Marbled White Spot - only the second garden record after taking one last year
Heart and Club - this is becoming an annual species now, only as singles though
Showing posts with label Marbled White Spot. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marbled White Spot. Show all posts
Tuesday, 25 June 2019
Warm and Wet
Warm, cloudy and still last night, until well past midnight when I headed off for some sleep before trying to get up at dawn in anticipation of a bulging garden trap. I beat the birds, and the moths were aplenty - but I didn't beat the incoming rain which had arrived right on cue. The trap and contents were actually quite dry, but emptying a busy trap in the half-light of dawn with steady drizzle coming down is bloody frustrating. There were a few interesting bits, but these were the pick of the crop for me ...
Sunday, 26 June 2011
KQ
Not long back from the Ketton Quarry jaunt, having emptied the car of the mothing load, fridged up a few bits and freshened up a bit!
Turned out to be both a very good and a diappointing night - plenty of species diversity and good numbers with a couple of nice surprises, but a few of the expected species for this site at this time of year were no-shows. Conditions were perfect, so hard to know if the absences were due to being over already in the advanced season or being adversely affected by the hot dry spring. It's going to take a while to sort out the combined list etc.
Meanwhile, there were non-moth surprises in a couple of traps, loads of Glow-worms last night and some nice clearwing porn this morning ....
Turned out to be both a very good and a diappointing night - plenty of species diversity and good numbers with a couple of nice surprises, but a few of the expected species for this site at this time of year were no-shows. Conditions were perfect, so hard to know if the absences were due to being over already in the advanced season or being adversely affected by the hot dry spring. It's going to take a while to sort out the combined list etc.
Meanwhile, there were non-moth surprises in a couple of traps, loads of Glow-worms last night and some nice clearwing porn this morning ....
How to treat a brand new car ....
Marbled White on one trap, Ringlet in another ....
Checked the poplars this morning, just one female Hornet Moth emerged
Lots of holes and exuviae evident though
Checked later and she'd scored
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
The Moth Pics Pt 2
Some more from Charnwood Lodge .....
... and more from the garden on 02/06/2011
Red-necked Footman - smart
Northern Spinach - ridiculously early?
Beautiful Carpet - certainly is
Broom Moth - a realy smart individual
Marbled White Spot - could this be referable to f. albilinea?
Marbled White Spot - a typical individual
Small Angle Shades
Grey Pine Carpet
... and more from the garden on 02/06/2011
Common Carpet
Angle Shades
Flame Shoulder
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Watermead CP South BioBlitz 30th/31st May 2010
As those in VC55 know, Watermead Country Park is a pretty big area split into a north and south section with the Birstall Meadows in between. the southern part is managed by the City council, whilst the County council manages the northern section. The BioBlitz was organised with involvment from both councils and a number of local charities and organisations, and was also linked to the BBC Springwatch wild days out campaign.
The overriding aim of the BioBlitz was obviously to conduct a snap survey of the whole ecology of the site covering all taxonomic orders, but the real prize was to get as many people involved and enthused as possible.
In support of the event, I joined up with Adrian Russell on Sunday night to conduct some moth trapping at Watermead CP South. The conditions were not ideal, with a very stong breeze prevalent though the temperature was reasonable and we had a bit of cloud cover.
The 24 hour BioBlitz started at 5pm on Sunday. When I arrived early in the evening, the WCPS list was already at 43 species before any formal searches/surveys had started. I had a mooch about for a few minutes whilst I waited for Adrian and I promptly added a few obvious species to the list - including Brown Rat. Also a couple of loud warblers, and a less obvious addition was this milling about with the feral geese and bread-crazed Mute Swans - it obviously has no self respect and is as plastic as any duck I've seen ..
