Whilst searching through photos for something else amongst my oldest images I
found the following ....
It is far from the best photo I've ever taken, but then again it is from July
2001 when I was using my first digital camera - a Sony Cybershot DSC-S50 (which
produced a massive 1600x1200pixel image at 72dpi before any processing ....).
I double-checked the record date (22/07/2001), and I had a vague recollection
that this was more interesting than just being a new moth for me and the
garden (which back then would have included many species). So I checked the
VC55 records and, as I thought, it was indeed a first VC55 record of
Agonopterix conterminella (or at least the first post-VCH record: Vol. 1 of the Victoria County History of Leicester that includes a Natural History section was published in 1907, and includes a simple list of species known to have been recorded within Leicestershire, although there are no detailed records included. The VCH for Rutland was published in 1906 and is even more sparse).
This got me thinking: over the last 20 years or so I have added a fair number
of moth species to the VC55 list, and in more recent years a few species in
other orders too. As time has gone on many of
these (like this Agonopterix) will have slipped out of my mind although the
records exist for posterity. So I'm going to spend a bit of time over the next
few weeks trying to compile a list of the firsts and any other significant
records that I am associated with. I'll primarily focus on records that are
solely mine, but also detail important records where others were involved
(essentially these will be moths that I caught or identified but as part of a
group effort). Once I've got a reasonable list as a starting point I'll set up
a new page tab and update accordingly. It might seem a bit of a vanity
project. Yeah, I suppose it is. And?
Aside from that revelation, this particular species also falls into the
'Overdue' category for my garden moth records. I had one further individual on
10/07/2007 but not a sniff of one since. However it has only been recorded
from four other sites in VC55, and seems to have a patchy distribution despite
the main foodplants being sallow.
Yesterday I nipped out to Swithland Res. for a long overdue County Tick ....
I've never once made an effort to see any of the Glossy Ibis that have
popped up in the County over the last few years since the first in 2011. It's
not like I've seen lots of them in UK, just a couple. Ultimately, I think that
despite the esoteric name, quite often they look unicolorous and skanky and I
just don't feel compelled to go and see one. I only went for this one as the
site was likely to be easier work than lugging a scope around the northern
Soar Valley or - worse - going to Rutland Water.
But it wasn't a case of just rocking up and looking at it; it had been in view
but got flushed by a fisherman's bait boat just before I arrived mid-morning.
Eventually it popped back up but in the SE corner of the Northern section
where viewing is a bit more limited. And, as usual, watching anything at
Swithland Res. from Kinchley Lane or the dam means that the subject is often
more backlit. I got good views with bins and scope, just failed to get any
frame-filling nice shots that I had hoped for.
Aside from the Ibis, the shoreline was almost literally awash with egrets.
Amongst the numerous Little Egrets and Grey Herons there were at least four
Great White Egrets. Still can't get used to how quickly they've established in
the County to the point that seeing one at any of the reservoirs or large
water bodies is almost expected. I also stopped and looked at a couple of
Scaup on the Southern section before heading home.
I've hardly used the P950 since the spring. When I looked at the SD card from
the camera, I found a few photos from the short break up on the Cumbrian coast
in August that I'd completely forgotten about.
Kestrel - St Bees Head
Great Black-backed Gull - Whitehaven harbour
Cormorant - Whitehaven harbour
Also on the card were some snaps of a Pheasant that popped up in the garden a couple of times in early Autumn. It had a damaged leg and walked with a hobble but flew perfectly okay when it saw the cat ....
[“Listing” is a nautical term to describe when a vessel takes on water and
tilts to one side. A ship can list either to port (left) or starboard
(right). Neither is desirable, as listing or rolling too much can cause a
ship to capsize, or overturn in the water.]
One way or another, whilst I've been ticking along and adding bits here and
there I've tilted and sunk on the PSL rankings again. It's all a bit of
nonsense really - seeing new stuff is great and creating a few records along
the way is the more relevant bit. But it is interesting to note that 4000
species will see you in the top 40 though that will not be the case for long.
Also, within the ten listers shown here there is only a 423 species gap; what
is not shown is that there is now only one lister under 3500 species in the
top 50, and only one under 5000 in the top 30. In reality, I am sure there
will be numerous amateur naturalists up and down the country that don't
publicise their numbers who would be well into the top 40 or higher if they
did.
Out of this lot, Robert Yaxley will almost certainly already be well over 4000
if/when he updates - I see him finding stuff on his Twitter account regularly.
James McCulloch and Martin Bell probably are as well - I think they update at
each month or so. Although I'm within 100 species of it, Ryan Clark and Sam
Buckton may well reach 4000 before me too - they have time on their side.
David Shute and Mark Jackson haven't updated for well over a year or more so
no idea if they're seeing anything. Steve will no doubt tell me again that
he's hung his PSL boots up and then add a couple of 100 species. I could be
closer to the other end of this 'mini-league' if everyone updated at the same
time.
