Marvellous

I have just two records of Merveille du Jour from the garden - singles c9 days apart in 2009, none before that and none since. The lack of mature oaks within sight of the garden will not help. So, when I potted one up from the trap last night I was well chuffed. Even more so when I found another in the trap this morning - albeit that one was missing antennae for some reason.

What a marvellous start to the day ....

Most of the rest of the autumnal stuff that has turned up over the last few days is brown or grey.

Beaded Chestnut

Juniper Carpet

Red-line Quaker

Satellite

Acleris sparsana

Feathered Thorn

Dark Chestnut

Green-brindled Crescent

I did get out today looking for more leaf mines, and found a good selection along with a few mildews, rusts and galls. A lot of it sorted and ready to add to records but still plenty to go at.

Leper

The title reflects the lepidopteran content, and the social distancing context! Today I headed out for what is now a bi-weekly big shop, and the experience was no better than last time. I have no idea what level of herd immunity we're at, but I can testify that we are at rampantly high levels of herd idiocy. People should be avoiding each other like they've visibly got something that you'd absolutley not want to have. Like Leprosy. I was in no rush, and took my time waiting for people to move. Many were similarly pleasant and considerate, many others were complete wankers.

I had the synergetic/actinic trap out last night, and it was as pants as I thought it would be. There was still one NFY species though, but not a nice colourful one.

Rustic Shoulder-knot

Later this afternoon I headed out for another walk down the disued railway line. It was damper underfoot after the rainy week, but not wet as such. The sun was in and out, but it was warm and a pleasant enough distaction. Again it was just about devoid of other people - one old lady departing when I arrived. I took a sweep net this time, potted a few bits and pointed the camera at a few others. I'll come back to the camera.

The hawthorn blossom was again my target, but beetle activity was still low with no big showy longhorns. More larvae showered down though, including one I've not seen before ....

Early Moth - not as sharp as I would like

Feathered Thorn

Green-brindled Crescent - head capsule about to pop off

.... plus lots of the same species as last weekend, like this Dotted Border/Scarce Umber

A few butterflies were active, though only settled when the sun went behind cloud ....

Red Admiral

Orange-tip

Speckled Wood

I mentioned last year that my Nikon P600 camera was starting to play up a bit and that I'd probably replace it. Lots of stuff got in the way after that, and I wasn't using it quite as much as I would have liked anyway. Today though the camera has driven me around the bend. The mode select wheel at the top is fine on some of the setting, but on others the camera keeps flipping between modes. Sometimes when viewing the images it refuses to zoom in to view, and then crashes back to shoot mode. And other times it just freezes and I have to disconnect the battery to get it back. Today it completely went for a wank and after refusing to turn on, eventually came beck to life having completely reset itself to factory settings. Otherwise I couldn't be happier with the camera - the image quality is fine (any really duff images are down to me rather than the camera), and I have had it a fair while now (5.5 years). But enough is enough, and I've ordered a replacement. Not quite a direct replacement, but near enough - the Nikon Coolpix P950. It will essentially be the same, except bigger and heavier with an even longer 83x optical zoom. It should arrive early next week, and no doubt I'll then have to work out what step-down ring I need to attach the raynox lenses.

Recent Larval Finds

I've got quite a menagerie of larvae at the moment, that I'm either trying to rear through to later instars etc to confirm ID, or just because I can and they're quite therapeutic. Here's a few, there are more!

Green-brindled Crescent, a chance find at Ketton Quarry on 07/05/2018

Feathered Thorn, swept from hawthorn at Cossington Meadows on 06/05/2018

Acrobasis advenella, inadvertently collected in hawthorn used as foodplant

Pretty sure this is an early-instar Black Arches - found on hawthorn at Ketton Quarry on 07/05/2018

Small Quaker, beaten from oak at Kinchley Lane on 19/05/2018

Purple Hairstreak, beaten from oak at Kinchley Lane on 19/05/2018 -

this one is going back before long now I know what it is.

Copper Underwing, several on elm at Kinchley Lane on 19/05/2018

Another one to confirm, but I think it's a Sprawler from Kinchley Lane on 19/05/2018

And this was one of several Mullein larvae I found today at Watermead CP North -

photographed in-situ on the foodplant.

Late October Geos

Here's a couple from the garden traps this week, starting with a very welcome one ....

Mottled Umber

Only the second for the garden, first was back in Jan 2011

Feathered Thorn

Juniper Carpet

This last one usually signifies that the end is nigh for me - I'll keep trying but there will be a few blanks coming up now. Always a chance that I could still see Scarce Umber, Sprawler, December Moth, Chestnut and maybe something unexpected.

From the garden trap 26/09/2011

Back out with the traps last night - turned out to be cooler than I'd hoped and it was a bit nippy and damp this morning. Aside from three yearticks, biggest surprise was a Common Rustic agg. - the last one I recorded was around three weeks ago on 3rd September.