We got the traps set and waited for the moths and public. I'd set my traps in the south-eastern corner within the wood and scrub south of 'Mammoth Hill'. After a slow start things picked up, and I managed to pot a huge female Poplar Hawk-moth just in time to show a gaggle of punters that were being lead around on a bat walk. I diverted them to the best of my four traps and was able to show them a number of species including Pale Prominent, Green Carpet, Brimstone Moth, Common White Wave, May Highflyer, White-pinion Spotted, Clouded Silver, and some less exciting stuff like Heart and Dart and Flame Shoulder. They were suitably impressed and it was good to get members of the public showing an interest in something they'd normally not get a chance to see.
Whilst walking about between traps I picked up a calling Tawny Owl, and I found this on the path - another one for the big list ..
As well as the moths, we potted up a fair few other inverts for others to ID the following day including several Caddis Flies, Crane-flies, and odd sawflies, earwigs, centipedes and ground beetles. Whilst my traps were going okay, the sheet that Adrian was running and most of his traps were a bit more exposed to the wind and seemed a bit quiet. By midnight we decided to pack up.
My four traps (3 x 125W MV & 1 x 250W metal halide) picked up a total of 184 of 43 sp. - most of which were new for the site seeing as very little trapping has ever been done there. Here's a summary of my catch:
First for year:
1301 Crambus lathoniellus 2
1879 Seraphim (Lobophora halterata) 1
1931 Peppered Moth (Biston betularia) 1
1991 Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor) 3
2280 Miller (Acronicta leporina) 1
2306 Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) 1
2337x Marbled Minor agg. (Oligia strigilis agg.) 1
2384 Vine's Rustic (Hoplodrina ambigua) 1
2410 Marbled White Spot (Protodeltote pygarga) 1
2489 Fan-foot (Zanclognatha tarsipennalis) 1
Highest counts:
1776 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) 34
2102 Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta) 20
2089 Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) 16
0017 Common Swift (Hepialus lupulinus) 12
1802 Rivulet (Perizoma affinitata) 12
1778 May Highflyer (Hydriomena impluviata) 6
With Adrian's sheet and traps, we got the total up to 277 of 55 sp. The only interest from the sheet for me were yearticks in the form of Chilo phragmitella, Small Clouded Brindle and Gold Spot. Over at Watermead CP North, Graham Finch managed a total of 251 of 50 sp. including a few larval records and the first Netted Pug for Leicestershire (only recorded in Rutland previously), and in total we'd managed 77 species - not bad at all.
I headed back out on Monday afternoon with Nichola and the boys to get them involved and to try and add a few day-flying micros to the overall list. We got the boys sorted with a 'find these species' quiz/checksheet and used that as the basis to potter about the site whilst I potted/netted anything that looked interesting or identifiable.
To be honest, if I'd had enough pots and time I could have gone mad with inverts but I had to restrict myself to just a few. Nonetheless I added a good few inverts to the list plus listed a few others to be sure they were covered, including four ladybirds (Harlequin, 7-Spot, 2-Spot & 14-Spot), a couple of damselflies (Common Blue and Blue-tailed), Common Blue butterfly, a couple of weevils (Phyllobius pomaceus and Apion miniatum), a superb Wasp Beetle and a couple of spiders (Large-jawed Ord Web Spider and Cucumber Spider). Also a few small leaf beetles and a sawfly that I can't remember the names of.
The main objective of course was the micros, but with fairly cool and dull conditions there weren't many flying, though I did add 6 species including 3 yearticks: Grapholita compositella, Pseudargyrotoza conwagana and Nettle-tap (plus Ancylis badiana, Epiblema cynosbatella and Cocksfoot Moth).
A great way to spend the afternoon, and I thoroughly enjoyed looking for stuff that is usually incidental or ignored when I'm out. The site was busy with people looking at the potted up specimens on tables, pond-dipping trays etc and I'd say the event was a big success. I look forward to seeing the final lists for each section of the park and the overall total which I'm sure will be well over 500 species (already well over 400 for each section without the insects).
If a BioBlitz is arranged near you - get involved!
The overriding aim of the BioBlitz was obviously to conduct a snap survey of the whole ecology of the site covering all taxonomic orders, but the real prize was to get as many people involved and enthused as possible.
