Well, I'm here and alive enough to post - always a good thing I reckon. My
surgery did go ahead on Weds 15th June, though I knew nothing of it until
being brought out of sedation and off of a ventilator on 16th morning which
probably helped with managing the pain a bit. I spent the first day in
intensive care, just about getting over the anaesthetic whilst developing a
morphine addiction. On Friday I got moved to a general ward, and spent the
next three days gradually becoming more self-dependent and mobile. Much to my
surprise and relief, on Monday 20th they muted that perhaps I could go home
early (fully expected a 10 - 14day stay) as long as I came back in for a
couple of check ups on the Weds and Friday - I didn't hesitate in imploring
them to make it happen. I hate hospitals at the best of times, but being in
there once you are actually mobile and looking after yourself is absolutely
the most soul-destroying and mind-numbing thing imaginable. So on Monday night
I was home and happy.
Tuesday 21st June was a nice warm sunny day so I was pleased to be able to
intersperse sleeping, relaxing and generally lounging about with forays into
the garden for fresh air and to watch a few insects on the border flowers. It
dawned on me that with the sun shining, and with it requiring virtually zero
effort, I could dangle a couple of lures. So I tried both VES and FOR with
success, one Orange-tailed Clearwing to the VES lure and x3 Red-tipped
Clearwings to the FOR lure. I wasn't up to fannying about with a camera though
so only managed a couple of crappy phone shots ....
Orange-tailed Clearwing
Red-tipped Clearwing
I think the adrenaline of seeing clearwing and the euphoria at being home overtook
common sense, and I put the moth trap on for the night. Surgery and being in
hospital screws up your sleep pattern for ages so getting up early to empty it
wasn't a problem, though it was a bit more physical effort than was perhaps
good for me. Nothing exciting in there, but it was looking sunny again so out
went the LUN lure despite it being perhaps a bit early for the target. By
08:30 there were x2 Lunar Hornet Moths in the trap. All the more excellent as
with the pre-surgery records of Currant and Red-belted, all x5 clearwing
species that I recorded here last year have come again - no flash in the pan
luck involved, all clearly present within close enough proximity to come to
the lures reasonably soon after deployment.
Lunar Hornet Moth
Again, the moth trap went out and again with some effort I got it done early
in the morning. This time though there was excitement, a new for garden macro
and a decent migrant that warranted a quick snap with the camera ....
Scarlet Tiger
An expected addition to the garden list with recent expansion in VC55 range,
shame it was a bit tatty.
Bordered Straw - second garden record after one in 2006
The moth trap went out again on Thursday 23rd June, back to standard fare and
by now I was thinking that I'd perhaps overdone it, so the trap got put away
as the weather faded a bit anyway.
A week or so after surgery, things can go two ways. You either feel like
you're getting somewhere and feeling a bit stronger each day, or you start to
slide and feel a bit crapper. Over the weekend I felt a bit lethargic and
lacking energy, and on Monday I was in incredible pain in my left kidney. Back
to the hospital to be checked, and I ended up being re-admitted with bloods
showing infection markers. A subsequent CT scan showed a build up of likely
infected fluid stuck in a pocket somewhere in my pelvis, which would require
draining under a radiologically guided procedure. By then I'd had a couple of
doses of IV antibiotics and was feeling fine again, but the NHS system
conspired against me and despite my protestations and moaning I ended up being
stuck back in there until the Friday evening whilst they tried to work out
if/how/when this would be done. I was absolutely exasperated; every day I was
nil by mouth from midnight to c4pm just in-case they managed to fit me into
someone's schedule, whilst being sedentary and having bugger all to do. On the
Friday I made it clear I'd had enough and I was seriously on the page of
walking out and self-discharging, luckily they'd already come to the
conclusion and seen sense that they were better off bending their own rules
and essentially discharged me without discharging me, so that I could go back
for the procedure at an appointed time as a day case.
