I had a momentous bit of mothing luck on Tuesday. I'd left the NI lure
(Trichoplusia ni) out in the pheromone trap on Monday night; on checking it
early on Tuesday morning after emptying the light trap, there was just a
single Silver Y and absolutely nothing else. I was short of time, so just left the
pheromone trap with lure still in place lying in the garden. Come early
evening when I was about to set-up the light trap again, I picked up the pheromone
trap to sort it out and was surprised to see a tiny moth jumping around inside
it. I knew that whatever it was, it would need potting before I'd have any
chance of identifying it. So, indoors with the trap, pot grabbed and I
successfully captured said moth. Too small to see what it was, but it looked
tortrix-ish. Grab an eye lens and - wow - that is one very smart tortrix that
I didn't immediately recognise but knew which candidates to look at. Not long
afterwards, I'd realised that it wasn't any of the obvious candidates and
alarm bells started ringing about a new species that was recently being
caught. A quick trawl around Facebook groups and Twitter and I got it sorted -
Pammene juniperana. I knew that would be not only new for me and VC55,
but perhaps of National significance. I risked nothing more than an
in-the-pot-shot before getting news out on relevant FB groups.
This was new to Britain in Berkshire in 2018. This year, there have been further
records in Berkshire (2nd & 8th?), Hertfordshire (3rd & 4th),
Oxfordshire (5th) and Essex (6th & 7th?). Mine is perhaps the 9th, but more
importantly it is quite geographically disparate to the others. It seems likely
this is a recent colonist; it is a Juniper feeder, and quite likely it will be
making use of cultivated Junipers too. There is no native Juniper in VC55,
though it has been planted at a couple of sites at least.
I remembered yesterday that a long while ago I bought a photography diffuser
'tent' which I always found to be a pfaff to use with my previous photography
set up. But using it would mean a good chance of a half decent shot out of the
pot with a much reduced risk of losing it, especially with the handheld TG-6.
So I gave it a go ....
.... not too shabby, but still not as spanking as in the flesh! This is pretty
tiny for a tortrix, just a shade under 4mm wing-length.
I am now certain about the ID personally, though others have - apparently -
been initially mis-identified as Cydia cosmorphorana, To my eye the similarity
is superficial (perhaps less so on a worn individual), and C. cosmorphorana is
usually a couple of mm bigger. Either way with it being such a 'new' UK
species and still potentially of National significance I'll get it gen detted
as a formality. I suspect that in due course this will be another tortrix that is shown to be
relatively well distributed through pheromone lures: I know that one of the
Essex records was to the NIG (Cydia nigricana) lure, and one of the Berkshire
records to the ARG (Pammene argyrana) lure.
post-script: confirmed male Pammene juniperana by gen det as expected
I could have picked Jennifer Juniper by Donovan as the track for this post, but that
would be like selling my soul (again). So here is a more esoteric
Juniper-themed track.
On Saturday night I was able to enjoy some out in the field mothing; a major
step in my recovery both in terms of driving distance and physicality, though
I have to be honest and say that I was completely knackered the following
morning. I joined a group session at Rutland Water organised by Tim Sexton,
based in and around the Lyndon Center on the south shore. I had Graham Calow
along for company, and amongst the participants were Pete Leonard, Graham
Finch and Margaret McLoughlin along with Lyndon regulars Pete Bennett and
Martin Grimes, plus a handful of other recorders. As it happened Pete headed
in the same direction as me and we set out out lights throughout a section of
woodland known as Berrybut Spinney adjacent to the Rutland Water Golf Course,
using my sheet as a gathering point. There were additional lights running in
Gibbet Gorse, around the center and Graham & Margaret heading the other
way towards Waderscrape Hide. So all in all good coverage and decent potential
for a great combined list.
The two cyan squares are the two halves of Berrybut Spinney, yellow square is
Gibbet Gorse, green square is the Lyndon center and the red square is
Waderscrape Hide.
It's been a while since my sedate family car got abused off-road like this.
Pete (left) and Graham (right) ahead of lighting up.
The brown wooden box next to my chair is the old catch box that Adrian made
the best part of 30 years ago, and it is great being able to use it and give
it some more service. I think he'd approve.