In support of the event, I joined up with Adrian Russell on Sunday night to conduct some moth trapping at Watermead CP South. The conditions were not ideal, with a very stong breeze prevalent though the temperature was reasonable and we had a bit of cloud cover.
The 24 hour BioBlitz started at 5pm on Sunday. When I arrived early in the evening, the WCPS list was already at 43 species before any formal searches/surveys had started. I had a mooch about for a few minutes whilst I waited for Adrian and I promptly added a few obvious species to the list - including Brown Rat. Also a couple of loud warblers, and a less obvious addition was this milling about with the feral geese and bread-crazed Mute Swans - it obviously has no self respect and is as plastic as any duck I've seen ..
Red-crested Pochard
We got the traps set and waited for the moths and public. I'd set my traps in the south-eastern corner within the wood and scrub south of 'Mammoth Hill'. After a slow start things picked up, and I managed to pot a huge female Poplar Hawk-moth just in time to show a gaggle of punters that were being lead around on a bat walk. I diverted them to the best of my four traps and was able to show them a number of species including Pale Prominent, Green Carpet, Brimstone Moth, Common White Wave, May Highflyer, White-pinion Spotted, Clouded Silver, and some less exciting stuff like Heart and Dart and Flame Shoulder. They were suitably impressed and it was good to get members of the public showing an interest in something they'd normally not get a chance to see.
Whilst walking about between traps I picked up a calling Tawny Owl, and I found this on the path - another one for the big list ..
Common Toad
As well as the moths, we potted up a fair few other inverts for others to ID the following day including several Caddis Flies, Crane-flies, and odd sawflies, earwigs, centipedes and ground beetles. Whilst my traps were going okay, the sheet that Adrian was running and most of his traps were a bit more exposed to the wind and seemed a bit quiet. By midnight we decided to pack up.
My four traps (3 x 125W MV & 1 x 250W metal halide) picked up a total of 184 of 43 sp. - most of which were new for the site seeing as very little trapping has ever been done there. Here's a summary of my catch:
First for year:
1301 Crambus lathoniellus 2
1879 Seraphim (Lobophora halterata) 1
1931 Peppered Moth (Biston betularia) 1
1991 Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor) 3
2280 Miller (Acronicta leporina) 1
2306 Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) 1
2337x Marbled Minor agg. (Oligia strigilis agg.) 1
2384 Vine's Rustic (Hoplodrina ambigua) 1
2410 Marbled White Spot (Protodeltote pygarga) 1
2489 Fan-foot (Zanclognatha tarsipennalis) 1
Highest counts:
1776 Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) 34
2102 Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta) 20
2089 Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) 16
0017 Common Swift (Hepialus lupulinus) 12
1802 Rivulet (Perizoma affinitata) 12
1778 May Highflyer (Hydriomena impluviata) 6
With Adrian's sheet and traps, we got the total up to 277 of 55 sp. The only interest from the sheet for me were yearticks in the form of Chilo phragmitella, Small Clouded Brindle and Gold Spot. Over at Watermead CP North, Graham Finch managed a total of 251 of 50 sp. including a few larval records and the first Netted Pug for Leicestershire (only recorded in Rutland previously), and in total we'd managed 77 species - not bad at all.
Chilo phragmitella
Marbled White Spot - completely unexpected at this site
Miller
I headed back out on Monday afternoon with Nichola and the boys to get them involved and to try and add a few day-flying micros to the overall list. We got the boys sorted with a 'find these species' quiz/checksheet and used that as the basis to potter about the site whilst I potted/netted anything that looked interesting or identifiable.
I can't 'knit' photos but you get the gist - looking down from Mammoth Hill.
To be honest, if I'd had enough pots and time I could have gone mad with inverts but I had to restrict myself to just a few. Nonetheless I added a good few inverts to the list plus listed a few others to be sure they were covered, including four ladybirds (Harlequin, 7-Spot, 2-Spot & 14-Spot), a couple of damselflies (Common Blue and Blue-tailed), Common Blue butterfly, a couple of weevils (Phyllobius pomaceus and Apion miniatum), a superb Wasp Beetle and a couple of spiders (Large-jawed Ord Web Spider and Cucumber Spider). Also a few small leaf beetles and a sawfly that I can't remember the names of.
