Surreybirder's lep blog (4 Viewers)

[Pete Haynes]

Last Night's Moths (Thursday 19th April)

The best night for April so far with 29 species including 5 new species for the year and all earlier than before with the best being the first Hawkmoth of the year, a Pine Hawkmoth. This is the earliest of any Hawkmoth here so far, the earliest before being a Lime Hawk on the 30th April last year.

Scalloped Hook-tip
Frosted Green
Spruce Carpet
Brindled Pug
Early Tooth-Striped
Yellow-barred Brindle (NFY)
Brindled Beauty
Pine Hawkmoth (NFY)
Lobster Moth (NFY)
Iron Prominent
Great Prominent
Lesser Swallow Prominent
Swallow Prominent (NFY)
Coxcomb Prominent
Scarce Prominent
Lunar Marbled Brown
Pale Tussock
Muslin Moth
Least Black Arches (NFY)
Red Chestnut
Pine Beauty
Small Quaker
Powdered Quaker
Common Quaker
Clouded Drab
Hebrew Character
Early Grey
Nut-tree Tussock

only one micro species, they don't seem to be too keen under 10C at night except for Eriocrania subpurpurella and they come in good numbers most nights.

Photos of the Pine Hawk and Tuesday's Mullein attached

All the best

Pete H

 

[Brian Stone]

That's just taking the mick. Two moths here last night (Heb Char and Early Grey). I was pleased to find the one queen Common Wasp as it gave me something else to record.

BTW, we seem to be hijacking Ken's blog. We need an April moths thread. I'd start it if I had any.

 

[Surreybirder]

BTW, we seem to be hijacking Ken's blog. We need an April moths thread. I'd start it if I had any.

Don't worry on my account!

Well done, Pete. You've got a few there I've never had such as frosted green, mullein and scarce prominent... I might get a few more sp if I recorded with the intensity that you do!
Ken

 

[Pete Haynes]

Don't worry on my account!

Well done, Pete. You've got a few there I've never had such as frosted green, mullein and scarce prominent... I might get a few more sp if I recorded with the intensity that you do!
Ken

I suggest we start a May thread as we are nearly at the end of April. Mind you I shall be experiencing the delights of Romanian moths at the start of May and I still haven't found time to process last autumn's photos yet. Last spring produced Eyed Hawk and Willowherb Hawk plus lots of Dewick's Plusias and Orache Moths and other such delights. This time we will be up in the flower filled fields of the western Carpathian mountains and who knows what there will be. I photographed Silver-studded Blues (common) last spring on a day trip there and there were some stunning butterflies like Scarce Swallowtail.

Hope things perk up for you Brian. I only report my catches occasionally as I don't want to wind up those who aren't as lucky as I am with my site here in the Surrey Hills.

All the best

Pete H

 

[MikeWall]

Hope things perk up for you Brian. I only report my catches occasionally as I don't want to wind up those who aren't as lucky as I am with my site here in the Surrey Hills.

From postings on various other fora it looks like hardly anyone's catching anything north of Hampshire/Surrey!

Mike

 

[Pete Haynes]

From postings on various other fora it looks like hardly anyone's catching anything north of Hampshire/Surrey!

Mike

From postings on various other fora it looks like hardly anyone's catching anything north of Hampshire/Surrey!

Mike

Hi Mike,

I was up north in Newton-le-Willows (Warrington) at the weekend helping with new granddaughter and put out a 40W actinic Robinson on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and managed to catch a few as follows:

Flame Carpet (1,1,0) **
Small Pheonix (0,1,0) **
V-Pug (0,1,0) **
Muslin Moth (0,1,0)
Small Quaker (0,0,1)
Powdered Quaker (1,0,0)
Common Quaker (5,2,1)
Clouded Drab (1,1,1)
Hebrew Character (4,1,6)
Chestnut (0,1,0)
Oak Nycteoline (0,0,1)

White-shouldered House-moth (0,0,1)
Elachista Canapennella (0,0,1)
Light Brown Apple Moth (0,1,0) **
Twenty Plume Moth (1,0,0)

** Not many but a few I haven't had down here yet this year.

All the best

Pete H

 

[Brian Stone]

From postings on various other fora it looks like hardly anyone's catching anything north of Hampshire/Surrey!

Mike

Low catches at this time of year are certainly not unusual for my location. Things normally pick up again from the end of April onward. I was getting catches of 120+ on Speyside last week though with 17 species recorded.

 

[Surreybirder]

22nd April

This was my best so far this year in terms of diversity of species. I've got about 12 pugs to get identified but apart from them I had:
brimstone
buff ermine (new for year) -
Chinese character (nfy)
great prominent (nfy)
green carpet (nfy)
maiden's blush (nfy)
streamer (nfy)
white ermine (nfy)
muslin moth
nut-tree tussock
pale tussock
lunar marbled brown
Hebrew character
common quaker
flame shoulder
iron prominent
pale prominent (nfy)
Teleiodes luculella (new for garden)
small phoenix (new for year)
Eriocrania subpurpurella.
So my garden list for the year has gone from 46 to 56 in one night!
Ken

 

[Pete Haynes]

I've got about 12 pugs to get identified
buff ermine (new for year) -
Chinese character (nfy)
green carpet (nfy)
white ermine (nfy)
Teleiodes luculella (new for garden)
Ken

Hi Ken,

Good night. I have not yet had this year the species listed above in your quote. The best of my new ones last night were Birch Mocha and Water Carpet, which I missed out on last year!

