Ivy Muncher plus

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 ..

Lead-coloured Drab

More New Torts?

Just a couple of days after adding Epinotia signatana to the garden list, and I now have another two interesting looking torts that will need formal det and are likely to be garden firsts.

One from 04/07/2017 is possibly Epinotia cinereana - a relatively new split having been previously considered as a form of Epinotia nisella. I've got a few garden records of E. nisella in July, although all from mid-July onwards and none this early in the month. Doubt I've seen the as-was E. nisella f. cinereana before - think all my records would be of the classically marked forms. Currently appears to be no formally confirmed records of E. cinereana from VC55.

Putative Epinotia cinereana - gen det pending
Post-script - confirmed (sadly!) as Epinotia nisella by gen. det.

The other one from last night is something else altogether. It's big (c24mm wingspan), and so worn that really I have no firm idea as to what it could be, although the apparent trace of a reticulated pattern with a couple of darker areas, along with the orangey/yellow head, are reminiscent of the recent adventive Gravitarmata margarotana. One that will need a get regardless!

A big bald tortrix
post-script - confirmed as Lozotaeniodes formosana by gen. det.

Otherwise, here's a few recent micros to fill the post up ....

Argyresthia brockeella

Tinea trinotella

Oegoconia quadripuncta - confirmed by gen. det.

Carcina quercana

Brachmia blandella

Caloptilia stigmatella

Garden Moths, Terrestrial Tufted, City Yearticks

Yesterday was gloriously sunny and hot. Apparently. I spent the entire period of full daylight within the confines of work. Arse. By the time I got home, it was still warm though already dusky - on with the traps. This morning there was a modest catch but that did include five garden yearticks and another probable Acleris schalleriana. Total catch was 33 of 11sp (125W 15 of 10, 80W/100W actinic/tungsten combo 18 of 6).

0288 Caloptilia stigmatella 1 (NFY)
0464 Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella) 1 (NFY)
0667 Semioscopis steinkellneriana 1 (NFY)1047 Acleris schalleriana 1 (poss.)
1853 Oak-tree Pug (Eupithecia dodoneata) 1 (NFY)1862 Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata) 3
2078 Least Black Arches (Nola confusalis) 1 (NFY)2187 Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi) 6
2188 Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta) 6
2190 Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica) 10
2243 Early Grey (Xylocampa areola) 2

Least Black Arches

Caloptilia stigmatella

Semioscopis steinkelleneriana

Oak-tree Pug

Whilst out emptying the traps, I enjoyed three warbler species singing from the scrubby embankment. A Chiffchaff has been present since Saturday, a Blackcap that I first heard on Monday morning, and a feshly arrived Whitethroat - a bit earlier than I usually get one here.

Today was not such a good day weather-wise, still mild but distictly cooler than yesterday with much less sunshine until late in the afternoon. I managed to get out at lunchtime and headed over to Watermead CP South for a half-hour attempt to pick up a few City yearticks. First thing I saw was a drake Tufted Duck out with the Mallards on the grassy knoll. I can't remember ever seeing a Tufted on land (which probably says more about my selective memory than anything) - it certainly looked a bit odd when shuffling about ...

I could also see plenty of hirundines dashing about over the water and high up. Scanning through with bins confirmed initial expectations - lots of Sand Martins. After a while I also picked up at least one Swallow, but no House Martins. Singing Blackcap also noted, but sadly no other new City warblers in my short visit.

Lots of Garlic Mustard flowering .....

Lots of Yellow Dung Flies - a yellow fly that likes dung, not a fly that only likes yellow dung....

Lots of bees - this is the arse end of a Queen Red-tailed Bumblebee ....

We all get excited at the thought of white-wingers, but not when it relates to in-bred Crows ..........

28/04/2010 Mothing Part 3 of 3 : The Garden

Following on from the unexpectedly low numbers at Ketton Quarry, the garden traps this morning were the same picture - more species but not in any great numbers.

The total catch was 33 of 19sp. (125W MV 22 of 15, 80W actinic 11 of 9).

0288 Caloptilia stigmatella 1
0483 Epermenia chaerophyllella 1 [first for year]
0608 Elachista rufocinerea 1 [first for year]
1524 Emmelina monodactyla 1
1651 Chinese Character (Cilix glaucata) 1 [first for year]
1835 White-spotted Pug (Eupithecia tripunctaria) 2 [first for year]
1853 Oak-tree Pug (Eupithecia dodoneata) 3
1858 V-Pug (Chloroclystis v-ata) 1 [first for year]
1862 Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata) 3
1917 Early Thorn (Selenia dentaria) 2
1927 Brindled Beauty (Lycia hirtaria) 1
2179 Pine Beauty (Panolis flammea) 1
2187 Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi) 4
2188 Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta) 2
2190 Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica) 4
2243 Early Grey (Xylocampa areola) 2
2256 Satellite (Eupsilia transversa) 1
2450 Spectacle (Abrostola tripartita) 1 [first for year]
2469 Herald (Scoliopteryx libatrix) 1

Chinese Character

Oak-tree Pug

Elachista rufocinerea

Spectacle

No idea why it's called the Spectacle

Caloptilia stigmatella

Pine Beauty - the less colourful colour form