May 2022 Moths (1 Viewer)

[Steve Lister]

My Lufbra garden catch this morning exceeded all my previous 2022 efforts combined!
37 moths of 16 species......
My first Pebble Hook-tip for 13 years, and earliest ever
Earliest ever Orange Footman
Earliest ever Poplar Hawk - by one day
Earliest ever Pale-shouldered Brocade
Silver Y
But no Striped Hawkmoths unfortunately

 

[Allen]

Farnborough, Hants last night yielded Bufftip, Shuttle shaped Dart, H and D, Buff Ermine, Brimstone, a lovely female Pale Tussock and 4 Maybugs. Hoping to wake up to a trapped Striped Hawkmoth in rural Surrey tomorrow!

 

[JWN Andrewes]

A few days ago I compiled a list of new moth species I should be on the lookout for aver the next four weeks or so, judging by info on North Wales Lepidopterist website & Cheshire Moths Flying Tonight. I came up with 14 candidates to do my homework on. Last night, my first trapping session since completing the exercise, I got two new species, neither from that list! Glaucous Shears & (potentially a county first) Orange Footman! Other goodies included Pebbles Hook-tip & Prominent, one of those dark Clouded-bordered Brindles and a bunch of sundry year ticks.

 

[Farnboro John]

With all the excitement of recent moths reported to me by friends I thought I'd better put the trap out last night. This coincided with Marion's last day working at Frimley Park Hospital, having taken early retirement, so once she returned from her leaving do we split a bottle of Yellowtail and I then slept until 0823 this morning.

At that point I thought I'd better get up and check the trap, so I quickly dressed, gathered field guide, pots, camera and post-it for the list and went into the back garden to glance through the perspex covers into the trap.

"F.....................!!!!"

Jammed headfirst into the cone of a top-level eggbox, showing me the hind end of its body and underwings, was a very obvious Striped Hawk-moth.

I have a set routine for opening and processing my moth trap, including working through an identically set-up bunch of eggboxes in the same order. Not today! Today the back cover came off, a sharp rap on the top eggbox dropped a Striped Hawk-moth into a pot and it went in the fridge. Then I put the back cover on and started in the normal way.

New for the year: Green Carpet, Light Brocade (both also fridged) and Vine's Rustic. Also Striped Hawk-moth, which was also a garden tick, did I mention that? Striped Hawk-moth!

The rest: LBAM 2, Peppered Moth, Grey Pine Carpet 2, Heart and Dart 6, Common Marbled Carpet 2, Oak Tree Pug, Flame Shoulder, Treble Lines.

OK, now what? I texted my crew, Clare, Steve (not nearby) and Roy. And PM'd Allen Worgan. I admit there was a little bit of grip in that after his message of yesterday 😇

We arranged that Roy would visit in the morning and I would take no risks with the moth as Clare and Allen couldn't get to me till the afternoon. When they did, Roy's visit having passed off safely, we put the moth on a leaf and photographed it, and after discussion I took it back into captivity and the fridge for release at dusk, after Clare and I had twitched the Quail in Oxfordshire. I put it on the same leaf and watched while it warmed up and then lifted off into a hover before setting off upwards at a fantastic speed. I say watched, I took some more pictures including at the point of lift-off.

I've had a mega day. Photos in due course.

What I'm a bit sorry about is not inviting everyone, but it's Maz's first day of freedom. If I get another will anyone want to come and see it?

Cheers all,

John

 

[KenM]

Did you mention Striped Hawk Moth John? 😂

Jammy Bugger.👍

 

[Allen]

Def appreciated the PM John, I don't usually twitch moths but happy to make an exception for that one!

 

[Farnboro John]

No problem Allen! A few quickly edited photos of the moth, topside in daylight, on release, underside and a couple on lift-off. I had the camera held for a vertical crop to get the point of the leaf in which was a mistake, lost the wingtip on the last one.

John

 

[KenM]

No problem Allen! A few quickly edited photos of the moth, topside in daylight, on release, underside and a couple on lift-off. I had the camera held for a vertical crop to get the point of the leaf in which was a mistake, lost the wingtip on the last one.

John

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A superb moth!
Only ever seen one, and that was on Fuerteventura some five years ago.
I’ve had a few rares in the garden…would gladly trade.
Do you know if they are annual/regular at Portland John?

 

[Farnboro John]

A superb moth!
Only ever seen one, and that was on Fuerteventura some five years ago.
I’ve had a few rares in the garden…would gladly trade.
Do you know if they are annual/regular at Portland John?