I also had the one in the photo below and I cannot pin it down yet so would be grateful for any help from anyone! :-C . It has dark spots in the cross bar and a hooked wing tip. It doesn't seem to fit into the Spruce/Grey Carpet group - check out the shape of the lower edge of the wing bar!

Just for info (might help you with id's) the pugs I've had this year (gen detted) are Brindled Pug, Oak-tree Pug, Double-striped Pug, Narrow-winged Pug, Foxglove Pug and White-spotted Pug. Somewhere to start.

Excellent photos. Keep up the good work.

All the best

Pete H

 

[Angus T]

I also had the one in the photo below and I cannot pin it down yet so would be grateful for any help from anyone! :-C
Pete H

Sloe Carpet

 

[Surreybirder]

Hi Ken,



I also had the one in the photo below and I cannot pin it down yet so would be grateful for any help from anyone! :-C . It has dark spots in the cross bar and a hooked wing tip. It doesn't seem to fit into the Spruce/Grey Carpet group - check out the shape of the lower edge of the wing bar!




All the best

Pete H

Perhaps you are being a little sloe on your carpet?
Ken

 

[Surreybirder]

odd pale prominent

The first pale prominent was in a strange shape - I think it might have had an encounter with a spider's web or something. The second one (from last night) was normal.
I also found a nice butterfly in the garden this a.m.
BTW, I find that I can see thumbnails of the photos I put up and one or two others but mostly I just see a list of attachments. Is that part of the new site 'look' or have I got a problem?
Not much else last night except a couple of micros I'm struggling with and what could conceivably be a very worn chestnut??
Ken

 

[Surreybirder]

Pugs

I'm reasonably confident that I've got a white-spotted pug (23rd April) but many of the others I've had over the last couple of days are either brindled or very worn.
I'll post a couple of other pix in case anyone can help.
Ken

 

[Pete Haynes]

I'm reasonably confident that I've got a white-spotted pug (23rd April) but many of the others I've had over the last couple of days are either brindled or very worn.
Ken

Hi Ken,

I think your pugs are all Brindled except the White-spotted. I am finding the only way with worn specimens is to gen det them.

Angus, thanks for the Sloe Carpet - a lifer. That's 3 so far this year. The others were Muslin Moth, of which I've now had a few this year, and Lead-couloured Drab, a real bogey moth until now. The other bogey moth is Dark Chestnut, which, according to my county recorder cannot be identified by gen det so I need a good specimen. I had what I was pretty sure was a Dark Chestnut last year but it had just a bit too much wear. It's amazing how I can pour through Waring over and over, as I did with the Sloe Carpet, without finding such an obvious solution!

All the best

Pete H

 

[Surreybirder]

Hi Ken,

I think your pugs are all Brindled except the White-spotted. I am finding the only way with worn specimens is to gen det them.

Angus, thanks for the Sloe Carpet - a lifer. That's 3 so far this year. The others were Muslin Moth, of which I've now had a few this year, and Lead-couloured Drab, a real bogey moth until now. The other bogey moth is Dark Chestnut, which, according to my county recorder cannot be identified by gen det so I need a good specimen. I had what I was pretty sure was a Dark Chestnut last year but it had just a bit too much wear. It's amazing how I can pour through Waring over and over, as I did with the Sloe Carpet, without finding such an obvious solution!

All the best

Pete H

Thanks, Pete.
The sloe carpet was one of the few macros that I'd got that you hadn't... I think that scarce silver-Y and heart moth are my only 'safe' ones!
I've not had any new macros so far this year but I'm trying harder on the micros so I've added a couple. When I was walking the dog this a.m. I noticed various micros in flight, so I must try and catch a few when I have more leisure.
Ken

 

[charly streets]

When I was walking the dog this a.m. I noticed various micros in flight, so I must try and catch a few when I have more leisure.
Ken

|8.| Catch them Ken? Now you're armed with a Coolpix I thought you'd be out there photographing them in all their glory It's a great way to lose some hair either through frustration or just by pulling large clumps out manually.

Nice to see you're getting the hang of your new camera - some great pics of some smart looking moths.

I like the revamped site BTW, before it took c30 secs. for each thread to download now it's almost instant, looks like broadband will have to wait a while longer.

Charly.

 

[Surreybirder]

|8.| Catch them Ken? Now you're armed with a Coolpix I thought you'd be out there photographing them in all their glory It's a great way to lose some hair either through frustration or just by pulling large clumps out manually.

Fair point!

Nice to see you're getting the hang of your new camera - some great pics of some smart looking moths.

I'm very pleased with the Coolpix. I can photo moths that I had no chance of getting before.

I like the revamped site BTW, before it took c30 secs. for each thread to download now it's almost instant, looks like broadband will have to wait a while longer.

Charly.

Yes, the new site is cool. Am I the only one who cannot see many thumbnails?
Ken

 

[charly streets]

Yes, the new site is cool. Am I the only one who cannot see many thumbnails?
Ken

It seems as if it's only the photos posted after the revamp that appear as thumbnails:h?:

 

[Surreybirder]

It seems as if it's only the photos posted after the revamp that appear as thumbnails:h?:

That could be it... well spotted!
Tonight could be quite good for trapping. Warm and clammy here. Just need a bit of cloud cover.

Great prom is another from 22nd.
Ken

 

[Surreybirder]

Not so many last night... and the light has been very poor here today so I didn't do very well on the photos. But I'll attach one or two that weren't too bad.
None was new for the year but I've had a few determinations from my CR so I've added Agonopterix propinquella, Elachista rufocinerea and E canapennella to my year list.
Ken