Stuck the garden trap out last night, first time in a few days as it's been pretty chilly overnight. But even then it was decidedly nippy when I had a quick check at around midnight. Not too much to get excited about this morning, Early Grey NFY, nice to see another Twin-spotted Quaker, a nice cloudy Clouded Drab and a couple of Small Quakers [I like Small Quakers].
Clouded Drab
Twin-spotted Quaker
Small Quaker
Small Quaker
Brindled Beauty
Early Grey
Diurnea fagella
There was also a Caloptilia sp. which I feel sure will turn into C. falconipennella when it is checked out properly.
Everyone that has run a light trap knows the inherent risk of a wasp or two
(or dozens!) waiting for an errant finger to poke with their stingers. Usually
more of a later summer/autumn risk, and greater in decent woodland with
Hornets around. This morning I was not even slightly aware or ready for a
Common Wasp that was clinging onto the handle out
of view as I went to pick up the trap. Luckily for me, she was just a bit too
cold and dozy and as I grabbed the handle I knocked her off onto the sheet. A
close escape turned into a photo opportunity.
I hope she doesn't come back tonight though!
Not a lot else in the trap, but Brindled Pug, Brindled Beauty, Brimstone Moth
and Shuttle-shaped Dart all new for the year.
A few weeks ago I collected a tenanted Taleporia tubulosa case from
Kinchley Lane alongside Swithland Res. I've never had much success with these
before, either no emergence or just a grubby female. At last I had a bit of
luck when this emerged on 12th May ....
I've run the garden trap a couple of times, but it's really not happening! Feels
like one of the worst spring periods I can remember, certainly for a few years.
I checked out a caddisfly from 9th May, and snapped a couple of NFY moths.
Limnephilus sparsus
Brindled Beauty
Silver Y
I recently got around to sorting out a vascular plant list for the garden,
which is almost certainly not complete but includes everything I can
attribute to a date/photo. I've added the paltry list to my Garden Lists
tab, and almost as soon as I'd done that I've found a couple of new plants
for the garden. We've completely let the garden go so far this spring, still
thinking it would be dug up soon only to find that the landscaper who let us
down last year has done it again - looking for a new one but there seems to
be a real issue with materials etc which is hampering efforts. I know we
should do it ourselves but I really haven't got the skills, energy or time
to do it justice. In the meantime, the lawn especially is popping up
wildflowers that have probably been there for years but never getting the
chance to get their heads above the mower. The two new species are
a Teasel growing next to the fence - likely from seed in
bird-droppings, and a few spikes of Common Mouse-ear in the lawn
(away from the Sticky Mouse-ear I found a couple of weeks ago that is more
prolific).
Teasel
Common Mouse-ear
Sticky Mouse-ear
Despite my inability to get my head around the Vegetative Key that I bought
early last year, I've gone and bought a similar key to grasses.
I gave it a whirl with some garden stems and got to Perennial Rye-grass, which
is probably right but I was far from confident. I think I need to try and work
through a couple of grasses that I know (or at least think I know) and take it
from there. Crucially, this key requires non-flowering stems (tillers).
I need to go back and have another look at the hawthorn galls in the week I
found as I may have cocked that up; there is a very similar fungal gall and
the aphids I saw may have been incidental (on the leaf, not inside the gall).
Remember me saying good things happen for LCFC when Selby wins the World
Championships? What a fantastic day out yesterday, almost like getting back to
normality and a massive personal boost on coping with life post-surgery.
Sealing the win and seeing the cup lifted by the Chairman Top Aiyawatt
Srivaddhanaprabha was emotional. A properly run Club with the fans and
community at the heart. Hopefully we can seal a Champions League place and
enjoy another European Tour next season ....
A bit of sun today, but not enough to materially change the garden balance. One Brimstone butterfly through, at least three Red Kites over during the day, but otherwise a bit quiet. I spent most of the day completing some minor DIY tasks, setting up/playing with my new phone that was ordered weeks ago and catching up on some of the TV stuff I've recorded that I never get around to watching (like the whole last series of Dr Who - yeah, so?).
The garden moth trap last night attracted a single moth. At least it was NFY.
So, I'm down here in North Devon staying with the in laws. We're down here for a couple of days without the kids, so that means there was room for a moth trap in the car. Can't remember when I last trapped here and can't check until I'm home, but it would of been a while ago. I ran the 22W synergetic last night, and the prospects were pretty good with mild and overcast conditions. I ended up with 113 of 34sp., markedly better than recent catches at home. Oddly though there was only one micro in this catch, a single Bee Moth.