Aside from any potential immigrants or garden firsts, there are c6 species left that I can reasonably expect to turn up over the next couple of weeks, and maybe c6 other possibles before the year end. The fat lady isn't singing yet, but I can hear the gargling and throat clearing ....

Total catch 41 of 20sp.
(125W MV 11 of 8, 22W/18W Synergetic/CFL combo 30 of 15)

0648 White-shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella) 2
0998 Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) 2
1041 Acleris sparsana 1 (NFY)
1048 Garden Rose Tortrix (Acleris variegana) 2
1138 Epinotia nisella 1
1524 Emmelina monodactyla 1
1760 Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata) 1
1923 Feathered Thorn (Colotois pennaria) 1 (NFY)
1937 Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria) 1
2107 Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) 5
2109 Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes) 7
2134 Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa) 2
2232 Black Rustic (Aporophyla nigra) 2
2240 Blair's Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri hesperica) 5
2262 Brick (Agrochola circellaris) 1 (NFY)
2270 Lunar Underwing (Omphaloscelis lunosa) 2
2271 Orange Sallow (Xanthia citrago) 1
2272 Barred Sallow (Xanthia aurago) 1
2273 Pink-barred Sallow (Xanthia togata) 2
2343x Common Rustic agg. (Mesapamea secalis agg.) 1

Feathered Thorn

Brick

Black Rustic - stunning when fresh but this is another less than perfect individual

06/10 & 07/10 Garden Mothing

Mixed fortunes over the last two nights. On Wednesday night the MV was absolutely dire, whilst the combo trap did okay and pulled in 5 new species for the year. Last night was better overall for numbers with both traps doing okay though the combo outperformed the MV again, though the only new for year species was an unexpected Spruce Carpet.

06/10/2010, Total 29 of 15sp.
(125W MV 2 of 2, 80W/100W actinic/tungsten 27 of 15)

0998 Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) 1
1041 Acleris sparsana 1
1048 Garden Rose Tortrix (Acleris variegana) 4
1524 Emmelina monodactyla 1
1728 Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata) 1
1795x November Moth agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.) 1
1923 Feathered Thorn (Colotois pennaria) 1
2240 Blair's Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri hesperica) 4
2259 Dark Chestnut (Conistra ligula) 1
2262 Brick (Agrochola circellaris) 4
2263 Red-line Quaker (Agrochola lota) 5
2264 Yellow-line Quaker (Agrochola macilenta) 1
2272 Barred Sallow (Xanthia aurago) 1
2274 Sallow (Xanthia icteritia) 1
2306 Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) 2

The Brick

Dark Chestnut

Feathered Thorn

07/10/2010, Total 74 of 27sp.
(125W MV 28 of 17, 80W/100W actinic/tungsten 46 of 20)

0464 Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella) 1
0647 Brown House Moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella) 1
0648 White-shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella) 1
0998 Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) 7
1041 Acleris sparsana 1
1048 Garden Rose Tortrix (Acleris variegana) 3
1398 Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella) 1
1524 Emmelina monodactyla 4
1728 Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata) 2
1760 Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata) 1
1764 Common Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata) 2
1769 Spruce Carpet (Thera britannica) 1
1795x November Moth agg. (Epirrita dilutata agg.) 2
2107 Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) 6
2109 Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes) 1
2126 Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum) 3
2240 Blair's Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri hesperica) 8
2245 Green-brindled Crescent (Allophyes oxyacanthae) 2
2245 Green-brindled Crescent [ab. capucina] (Allophyes oxyacanthae) 1
2259 Dark Chestnut (Conistra ligula) 3
2262 Brick (Agrochola circellaris) 3
2263 Red-line Quaker (Agrochola lota) 3
2264 Yellow-line Quaker (Agrochola macilenta) 5
2272 Barred Sallow (Xanthia aurago) 5
2273 Pink-barred Sallow (Xanthia togata) 1
2306 Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) 2
2434 Burnished Brass (Diachrysia chrysitis) 1
2441 Silver Y (Autographa gamma) 3

Spruce Carpet

Rush Veneer

Green-brindled Crescent

Common Marbled Carpet

Larval Life

Here's a selection of larvae that I currently have boxed up for rearing:

Feathered Thorn - several munching happily on my lilac bush

Presumed Square-spot Rustic. One I found when at Ketton Quarry a couple of weeks ago - it should be easy to rear on grass and weeds but so far it's hardly touching anything I offer ....

Winter Moth - found several on both hawthorn and rowan

Currently unidentified geometrid found on hawthorn - looks most like Autumnal Moth but seems unlikely

Trachycera advenella - easy to find on hawthorn

Uknown micro round on rowan - looks like a tortrix

Larval web found on Bird-cherry - Bird-cherry Ermine

Pistol Case-bearer Coleophora anatipennella on hawthorn

Found several Coleophorid cases on hawthorn like these - not convinced they are all the same species, probably both Coleophora spinella and Coleophora coracipennella

Another Coleophorid on hawthorn - this one is odd though as the case is very small and probably the first one produced.