The Magnificent Seven (Hundred)

Still windy, not so warm and a bit overcast, so I've had a bit of a clerical catch-up day. PSL list updated, Mapmate up to date with garden moth records, and I'm a good way to getting a load of other stuff from this year on there too (after having put most of them on iRecord via Naturespot already, just getting them on my Mapmate for personal reference).

So nothing new seen or attempted today. I had another result on one of the sawflies from last weekend last night though. After being pointed the right way, checking through the key and looking at the right bits I had Macrophya annulata confirmed (which is what I had it down as to start with anyway).

No white flecks on hind coxae, red band extends to a 'girdle' - therefore annulata, not blanda

I've also reached a major garden moth milestone. After the Luffia lapidella f. ferchaultella last month, I've been waiting for the 700th garden species to turn up. Of course I was hoping it would be something notable; maybe a scarce species in the county, hopefully a macro, even better something that I'd never seen before. And then this turned up on the Thursday night catch ....

It is something that I've never seen before so that's nice, but - really - the most shabby, worn and uninspiring example you could imagine. A bald, tuftless, barely clothed Spuleria flavicaput. So my garden moth list reaches 700, and may many more turn up for however long I'm/we're here. I've got no plans on going anywhere in the forseeable, certainly before the kids fledge .... which might be another couple of decades. Not sure if mine is now the biggest garden moth list in VC55 but can't be far off.

Other moths from Thursday included these:

Coleophora albicosta

Metzneria metzneriella

Syndemis musculana

Broken-barred Carpet

Miller

The wind has eased a fair bit this evening, though still a decent breeze and it's carm and cloudy with a touch of rain possible. Trap is out again.

Otherwise today (as you may already have seen) I have mainly been seething at the hypocrisy of, resolute contempt shown by and blind sycophancy that is the Tory leadership and press. I've sent a few pointed tweets and replies, not that it makes any difference. Fuck em all, I despise the bastards.

A few bits

No trapping to report, and whilst VC55 has had a bit of a purple patch on the bird front (2 White-winged Black Terns, Blue-winged Teal, several singing Firecrests, Temminck's Stint) I've seen them all before in the County and haven't had a chance/bothered to go and see these ones.

In lieu of anything doing, here's a few bits that got missed from recent posts for one reason or another plus a couple of updates.

First up, back on 11/05/2010 I searched for larvae and collected sprigs of hawthorn. A couple of days ago I had a first success when this emerged:

Ptycholoma lecheana

Even on freshly emerged individuals, the yellow-brown scales seem patchy and prone to falling off leaving black patches.

Next up, a micro I've been taking in the garden recently:

Coleophora albicosta

This breeds on the gorse bushes that are on the embankment adjacent to the garden. Back in 2002 I had the first for VC55 confirmed from my garden (and it was present the year before but not gen detted)

Here's a few that are from the Narborough Bog catch on Sunday night:

Platyptilia gonodactyla

Nutmeg

Gold Swift - refused to sit still, constantly revving

Buff-tip - wouldn't sit the right way up (upside down) on the birch sapling

Also from Narborough Bog is this:

Cream-spot Ladybird

Ladybirds quite often turn up in the moth traps and I like to see them - they are mothing mates in my book. Obviously I would be concerned if I started getting ladyboys in the moth trap, that would just be wrong.

Finally, last week I was lucky enough to be presented with a box of Emperor Moth caterpillars courtesy of Keith 'Mothshots' Tailby. He'd reared some last year, and managed to assemble a male to his garden this year resulting in more eggs than he could possibly cope with. I've tried assembling this species before without success, so was more than happy to blag a few to rear for next spring. They were already just under 20mm when I got them on the Wednesday evening, now they are just over 30mm and growing fast - eating loads of sallow and shedding skin. They change dramatically through the instars, going from mainly black with a bit of orange, to orange and black, to green and black, and finally to huge and green. Superb caterpillars. I'll get more images as they grow.