Absolute stand out highlight was a macro tick, albeit not the most showy moth you could imagine.
Horse Chestnut
Nut-tree Tussock was the other highlight, and otherwise it was good to see a number of species for the first time this year, such as: Pale Tussock, Pebble Prominent, Flame Carpet, Green Carpet, Silver-ground Carpet, Small Phoenix, Red Twin-spot Carpet, Foxglove Pug, Common Pug, Spruce Carpet, Brimstone Moth, Powdered Quaker and Lychnis.
Nut-tree Tussock
Small Phoenix
Brindled Beauty
Powdered Quaker
Today we had a quick walk around Ilfracombe like proper grockles. I've got some hemiptera and a weevil potted to check out another day, but otherwise it was just refreshing to get some sea air and a pastie. The controversial Verity still stands over the harbour questioning truth and justice, but looks like she needs a decent jet wash to clear the gull shit from her head.
Looking back to Ilfracombe town from the harbour
Verity
This Herring Gull had a knackered leg, allowing a close approach, this is an uncropped phone shot.
Later in the afternoon I headed to the edge of Exmoor, actually just over the border into Somerset near the Pinkery outdoor pursuits center. I was intent on proving once and for all that the EMP lure does actually work. I found a suitable looking place with some heather, though otherwise it looked a bit dry and bleak. Not ideal conditions with a bit of a breeze and no sunshine, though it was still warm.
Well, the lure went out and within five minutes I had the first male in. Then over the next five minutes or so I had at least 8 males before I pulled the lure in. I'm sure if I'd actually walked further into the moor I would have recorded lots more.
I netted one for a proper shot. I say proper, I mean a quick snap with my phone.
This is the first time I have recorded Emperor Moth myself, so effectively another macro tick as I have only seen a female from a group trapping session and adults from captive rearing.
The moth trap is out again tonight, though we are expecting rain so the trap is slightly protected under a wood shed canopy. Let's see what comes in.
The garden moth trap was a little more interesting last night, at least from a species diversity point of view. But then a catch is always better when one of these is involved ....
Streamer - one of my favourite moths
On the other end of the aesthetics scale, this worn and unremarkable looking micro might turn out to be the best of the bunch. Or something completely boring, who knows! For the moment I am completely perplexed as to what it could be; wing-span c9mm and I can't see any protrusion of labial palps (though I suppose they could be damaged). Retained for gen det.
Err
Post-script - collective wisdom is that this is Ocnerostoma friesei, and I think they're right but will get it detted to be sure. This will be a full Garden/County/British tick for me.
Otherwise there were two other NFY species. One behaved badly but looked good for a photo, the other behaved well but only after flapping itself stupid in the fridge during the day .......
Twenty-plume Moth
If you count the ones you can see here, and recognise that there may be a couple more hidden underneath the forewing, you can see why it is often now called Many-plumed Moth
Found this larva on a brick wall immediately adjacent to a large ivy bush in the garden. I recognised it straight away as it's one I've found here before on the same ivy bush ....
Old Lady
I've got it feeding up in a tub of ivy leaves and will rear through - with a bit of luck I can get a few shots of a pristine fresh adult.
Over the weekend I had a bit of a half-arsed attempt at recording Emperor Moth with a pheromone lure. I tried three sites on different days and times without success. Either I'm not patient enough, the lure is dead or the moth is genuinely not present (and quite possibly all three at the same time!). One of the sites was Warren Hills, one part of what little heath and billberry scrubby moor we have in the Charnwood area. Green Hairstreak was on the wing but too quick and active for a snap.
The lure is just about visible in a black net wrap on the twiggy bush
Recent bits from the garden traps include:
Least Black Arches
Brindled Beauty
V-Pug
Water Carpet - only fifth for garden and first since 2009
Streamer, first since 2012
Caloptilia rufipennella
Caloptilia stigmatella
Pine Beauty
I also had a great night out in the field with Adrian Russell and Graham Finch last week, at a site right in the north-west of VC55. Grange Wood is a decent sized mixed woodland, which is actually in the county of Derbyshire but just falls within the VC55 recording area (one of the historical quirks that again show how the VC boundaries have nothing to do with current political boundaries). We had a great mix of species, including a couple of full British Ticks for me - a cracking Blossom Underwing that Adrian took to photograph and this tortrix:
Pammene giganteana - third VC55 record
Also a few nice-to-see species for the year including Early-tooth Striped, Lunar Marbled Brown, Purple Thorn and a few Lead-coloured Drabs including this lead-coloured and drab one ..