The hope of great things waned after lighting up, when it became clear quite
early on that we were not going to be inundated with moths at the sheet. No
idea why really, but it was a lot quieter across all the traps than I think we
anticipated. Still, my sheet and x2 125W MV traps alone brought in 54sp. and
Pete's x2 MV + x3 actinic traps managed a healthy 66sp. We await the combined
list, but perhaps c100sp. will be achieved. Either way it was great to be out at all, and all the better to be out on a group event.
Best of the bunch on our side was in one of Pete's traps, a worn Agonopterix
purpurea. Otherwise the best micro in my traps was a worn Psoricoptera
gibbosella, whilst macro highlights were my first VC55 worn White-point, a
couple of worn Square-spotted Clay and a worn Dark Sword-grass. You'll
notice that these all share a common characteristic!
Agonopterix purpurea
Psoricoptera gibbosella
White-point
Square-spotted Clay
Dark Sword-grass
The garden trap delivered another first last night ....
Neocochylis molliculana. VC55 first was in 2015, but there has been a
distinct increase since 2019 so perhaps only a matter of time before it popped
up.
Also noteworthy were ....
A knackered Ypsolopha horridella - second garden records after one in
2020.
.... and the third Nephopterix angustella so far this year.
So that Scrobipalpa sp. that was in my last post: turns out that it is almost
certainly S. ocellatella [Beet Moth]. What wasn't so clear, but became
so very quickly, is that there appears to be a quite widespread
dispersal/migration event going on for this species. It is predominantly
coastal with very occasional inland records considered to be wanderers. There
was a similar dispersal event in Sept 2020 with a flurry of records in
Bedfordshire and a smaller number in Huntingdonshire. However it seems to have
successfully transitioned from Sea Beet to cultivated sugar beet, and this
year at least it appears to be very common in both Huntingdonshire and
Cambridgeshire - perhaps not surprising assuming these areas support a lot of
sugar beet farming as in East Anglia. But the dispersal is pushing it further
north and inland. I e-mailed Steve Palmer [Gelechiid Recording Scheme
organiser] to give him a heads up.
Within VC55 there are now records from:
Vale of Belvoir on 29th July and 14th August
My Whetstone garden on 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th and 14th August
Broughton Astley on 10th and 13th August
Groby on 10th August (photo only)
Anstey on 14th August (photo only)
As far as I can work out there have also been records in the following areas
with no known populations (likely to be a far from complete picture):
Northamptonshire on 1st August and 11th August
Bedfordshire on 7th August
North Somerset on 13th August
Worcestershire on 13th August
Staffordshire on 14th August
I've got x4 individuals pending gen det from 9th, 10th, 13th and one from x4
last night. Here's a collection of hastily grabbed shots from egg trays and on
the trap of the individuals not retained. There is a bit of variation but
there are plenty of consistencies. Gen det is necessary to be sure, but
clearly a one-off is not the same a a National dispersal event.
This could go on for a while, who knows. I really don't think we have a lot of
sugar beet farmed in VC55 though so this generation is unlikely to establish
here.
Aside from this, I've had three other new moths for the garden list in the
last few days:
A less than pristine Tawny-barred Angle - perhaps an overdue addition.
A Twin-spotted Wainscot - though I was almost sure at c6am that this
was already on the garden list
Monopis crocicapitella (per the pale grey hindwings). Despite
appearances this scarpered into the kitchen a few seconds later. This is a new
one for me too.
I've also had several Caloptilia semifascia, and further singles of
Caloptilia cuculipennella and Nephopterix angustella that were
all new to the garden around end of July. Otherwise the best micros have been
....
Phyllocnistis unipunctella - second garden record, first since 2001
Nemapogon koenigi - fourth garden record
I've not been so active in looking out for non-leps around the trap, though to
be honest it's been surprisingly quiet on that front. This pair from last
night though includes a new beetle for the garden:
Cryptocephalus pusillus
Lesser Earwig
I've just picked up that avian flu is rife at both Watermead CP and Abbey
Park in Leicester - both areas where overfeeding is a persistent problem
meaning higher density of some species than normal. Not so bad if it
reduces the Canada's and hybrids but it will actually be wintering gulls
and wildfowl that will bear the brunt of this.