Back home for another week, gradually building myself up again after going
backwards in hospital. Yesterday I went in for a CT Guided Drain procedure -
and by christ it was the most painful experience of my life, local anaesthetic
only works so deep, and to avoid any remaining organs or major blood vessels
they went in the most direct route - basically they skewered my backside and
it fucking hurt! Anyway, it's done now and I can get back on with recovering
(although the drain will of course have to some back out, which will also be
uncomfortable but a lot quicker!). I'm actually feeling a lot perkier now and
I'm okay with basic pain relief. I've got a long way to go with recovery but
feel like I'm on the right path now.
Having major surgery, losing body parts and being in pain or uncomfortable etc
is of course worth it if it means I'm still here for the foreseeable, watching
the kids grow up (metaphorically, they've already grown up physically), being
here for and with Nichola and contributing to society. The surgeon told me
last week that the histology on the stuff they removed has clear margins -
that should mean I am cancer-free and there will be no further treatment. I'd
really like to hear that again with Nichola by my side at a formal
post-surgery consultation in due course.
The trap will be back out tonight, I've missed some of the best mothing
weather for ages and feel like I need to get back on track. I'm also able to
sit at the desktop PC for a while now - hence posting.
I realise that a lot of this post is a bit self-centered and unlikely to be of
any interest to anyone, but as I'm sure I've said before I write this blog for
me first and foremost.
In other news, apparently a large number of MPs in the lying bastard party
with no integrity and morals have realised that their leader really is a lying
bastard with the integrity and morals of a pile of bat guano. Who knew!
I really like this new track from Simple Minds ....
Today we said farewell to Adrian at a very calm and celebratory ceremony, with wall to wall
sunshine outside and a strong attendance. It was good to see a few faces for the first time in a long
while thanks to Covid etc, but clearly not in the circumstances we wanted to
be meeting.
That should have been the toughest part of the week, but it isn't.
I'm not going to lie, whilst I've been putting on a brave face and fronting
things for a while now I'm pretty apprehensive about what's coming.
My life has been a rollercoaster since early 2019 when I was suddenly very ill
indeed, got diagnosed with rectal cancer and since then I've had three separate operations, two different lots of radiotherapy and two lots of chemo. The last surgery in October 2020 was radical and
life-changing - I've not spelled it out before but I'm sure some realise that
I have a permanent colostomy with absolutely zero chance of reversal. You'd
think by now I'd be over it, but it seems that all of the treatment and
surgery so far is not quite enough. My cancer is starting to come back - right
in the place where it would have been before having body-parts removed.
Thankfully for now at least, there is no sign of any spread; whilst it is a
pretty resilient cancer it doesn't seem to be malicious enough to try and
finish me off. Not just yet at least. So I have another shot at getting rid of
it for good, but this time I am facing even more major radical surgery and at
the end of it I'll be pretty empty below my navel - no bladder or prostate,
but helpfully I'll have another bag to balance me out ....
I've come through surgery and just about got back to as near a normal life as
possible. I've not been as constrained as I may have been, and I've been able
to enjoy stuff like festivals, gigs, West End shows, football matches home, away and abroad, beers and curry and -
not least - getting out and about to enjoy nature when time and weather allow. I know I will
do all that again, even though it will be tough again, but that doesn't clear
the nagging doubt in the back of my mind about what if this doesn't work.
I'm
not planning on going anywhere any time soon though, and certainly will not be
going without kicking and screaming. But you can expect this blog to be quiet for a while. I go for surgery on Thursday and am
likely to be in the hospital for a couple of weeks, and then I am back at the
start of the long road to recovery again. Whilst I'll be trying to get back
connected to the world asap, I doubt I'll have anything to post for a while.
But of course as soon as I can, the garden light and pheromone traps will be
out again so you never know.
For now I'll share this one, a beetle that has few VC55 records and was a
complete surprise in my garden pheromone trap this afternoon (with FOR lure
deployed hoping for Red-tipped Clearwing). This is Triplax russica -
new for me, and perhaps just the fifth or sixth for VC55 (four reliable records, a possible fifth, last in 2005).
Excuse the moth scales that it has picked up whilst having a jolly time in the
pheromone trap.
Back to yesterday: after leaving Burbage Wood I headed along the motorway
north straight to Swithland Wood southern car park. If I was going to have any
luck with pheromone lures for oak spp. this was as good a place as any.
Immediately as I got out of the car I noted the masses of Great Wood-rush and
had a quick nosey. Within a meter of starting I found the mine I was looking
for ....
