Smart Trapticks

I'll be making an effort to remember to have the camera on hand from now on whilst I empty the moths traps through the summer. The traps are starting to pull in a few bugs and other bits and quite often I get better shots of them on the eggboxes than afterwards!

Very early in the morning on Friday whilst emptying the traps, I noted three mirid bugs. All looked familiar but I had no idea of a name for any of them. Subsequent checking of the photos revealed that two of them were actually a male and female of the same species and complete British tick for me - so either I've seen but ignored them in the past (possible) or they were just superficially similar to one I have seen. Either way, just as well I bothered grabbing the camera!

Stenotus binotatus - male

Stenotus binotatus - female

The other was one that I've recorded from the garden traps before:

Stenodema calcarata

There was also a chunky leafhopper that I see in the traps quite frequently ...

Iassus lanio

And to cap all that, there was also a small weevil that looked interesting enough to pot up (which was just as well as the photos I took were actually complete crap!). It looks like this is going to be another British tick, and more importantly another good beetle record for VC55 with only three previous and none for c21 years.

Dorytomus ictor

I'll round off with a few moths that have been left to one side during the photo catch-up - the decks are now clear for whatever tonight and the week ahead brings.

Possible Argyresthia glabratella - pending gen det
post-script - got this one completely wrong, confirmed as Tineola bisselliella by gen. det. which is a completely new British Tick for me!

Ptycholomiodes aeriferanus

Chrysoteuchia culmella

Catoptria falsella

Small Fan-footed Wave

Big Garden Roundup

Here are the summaries for 13th - 15th in the garden.

13/06/2011

Swarming around cherry tree late afternoon
0420 Cherry Fruit Moth (Argyresthia pruniella) 60 (NFY)

Total catch 127 of 45sp.
(125W MV 80 of 30, 20W/29W actinic CFL/CFL combo 47 of 31)

New for year in garden:
1458 Thistle Ermine (Myelois circumvoluta) 1
1708 Single-dotted Wave (Idaea dimidiata) 1
2069 Cinnabar (Tyria jacobaeae) 1
2128 Double Square-spot (Xestia triangulum) 2
2381 Uncertain (Hoplodrina alsines) 2
2473 Beautiful Hook-tip (Laspeyria flexula) 1
2474 Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis) 1
2489 Fan-foot (Zanclognatha tarsipennalis) 1

Highest counts:
2089 Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) 32
1334 Scoparia ambigualis 7
1428 Bee Moth (Aphomia sociella) 7
1076 Celypha lacunana 6
1083 Marbled Orchard Tortrix (Hedya nubiferana) 5
1834 Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata) 5

Best of the rest:
1497 Amblyptilia acanthadactyla 2
1682 Blood-vein (Timandra comae) 1
1707 Small Dusty Wave (Idaea seriata) 1
1961 Light Emerald (Campaea margaritata) 1
2061 Buff Ermine (Spilosoma luteum) 2


14/06/2011
Total catch 172 of 60sp.
(125W MV 84 of 43, 80W/100W actinic/tungsten combo 88 of 35)

New for year in garden:
0977 Large Fruit-tree Tortrix (Archips podana) 1
1033 Green Oak Tortrix (Tortrix viridana) 1
1338 Dipleurina lacustrata 2
1413 Gold Triangle (Hypsopygia costalis) 1
1501 Platyptilia gonodactyla 1
1653 Buff Arches (Habrosyne pyritoides) 1
1702 Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata) 2
1758 Barred Straw (Eulithis pyraliata) 1
2030 Yellow-tail (Euproctis similis) 1
2077 Short-cloaked Moth (Nola cucullatella) 1

Small Fan-footed Wave f. fimbriolata

Platyptilia gonodactyla

Highest counts:
2089 Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) 45
1076 Celypha lacunana 8
1937 Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria) 7
1083 Marbled Orchard Tortrix (Hedya nubiferana) 6
1860 Green Pug (Pasiphila rectangulata) 6
2321 Dark Arches (Apamea monoglypha) 6
2160 Bright-line Brown-eye (Lacanobia oleracea) 5

Best of the rest:
0409b Argyresthia cupressella 3
1634 Lackey (Malacosoma neustria) 2
1708 Single-dotted Wave (Idaea dimidiata) 1
1742 Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata) 1
1961 Light Emerald (Campaea margaritata) 2
1991 Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor) 1
2473 Beautiful Hook-tip (Laspeyria flexula) 2

Another wacky Lackey (see here)

This the form of Lackey I usually get

Cabbage Moth

15/06/2011
Total catch 182 of 68sp.
(125W MV 89 of 47, 80W/100W actinic/tungsten combo 93 of 40)

FIRST FOR GARDEN:
0601 Elachista albifrontella 1

Elachista albifrontella

New for year in garden:
0658 Carcina quercana 1
0724 Metzneria lappella 1
1690 Small Blood-vein (Scopula imitaria) 1
1765 Barred Yellow (Cidaria fulvata) 1
1922 Swallow-tailed Moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria) 2
2318 Dun-bar (Cosmia trapezina) 1

Metzneria lappella - first for garden since 2001

Highest counts:
2089 Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) 46
1076 Celypha lacunana 7
1175 Bramble Shoot Moth (Epiblema uddmanniana) 7
2321 Dark Arches (Apamea monoglypha) 6
1083 Marbled Orchard Tortrix (Hedya nubiferana) 5
2098 Flame (Axylia putris) 5
2381 Uncertain (Hoplodrina alsines) 5

Best of the rest:
0409b Argyresthia cupressella 1
1261 Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella) 1
1338 Dipleurina lacustrata 4
1392 Udea olivalis 2
1634 Lackey (Malacosoma neustria) 1
1702 Small Fan-footed Wave (Idaea biselata) 1
1742 Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata) 1
1758 Barred Straw (Eulithis pyraliata) 1
1961 Light Emerald (Campaea margaritata) 2
1991 Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor) 2
2011 Pale Prominent (Pterostoma palpina) 1
2061 Buff Ermine (Spilosoma luteum) 2
2077 Short-cloaked Moth (Nola cucullatella) 1
2384 Vine's Rustic (Hoplodrina ambigua) 1
2473 Beautiful Hook-tip (Laspeyria flexula) 3

Carcina quercana

Swallow-tailed Moth

Barred Straw