4000 will be a nice landmark when it comes but 5000 seems a very distant
prospect. Ironically with health issues and lockdowns, I've added more in the
last couple of years than I had for a long while: 508 species added since 6th
April 2019, and at that point I'd updated after a lapse which meant I'd added
just 121 species from 10th Jan 2017. Prior to that it had taken me just over
five years to add 1300 species to my inaugural list.
One of my (very) occasional themes is to highlight a moth species that I've recorded in the garden some time ago but not since. I thought I'd pick out another, although this one surprised me in a lot of ways. Hypatima rhomboidella is not rare or scarce in VC55, or so I thought. But actually looking at VC55 records it does seem to be a lot scarcer than I thought, mainly from decent woodland sites and there are some years in the last couple of decades with very few or no records at all. I don't actually recall seeing one for a long while (July 2008 August 2014 at group session that isn't in my personal records). However a squint at the excellent Gelechiid Recording Scheme website shows that it is very widespread within the UK, and feeds primarily on Silver Birch and Hazel with Alder, Hornbeam and Aspen recorded as utilised in Europe. It is also supposed to come readily to light. Really then, this should be piss common everywhere ....
I have two garden records, both in 2000 on 1st and 11th June. That is so long ago that it actually precedes even my earliest moth photography. I do have a couple of shots, one of a couple recorded at Timberwood Hill, Charnwood Lodge with Andy Mackay on 26/08/2002.
Think this is more than overdue for me anywhere, let alone for the garden, and it's one I will be trying to get a better shot of when I next encounter one!
I've managed to work through a couple of bagfuls of leaves collected on Monday, and I've
ended with up with a decent number of species/records. Perhaps the most
remarkable part of this is that I bumped into a smallish tree on a verge that
I didn't immediately recognise, and that I'd absolutely missed/ignored earlier
in the year. Anyway, I worked out it was probably a Hornbeam and I found some
interesting mines on it.
The mine below is an upper surface silvery-looking blotch, similar to the
ubiquitous Phyllonorycter coryli that is found on Hazel. I'd already decided
that this was probably Phyllonorycter esperella if my foodplant ID was
right.
There were lots of these, but all seemed quite small and appeared to be vacated
or incomplete. My attention turned to an altogether different-looking mine where
the leaf was almost folded over. Again, lots of these and on checking a few, a
number appeared to have hymenopteran pupae but some were tenanted, including
some with a silken retreat within which a small larva was present.
I posted a few photos on the leafminers FB group and quickly got confirmation
that my plant ID was correct and that these larger mines were also
Phyllonorycter esperella - more mature mines often causing the leaf to turn on
itself. A new leaf-miner for me, as was the following.
This is a Phyllonorycter oxyacanthae mine on Hawthorn:
Amongst other species I found on Hawthorn was Ectoedemia atricollis,
like this example:
I initially thought this might be Stigmella paradoxa, but the egg position was
not right and as can be seen there is evidence of a gallery leading into the
blotch.
I found a few mines on Rowan. These folded leaflets, along with the smaller
pinched in mine on a leaflet above, are the work of
Parornix scoticella:
However, along with Lyonetia clerkella that mines everything, the other mines
I found on Rowan were species that I've only previously found on Hawthorn:
Phyllonorycter corylifoliella
Stigmella oxyacanthella
Other mines that I found on what may be thought of as atypical foodplants
included:
Phyllonorycter leucographella on Malus sp.
(alongside Lyonetia clerkella on the plant it should be found).
Here's a couple of other mines for reference:
Stigmella salicis on Salix sp.
Tischeria ekebladella on Quercus sp.
One last mine, this one though from the Silver Birch in my garden:
Phyllonorycter ulmifoliella
That's probably enough mining for now, and I've realised looking through that I needed to crop some of the pictures a bit tighter. Never mind.
I guess this post isn't the mining Public
Service Broadcasting were thinking of.
Over the last couple of days whilst out looking for leaf mines, I've stumbled
across a number of powdery mildews. A couple I recognised, others I've just
ignored in the past and one I've never noticed at all. Most of the following
are quick phone snaps, but you get the gist.
A couple of the more obvious ones were these:
Erysiphe alphitoides [Oak Mildew] on Oak
Sawadaea bicornis [Field Maple Mildew] on Field Maple
The next few have almost certainly been seen before but ignored:
Erysiphe heraclei [Umbelifer Mildew] on Hogweed
Golovinomyces sordidus [Plantain Mildew] on Greater Plantain
Neoerysiphe galeopsidis [Mint Mildew] on White Dead-nettle
But this one I'm sure I've not seen before to be able to ignore it. On a Salix
sp., with both sides of the leaves affected and colourful cleistothecia on the
underside of the sample leaf I collected. Seems to be
Erysiphe adunca [var adunca]. As you can gather from the above, these
mildews have very inventive common names and it will be no surprise to hear
this one is known as Willow Mildew.
All of this would have been right up Seth's
gata if he was still on blogger, just like this Swedish metal.
I have just two records of Merveille du Jour from the garden - singles
c9 days apart in 2009, none before that and none since. The lack of mature
oaks within sight of the garden will not help. So, when I potted one up from
the trap last night I was well chuffed. Even more so when I found another in
the trap this morning - albeit that one was missing antennae for some reason.