Elachista regificella
There is so much of the stuff here that I imagine sweeping at the right time
would easily yield adults, rather than trying to rear through.
I headed into the wood to the big slate mound and biggest quarry in the
middle, and deployed the pheromone trap in anticipation. Whilst waiting, I
noted masses of Adela reaumurella dancing around the oaks, all too flightly
and quick to grab a snap. I also thought I'd look at some more leaves and add
a couple of Eriocraniidae to the list for the day. Dyseriocrania subpurpurella
was decidedly easy, and especially so compared to the earlier effort on hazel!
Birch mines were not quite so easy to fine, but I found a few. Eriocrania
sangii is easy enough due to the dark larva, the others though are not so
straightforward. The mines I found could only really be E. semipurpurella
or E. unimaculella, and the couple of larvae I checked match Eriocrania semipurpurella.
Not that I managed to catch a useable snap, but the lack of
darkened prothoracic spots noted.
Dyseriocrania subpurpurella
Eriocrania sangii
Eriocrania semipurpurella
Whilst mooching about, I also found a large gall on oak ....
This is from the sexual generation Oak Apple Gall Wasp (Biorhiza
pallida).
I also found a couple of tortrix larva in leaf rolls that I've not made any
attempt to identify as yet ....
Back to the lure, nothing. But I did notice a load of Navelwort that I don't
remember noticing in VC55 before (though I probably ignore it as I see it so
much in Devon), with a much more interesting looking bunch of plants around
that I didn't recognise at all. I grabbed a few snaps, figuring it would be
easy to work out subsequently, but couldn't come up with anything other than
Wild Candytuft - which didn't look right and would be unlikely anyway. I
enlisted some help, and got work back from Geoffrey Hall (Botanical CMR) via Graham Calow that
it is actually Shepherd's Cress at its only known site in VC55. Appears I
stumbled on an even more unlikely plant!
Navelwort
Shepherd's Cress (Teesdalea nudicaulis)
Back to the lure again, and nothing in the trap but some movement caught my
eye and I noticed what appears to be a small pale tortrix perched on a leaf. A
deft bit of potting and it was secured. I'm wasn't convinced it was attracted
to lure, and after scrutiny I'm even more convinced as I think it is actually
a worn female ....
I'm pencilling in this as a female Pammene argyrana, and hindwings seem
to agree but I'll get it chopped at some point.
Not quite what I was hoping for, but a casual jaunt around a slate mound turned into something
productive anyway.
Apologies in advance for yet another update on pheromone luring around oaks
for Pammene giganteana. Pretty much every day this week, I've nipped to
a spot somewhere on the way home from work and added dots to the map. I also
headed out for an hour earlier today a bit further east in the next hectad.
With these records, and the couple from last year, I've recorded this now in
13 tetrads. My success rate with the lure is around 87% - and where I've not
been successful I think that conditions and/or time of day are factors.
In the following maps, the bright green dots are 2022 sites and the blue dots
are the two 2021 sites.
SK50
SP59
SP69
I know that Graham Calow has been recording this in SP49 (as well as the four
squares in SP59 around Frolesworth and Leire), and I think Adrian Russell will
have added some dots to the east of Leicester.
It still seems amazing how the perceived status of this species prior to the
use of pheromones was so completely wrong. Very few records to light, and no
casual daytime records. There are similarly 'rare' species that may prove to
be similarly common later this year. We added Pammene suspectana to the VC55
list last year, but there were no widespread efforts made to record it and I
am certain it will be common. Pammene splendidulana, Pammene albuginana and
perhaps Pammene ignorata and Pammene obscurana could all go the same way.
Pammene argyrana may also prove to be more common and widespread than existing
light trapping records suggest.
Oaks in open damp grassland at Everard's Meadows
Oaks in hedgerow along a rural lane near to Ashby Magna
Large oak at entrance to Kilby Lodge Farm
Small oak on roadside near new housing build at Lubbesthorpe
The next oak is from the garden trap last night ....
Oak Beauty
Meanwhile, with no link to this post whatsoever, I'm very much enjoying the new
album from Feeder.