I don't really know - the only others I've seen in Britain were on Scilly during James Andrewes's stag weekend (Mick caught them at Longstones). I think the problem with catching up in that way is irregular timing as much as anything.

In Western Sahara we saw hundreds migrating North at night. Amazing.

Definitely no trade until I catch another one!

John

 

[earthdragon64]

Nothing as exciting as a Striped Hawk-moth here, not that I'm jealous......much. However, I did get a Nematopogon schwarziellus which is a life tick and a Lunar Thorn which is a garden tick. Also Pale-shouldered Brocade, NFY, and 3 Garden Carpets, 6 moths of 4 species, Aviemore, VC95.

 

[aeshna5]

A superb moth!
Only ever seen one, and that was on Fuerteventura some five years ago.
I’ve had a few rares in the garden…would gladly trade.
Do you know if they are annual/regular at Portland John?

There's been a huge influx of these over the last week. Think Portland has had at least a couple recently, but these migrants are difficult to predict in advance.

 

[aeshna5]

Walking my local patch this morning had Silver-Y (FOY), Burnet Companion & Mother Shipton.

 

[Steve Lister]

Another nice catch this morning, 38 moths of 20 species;
Scorched Wing - my first for five years
Brown Silver-line - my earliest record by 11 days
Small Clouded Brindle - only my 3rd ever
Also Green Pug, Flame Shoulder, Common Carpet and three others all NFY.

 

[Farnboro John]

Catch-up this morning and yesterday (in the other order!)

Morning of 22 May:

Total moths 29. NFY Scorched Wing, Setaceous Hebrew Character (2) and Spectacle. Best of the rest: Buff Tip. Numbers:

LBAM 2
Heart and Dart 6
Treble Lines 5
Shuttle-shaped Dart 5
Flame Shoulder 2

Morning of 23 May:

Total moths 25. NFY Small Square-spot. Best of the rest: Alder Moth, Light Brocade. Numbers:

Treble Lines 7
Heart and Dart 4
Shuttle-shaped Dart 5
Knot Grass 2

All rather anti-climactic but that's mothing!

John

 

[Allen]

A decent catch overnight - rural Surrey

Poplar Hawk-moth
Lime Hawk-moth
Treble lines
Bufftip
Flame Shoulder
Brimstone
Scorched Wing
Common Marbled Carpet
Oak Hooktip
Silver Ground Carpet
Peppered Moth
Marbled Minor agg
Coxcomb Prominent
Dwarf Pug

 

[KenM]

A decent catch overnight - rural Surrey

Poplar Hawk-moth
Lime Hawk-moth
Treble lines
Bufftip
Flame Shoulder
Brimstone
Scorched Wing
Common Marbled Carpet
Oak Hooktip
Silver Ground Carpet
Peppered Moth
Marbled Minor agg
Coxcomb Prominent
Dwarf Pug

That would be a good catch here at the mo.👍
What light/s are you using Allen UV or MV?

Same question to FJ if he’s reading.

Cheers

 

[Farnboro John]

That would be a good catch here at the mo.👍
What light/s are you using Allen UV or MV?

Same question to FJ if he’s reading.

Cheers

Double actinic. Pic below, not particularly helpful though! I'll try and remember to take a better one next time I'm trapping.

Cheers

John

 

[Allen]

Same as John (double actinic) but tbh Ken, where I reside in the week in Farnborough I am only 3 km's as the crow flies from FJohn yet get massively less catches than he. So even within an urban town it can vary hugely. I get much better variety in the Surrey Hills where I trap at weekends.

 

[KenM]

Thanks guys👍My set up is a bit Heath Robinson…it’s the way I’m wired I’m afraid.😂
Going back some 15years + I started out with an MV set up (given to me…I might add) and the returns were often exceedingly good for Hawk Moths in particular amongst other goodies.

However the regulator/choke gave up a couple of years ago and that was the catalyst for the suspension of using the MV, one, I never felt totally comfortable using it, as the smell to my nose was reminiscent of something highly noxious with a perceived risk attachment to usage of.😮😮😮

Since then, I’ve used just a single UV over my “pot” which has terminally cracked and today has been replaced with another, hoping for a better return….as last night’s was abysmal.😩

I tend to run a wall mounted halogen security light c8’ up on the white washed wall…this can be productive in it’s own right occasionally, as it’s switched off at bedtime, when the UV takes over where moths that were around the halogen vacate (some not all) and gather round the UV.

Do I assume correctly that actinic and UV are one and the same, or am I adrift there somewhat?

Cheers

 

[Paul Chapman]

Striped Hawkmoth joined my garden & patch lists this morning. My first night trapping for a week after 5 nights' away.

All the best

Paul