What a marvellous start to the day ....
Most of the rest of the autumnal stuff that has turned up over the last few
days is brown or grey.
Beaded Chestnut
Juniper Carpet
Red-line Quaker
Satellite
Acleris sparsana
Feathered Thorn
Dark Chestnut
Green-brindled Crescent
I did get out today looking for more leaf mines, and found a good selection
along with a few mildews, rusts and galls. A lot of it sorted and ready to add
to records but still plenty to go at.
It's been a busy and strange few weeks in a lot of ways, but not least the
fact that our youngest has buggered off to Bristol and is living in Uni digs
whilst starting his degree in (literally) rocket science. We nipped down to
check he was set-up okay a couple of weeks ago, but otherwise we're adjusting
to not having him here and having a room in the house that is not being used.
Our other two still live at home, but both work and both spend as much time
out with their partners and mates as at home. It's pretty much the first time
in 26 years that we've been able to do what we like, when we like, without
having to plan around one or other of the kids. We're not used to it and
haven't really capitalised on that yet!
The garden works are done and I've got a new bigger shed to sort out, along
with some drainage that works well and a level patio. A lot of work ahead to
actually make it look presentable and get some flowering plants in, and I've
got space at the bottom of the garden for composting. I also intend to create some
sort of raised pond - something for inverts, not amphibians!
One or two of you may well have noticed that I've not really mentioned or
shared anything about my 2021 square listing. I've not consciously given up,
but since July-ish it has pretty much drifted to the point that I may as well
have done. I've struggled to maintain enthusiasm and am short on energy whilst
being busy back at work. I also got well behind with transcribing garden light
trap lists to keep up to date. Through September I've barely had time to even
think about it. Yesterday I was in work tying up a few bits before I have some
time off in the coming week. On the way home, I took a detour along the lane -
the first time I've driven along there for a few week. The verges had been
mowed and the fields harvested, so not a lot to look at. But I did nosy around
at the trees and hedges for leafmines, finding quite a few on Ulmus, Norway
Maple, Field Maple, Hawthorn, Blackthorn and bramble.
A while ago, when I was expecting to be a bit more enthused and busy in the
field, a bought a cheap LED panel off of Amazon -
this one. I figured that for around a tenner it was worth a punt to backlight
leafmines with a bit more consistency and less pfaff than anything else I've
tried over the years. Powered from USB and A4 sized it is also very light and
portable. But - I obviously didn't read the blurb or look close enough at the
images. I thought it would just be a lit screen but it has a built in eye
protection plate - essentially when it is fully lit it looks like a load of
perforations. Still perfectly good for backlighting mines, but not so great
for photographing them. So I put it back in the box and forgot about until
yesterday evening when I had a bag full of mines. I gave it a go and,
actually, I'm quite happy with the results - albeit I need to edit the images
a little more in photoshop though it really is quick and easy for me to do
that.
Here's an example - a Blackthorn leaf with
Stigmella plagicolella mines. The first image is directly off of the
camera with no editing other than being re-sized. The second is the same image
with the background screen cut out and otherwise my usual editing (light
balance, sharpen a little and crop/resize).
I found quite a few Stigmella plagicolella mines on one particular Blackthorn -
it's about the only one that is set beck enough from the road that it doesn't
get quite so heavily flailed and so it has bigger leaves. Some were still
tenanted, and one leaf in particular had many mines - at least eight, probably
more.
I was also pleased to find Stigmella aceris on both Field Maple (first
image) and Norway Maple (second and third image, alongside a
Phyllonorycter joannisi mine).
The Ulmus sp. mines were most numerous though, with many Stigmella mines -
some of which I could not work out but a few appeared a bit more distinct and
I sought a bit of confirmation on the leafminers FB group to help make my mind
up. The few tenanted mines were a bit more straightforward, with only Stigmella lemniscella
still active out of the two species I had. I also found a couple with the
distinct concentric circular start to the gallery.
Other mines were more consistent with Stigmella viscerella, showing a
winding 'gut-like' pattern to the gallery and a slightly different frass
pattern.
I found two different Phyllonorycter mines on Ulmus sp. - one a bit more
pinched than the other. Several had pupal cocoons within the mine which made
ID straightforward. The first mine has the dark stiff-looking pupal cocoon of
Phyllonorycter tristrigella, and the second is
Phyllonorycter schreberella with a neater and more delicate looking
spun cocoon
Also found on Ulmus was this Bucculatrix albedinella mine.
Other mines found were Stigmella aurella and Coptotriche marginea on bramble,
Phyllonorycter corylifoliella on hawthorn and Parornix finitimella on
Blackthorn. Given I was only looking for c45mins I though that was not a bad
effort. With some time in the week before we go away for a family break next
weekend, I'll be looking for other mines and perhaps a few galls.
The garden trap has been on for a couple of nights, so I will have a few late
autumn moths to share at some point too.
Hmm. That felt quite good getting that done and ready to post - perhaps the
post-summer doldrums are over and things are getting better.