On Sunday afternoon, whilst I was out at the KP watching LCFC win, I
speculatively left the MOL pheromone lure in the trap out in the garden. I put
it out at 13:00, literally just before I got in the car and headed off to the
game.
Here's a very sketchy map: the blue dot is home, the green dots are definite
oaks that I know of that are closest to home, and the orange dots are a large
tree that I think is oak (I can't get close to it and I've never bothered
trying to look at it to see, but looks like it 'naked' from the lane) and an
area on Whetstone Golf Course that I think has oaks (again to be checked). The
green dots to the SW of home are those at Victory Park (see last post). There
are almost certainly more oaks within this image than I can recall. Either
way, as you can see there are oaks dotted about reasonably close to home
(within 1km) but it is not exactly abundant.
I had no expectations, but with good sunshine, a bit of warmth and a light
breeze it was as good a time to try an any. I got home at 16:30 and headed
straight to the garden to check the trap. Well, blow me. x2
Pammene giganteana were within it. I am 100% certain that these are
completely unrelated to the use of the trap on Saturday: the one I took to
photograph was still in the fridge, and had there been any inadvertently taken
into the car they would have been buzzing around the trap on the passenger seat
for sure. It's perhaps not an entirely unexpected garden tick, as there are
plenty of similar experiences being posted on the 'Pheromone' Facebook group of
garden records. This was considered a rare moth in VC55 before last spring, but
it is clearly quite common - just inconspicuous and perhaps poorly attracted to
light traps.
post-script: whilst I was writing this I'd left out my new ARG lure (intended for Pammene argyrana) in the garden for the last hour of daylight. I checked just after posting - another x2 Pammene giganteana, so they're clearly not coming from too far away!
x2 from this evening on left, x2 from Sunday afternoon on right
I had to nip into work yesterday late morning, so whilst out I briefly stopped
off at some of the large open parks that are local to my workplace and home
with the MOL pheromone lure. This lure is specifically intended for Grapholita
molesta (an orchard pest and non-native non-naturalised species that is not
likely to be here, not yet anyway) but like many of the lure it has turned out
to be very useful for attracting other species within the Tortricidae. This
one is excellent for Pammene giganteana
as I saw last year, albeit a bit later into the flight period.
Conditions were certainly not perfect, as although very sunny and reasonably
warm the wind was absolutely blasting in persistent gusts. Nevertheless, I
tried at four locations and within a few minutes at each I'd added four dots to
the VC55 map which I expect will be filling out quite widely over the next
year or so.
All four locations are open parkland with large oaks, but none are 'oak
woodland' - in fact none are really woodland at all with large open space around
the trees and at the Cosby park the oaks are actually within the boundary scrub alongside a road with housing on the other side.
Western Park
Braunstone Park - northern end
Braunstone Park - southern end
Victory Park - oaks in boundary on eastern side
This one on the trap at Victory Park ....
.... and one potted up at Western Park for a proper shot
With the wind blasting, I managed to hand the trap from snags on the bark at
most of these sites and in the process found a number of resting Diurnea
fagella and Luffia lapidella (f. ferchaultella) at Braunstone Park. I shall
try and get out with the lure again before the end of the month, targeting
similar large parks and large mature oaks.
Meanwhile the garden trap has been out the last couple of nights, no big
numbers but it's starting to wake up a bit. A couple of different Twin-spotted
Quakers is nice for the garden; it has never turned up in numbers here,
usually one or two a year at most and it wasn't annual but this is now the
fifth consecutive season it has turned up.
So far this evening, I've had a very productive time sorting photos from the
trap and working through a number of gen det confirmations - essentially
adding several species to my PSL and my garden moth list at the same time. But
I'll save that for another day.
You may recall that last weekend I unexpectedly added a couple of clearwings
to the garden list. Since then, I've tried on a few days in the week with the
MYO lure for Red-belted and the FOR lure for Red-tipped, both without success.
