip area and a dark spot on the forewing.

Thanks for putting me right, Brian... I did have a doubt about it.
Ken

 

[SveinB]

I thought I'd inflict a few more on you.
BTW, does anyone have any tips on how to take a photo of the moth trap in action? As you can see, my effort was not great

Hi Ken, nice photos!

For the "trap-in-use"- first of all, use a tripod (or place the camera on a table or something) and the self-timer function. If You want to let the surroundings be a part of the photo, You should take the photos before it gets too dark- with a bright MV-bulb maybe already at dusk. If not, the bright light and the dark surroundings will be to much contrast to catch in one exposure, without having the light being totally burned out, or the surroundings all black. Even a soft blue UV-light will give to much contrast in the the darkest hours of the night. Try to underexpose a bit too i guess.

Svein B

 

[SveinB]

I ran the trap from 21:45 to 01:30 on Friday night. It was windy and clear and so my
numbers were well down on previous trappings.

My total catch was 135 moths for 41 species ID'd so far. I still have
four Micros to ID which if ID'd will make a total of 45 species. They
were:
..............
1 x Hebrew Character
..............

A few photos from Friday night.

John

Is it possible with a Hebrew Character now, I thougt that was one for the earliest spring weeks only?

Svein B

 

[black52bird]

One of the depressing moths (Depressariinae ) but I'll wager it's not a regular UK species.

Thanks for that, Brian

I'll have a look elsewhere for it, then.

Bright and sunny all day - when I went past the Buddleia in the park there were 2 Hummingbird Hawkmoths feeding around it...got some interesting "action shots" but nothing still enough for showing.]
Then a torrential storm...oh dear...will we ever get a run of rain-free days?!

Best

David

 

[Reader]

Hi Svein

I take your point. The moth was very worn but there didn't seem to be anything about it other than Hebrew Character. The markings (what was left of them) were pretty diagnostic.

You have got me doubting it now, and as it was so worn I didn't bother taking a photo of it. I am wondering if it is possible to be something like a Double Square-spot but with the dark marks worn partly away. It was too big for Setaceous.

I think I will remove that one from the list as there is too much doubt about it. When I ID'd it I just put it down as Hebrew Character without thinking of the timing. Like you, I can't see that Moth being around now.

John

Is it possible with a Hebrew Character now, I thougt that was one for the earliest spring weeks only?

Svein B