Cucumber Spider
The main objective of course was the micros, but with fairly cool and dull conditions there weren't many flying, though I did add 6 species including 3 yearticks: Grapholita compositella, Pseudargyrotoza conwagana and Nettle-tap (plus Ancylis badiana, Epiblema cynosbatella and Cocksfoot Moth).
Pseudargyrotoza conwagana - big stupid name, small stunning moth
Grapholita compositella
A great way to spend the afternoon, and I thoroughly enjoyed looking for stuff that is usually incidental or ignored when I'm out. The site was busy with people looking at the potted up specimens on tables, pond-dipping trays etc and I'd say the event was a big success. I look forward to seeing the final lists for each section of the park and the overall total which I'm sure will be well over 500 species (already well over 400 for each section without the insects).
If a BioBlitz is arranged near you - get involved!
Friday, 29 May 2009
Ketton Quarry, 27/05/2009
The weather forecast on Tuesday was suggesting that Wednesday night would be wet. By Wednesday morning, the forecast was that showers would die out, the wind would drop and it would stay overcast and cloudy all night with minimum temperatures of c13°C. Superb conditions for mothing.
I joined up with Adrian Russell and we headed off to Ketton Quarry to get a few hours of light trapping in. As it turned out, the conditions were pretty much ideal until just as we started to pack up when a very light drizzle started - nothing too heavy and no problem.
Despite the conditions, the results were a little mixed with a number of common and expected species failing to appear - eg only hawk-moth was Elephant, only prominent was Swallow. However overall the results were damned good with some excellent highlights.
We ran 1 x 125W light over a sheet, and 3 x 125W MV traps around the compartments from 21:30 - 01:00. Actually, we ran four traps but a technical glitch with the dictaphone tape meant that the results from one were lost. Additionally one of the traps was nicknamed the 'feeble trap' as for some reason the light output was only half of what it should be - either a choke or gennie problem.
The total catch was 411 of 89sp. There is an additional Agrotis sp. (female Heart and Club or Turnip?), plus we recorded c5 small Mullein larvae on, er Mullein!
Main highlights:
Incurvaria oehlmanniella 2
Bucculatrix albedinella 1
Bucculatrix nigricomella 2
Phtheochroa rugosana 1
Cochylimorpha straminea 2
Cochylis hybridella 1
Euleioptilus carphodactyla 1
Satin Wave (Idaea subsericeata) 1
The Tissue (Triphosa dubitata) 1
Satyr Pug (Eupithecia satyrata) 2
Grass Wave (Perconia strigillaria) 26
Orange Footman (Eilema sororcula) 1
Light Brocade (Lacanobia w-latinum) 3
Treble Lines (Charanyca trigrammica) 14
Marbled White Spot (Protodeltote pygarga) 16
Other highest counts:
Common Swift (Hepialus lupulinus) 43
Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria) 31
Clouded Silver (Lomographa temerata) 26
Rustic Shoulder-knot (Apamea sordens) 23
Broken-barred Carpet (Electrophaes corylata) 14
Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta) 14
Epiblema trimaculana 11
Satyr Pug - only the fifth modern record for VC55 (2 in 2003, 2 in 2006)
Grass Wave - Ketton Quarry is pretty much the only site for this species in VC55
Satin Wave - scarce in VC55
Marbled White Spot - good numbers
Euleioptilus carphodactyla - a tiny plume
Ptheochroa rugosana - one of my favourite torts
Waved Umber
Purple Bar
Satyr Pug - only the fifth modern record for VC55 (2 in 2003, 2 in 2006)
Grass Wave - Ketton Quarry is pretty much the only site for this species in VC55
Satin Wave - scarce in VC55
Marbled White Spot - good numbers
Euleioptilus carphodactyla - a tiny plume
Ptheochroa rugosana - one of my favourite torts
Waved Umber
Purple Bar
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