The conditions yesterday were perfect for clearwing hunting, but I was frankly
too knackered, hot and bothered to go out after the mothing expedition on
Saturday night. I decided to try a couple of different lures in the garden to
see if anything else might be attracted. I stuck out the VES lure again, but
again Orange-tailed turned up quickly so I couldn't leave that out. I tried
the HYL lure (intended for Raspberry Clearwing) but nothing was interested in
a couple of hours. Next I hung out the CUL lure (intended for Large
Red-belted). Within 15 minutes or so there was some action, but the small
black insect darting around the trap was not going in so I swiped it in my net
....
So somehow, Red-belted Clearwing arrived when using the wrong lure - with
no response to the supposed target lure. I've only seen Red-belted once before,
a brief appearance to MYO but not lingering and not that bothered. Every other
time I've tried MYO I've had no response. I left the CUL lure out but within
another 10mins or so the trap had another two Red-belted so I pulled it in. From
the pheromone luring Facebook group it seems that Red-belted is actually more
attracted to the CUL lure than MYO - so perhaps I should try again at a few
sites and see what happens.
Later in the day, after sleeping through most of the British Grand Prix ( I
saw the first lap, nodded off during the red flagged stop and woke up with
about three laps to go) I decided to try again with the FOR lure. The
conditions were still perfect, and I've had success with this lure when out
and about late in the afternoon / early evening. I wasn't too hopeful though
and left the lure in the trap whilst I made a rudimentary effort at cleaning
the dust and bird shite off of my car. An hour or so later, I checked the trap
and ....
A single Red-tipped Clearwing, the fifth clearwing sp. new to the
garden this year. Ironically, this is the one that I was most hopeful about!
The clearwing season is probably not going to last much longer, and I doubt
there will by any others added to the garden list. Yellow-legged has resolutely failed to turn up
but I can't keep leaving out VES anyway, Hornet Moth does not respond too well
to the lure but will be over by now, and Six-belted is unlikely here despite
being one of the commonest clearwing sp. But I think there is more to come
from hanging out the lures, one way or another.
I imagine from the blog post title you were expecting me to post a link to
some dirge from a ginger-haired Mancunian .... nope.
Yesterday was almost ridiculous. And I don't mean the match last night ....
When I set the moth trap on Saturday night, I also left out the LUN pheremone
lure in the vain hope that it would attract one or two Tineid moths (as it has
done for many others). Sunday morning, not quite at the crack of dawn, I
emptied the moth trap and checked the lure - nothing. By the time I'd emptied
the trap it was c06:30 and I intended to get back into bed for another couple
of hours or so. I simply left the pheromone trap hanging. When I was back up
and in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil, I looked out and thought I
saw some movement inside the trap .... surely not .... but I went and checked
....
I couldn't quite believe it, x2 Lunar Hornet Moths in the garden. I'd
never thought of putting the lure out in the garden to target this clearwing.
There is a decent sized sallow in the adjacent garden, but I'm sure these came
from a bit further afield (though clearly not too far). From using this lure
last year, I reckon these don't fly too early in the morning, I had no success
anywhere before c9am.
Buoyed by this inadvertent success, I decided to try another lure that has not
hung in the garden before - mainly because I'd seen a couple of other reports
from around the VC suggesting it might be worth a punt. So out went the VES lure
whilst I nipped out with the LUN lure attempting (but failing) to add another
dot to the VC map.
I got back after around one and a half hours, had a squint at the trap and
could not believe it - more clearwings. The VES lure was initially intended
for Yellow-legged Clearwing which is pretty much a specialist of mature oaks /
oak woodland. But the lure also works for Orange-tailed Clearwing which, until
this year, was thought to be rare in the VC and pretty much restricted to the
east of Rutland. Orange-tailed mainly feeds on Wayfaring Tree which is itself
pretty scarce in VC55. I suspect no-one bothered trying the lure in their
gardens in years gone by as neither clearwing species seemed likely. But Orange-tailed
also feeds on Guelder Rose, and perhaps it is also feeding on cultivated
viburnums. Either way, there were three in my garden and again these can't
have come too from too far away.
Orange-tailed Clearwing
I tried to make it a hat-trick but the FOR lure failed to bring in Red-tipped
Clearwing although the afternoon was pretty dull and cloudy. Still I can't
complain with two garden ticks in rapid succession.
Otherwise, the last couple of times the trap has been out I've lazily pointed
the camera at Torts on the sheet and trap body ....