"When you cast your eyes upon the skylines, of this once proud Nation, Can you sense the fear and the hatred growing in the hearts of its population"
First up, an absolute beast of a longhorn that I found loafing on the patio - though undoubtedly it had been attracted to the light trap. At 26mm
nose to tail it is a pretty hefty beetle, but as longhorns go it's far from
the most attractive. This is the second I've had to the garden trap, first was 2020.
Arhopalus rusticus
The other highlight though is a lot smaller, and almost certainly a lot more
exciting. Probably anyway, I can't be certain what it is as yet ....
Scrobipalpa sp.
All of the potential candidates for this one are absent from the VC55 list,
albeit there is another specimen from one of Pete Leonard's traps a week or so
ago pending gen det too. Once dissected, this will be new for me and the
garden either way.
Some may recognise the post title as a lyric from this 1985 track, the
prophetic opening line of which is "I've seen the future, I can't afford it."
As part of my recovery, my walks from home have gradually turned from short
shuffling ambles to longer strolls with a bit of pace. I've not really been
going anywhere with intent, it's just to stretch the legs and get some life
back into muscles. But of course it doesn't take long before longer walks turn
to walk-stop-walk sequences whilst looking at some shrubbery or other. And so
it is that I've picked up a few leafmines over the last few days - mostly
expected, but good to get the eye in for some proper effort later in the
month. Almost everything so far vacated.
These three all on crab apple:
Leucoptera malifoliella, Callisto denticulella and Bohemannia
pulverosella.
Stigmella aceris all over the place on both Field Maple as here, and also
on Norway Maple.
Etainia louisella on Field Maple keys. Actually this may be tenanted
but almost impossible to dissect out without destroying it.
Perhaps the only one that wasn't entirely expected, I found a load of
Phyllocnistis saligna mines on White Willow growing alongside the
Whetstone Brook between the local park and school. I've not walked along
there for a good few years, and realised that aside from these willows there
are some osiers and some healthy looking oaks that must have been planted
when the park was created c30years ago.
My walks have mainly been in the early evening after the sun has started to
dip, rather than in the full blown sunshine ....
Ok, so I got the final outcome from the consultants at a post-op follow up
last Friday with Nichola. Bottom line - no discussions about how long I've got
and no further treatment; lymph nodes clear and resection margins
microscopically clear (r0) so essentially I am cancer-free and can get on with
planning and living my life like anyone else. No guarantees of course, although ongoing surveillance for five years is reassuring, but
it's absolutely the best outcome I could have hoped for. Just got to get on
with physical recovery, though I'm feeling a bit stronger every day and from
today I'm logging on to work for a while to get back on top of things.
I'm also taking on the VC55 CMR role formally from hereon in. I've been
covering the role since Adrian's passing, but of course was hesitant to
formalise anything too quickly and whilst I had my own health cloud. There is
much to do, initially just to get a grip on a few things.
I ran the garden trap for a couple of nights before the weekend, and picked up
x3 new micros in the process - one of which was completely new to me.
Ironically though, the first new micro was almost overlooked.
From 28/07/2022 there were x2 Brown-line Bright-eye in the trap that I
couldn't remember having here before, and x2 Caloptilia semifascia that has
been turning up in gardens regularly over the last couple of years or so. It
didn't remotely click that mine wasn't one of them. It was only when checking
for last dates that the penny dropped, and thankfully I'd potted both to
ensure a photo anyway. Turned out that after all I had recorded Brown-line
Bright-eye here before - albeit way back in 2000 & 2003.
Caloptilia semifascia - garden tick
Worn but welcome Brown-line Bright-eye - not a garden tick!
The following night, another couple of micros that this time I knew were new
....
Caloptilia cuculipennella - new for me and the garden
Nephopterix angustella - seems to be having a good year locally
"All you've got to do is feel, your body's going to start to heal, Fingertips
of holy fire, everlasting sweet desire, It don't matter what the
doctors say, Healer man, sail away, Immortality for two, miracles
will come to you. The faith healer, the faith healer"
