Travel / Trip

I had a few days over in the Netherlands last week for some European football (albeit in the new third tier UEFA Europa Conference League, though we're in good company having already put out Rennes and not beating PSV Eindhoven in their home ground, with Roma coming up in the semi-finals). It's the first time I've travelled overseas since our Caribbean cruise in 2018, thanks to health issues and covid. Of course it was also the first post-Brexit experience in a European airport as a non-EU traveller .... Glad I don't have a need to travel for work anymore.

Whilst away the weather turned properly warm and sunny for a few days, though over the couple of nights that I've had the trap out since getting home you'd not think it. Poor catches and not much variety as yet.

Oak-tree Pug

Golden-rod Pug

A typically duff looking individual - abdominal plates checked.

Least Black Arches

Dromius meridionalis

The first non-lep in the trap that I've bothered to point the camera at so far this year

I've got some time off of work next week too, though we'll mainly be planting up our new raised beds and nipping down to Devon for a quick visit.

All The Bs

The Bs in question through this post being bats, blossom, beer, barbeque, beetle.

Last evening after posting, I went down to join the family females watching Jesus Christ Superstar the stage show. Luckily I was distracted by the sight of the first bats of the year hawking outside the front window. When I nipped out to check the moth traps, one was swooping around very low over the garden. I didn't bother checking them with the detector - every one I've ever checked here has been a standard 45k Pipistrelle.

The moth trap was a little better, not so much in numbers but at least some NFY species starting to turn up.

Oak-tree Pug

Oak Nycteoline

Least Black Arches

Remember early last year when our neighbours had a lovely big plum tree cut down? Turned out the neighbours were worried about some minor subsidence of their conservatory. The photos from then showed our large flowering cherry. That was actually starting to get too big for it's own good and we had it pruned later in the year. Today it was just about in full bloom and looking okay - at least it wasn't completely decimated ... or felled!

We've also got another blossoming tree in the garden that we acquired last year, albeit still a spindly twig in a pot. It's a peach that should produce some fruit. Except that so far this year I've not seen a single bee or other insect go anywhere near it. Today I spent a few minutes carefully brushing and cross-contaminating the flowers - no idea if that will make any difference!

I confused myself briefly when I noticed Peach Blossom in the labels index .....

A cursory look at the Hart's-tongue Fern at the bottom of the garden for any sign of either Psychoides sp. produced an early instar surprise ..

Common Footman

And then the rest of the day was taken up drinking beer and barbequeing various meats and halloumi skewers ...

Just like buses, a couple of Ravens soared overhead for a few minutes but nothing new birdwise. A Holly Blue butterfly fluttered through, the first here for the year. Later this evening, the first of another garden pests appeared ...

Vine Weevil

And then sitting out this evening with a coffee, the bats were out in force and the skies looked very promising indeed. It was warm, still and with a bit of cloud cover. I felt it was worth going to the effort of running both traps, especially as the forecast was for a dry night with min temp c8deg.

22W Synergetic / 12W Blacklight LED

125W MV

And then whilst I've been typing this, it has absolutely hammered it down with rain .......

PGW & Garden Inverts

A bit of a catch up before I head off to Devon over the next few days. I was intending to post yesterday but I was too sun, beer and BBQ addled to bother.

On Friday I headed over to what is probably the best bit of woodland we have in VC55, Pickworth Great Wood. It was very warm and the sun was shining constantly, with only the slightest breeze. Perfect conditions.

My only plan was to waft around the Emperor Moth lure again. And yet again, I failed. I've now lost count of the number of sites and attempts I've made with the EMP lure now, and this year it's a new lure so I can't blame that. Maybe I'm not giving it long enough. My frustration was compounded by learning that Adrian Russell had success with his lure at Clipsham Park Wood yesterday, which is close enough to PGW that it really should be there too.

Here's three views from the shooting tower at SK9785814803.

Whilst stood here taking these snaps, I noticed a moth flittering about on the ground. A quick swish of the net and I had it contained and transferred it to a pot. It was one of the orange underwings, and given that it had been recorded and photographed here in late March I assumed it was Orange Underwing. However there is both birch and aspen at this woodland, and it is now mid-April after a cool spell earlier in the month. I decided to try and get shots of the hindwing to check later just in case, and I also got a shot of the moth on the ground before it escaped. I noticed it wasn't quite as well marked as I usually see them at Kinchley Lane, but put it down to wear. However checking the photos and comparing to various on-line resources and books I have just about convinced myself that this is actually a female Light Orange Underwing.

The key is that the dark outer marginal band on the hindwing is unbroken. On Orange Underwing this has an orange block breaking the band. As I walked along the main track I saw at least ten more, though most were fleeting views as they flew up from the ground and no others were netted.

Here are three views from the main intersection in the rides at SK9805814817.

Whilst walking around, there was plenty of birdsong though the main ornithological interest was Ravens cronking overhead, Buzzards mewing and Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming. There were a few inverts to keep me entertained too, including these:

Peritrechus lundii

Dermestes murinus - funky both ways up

Field Damsel Bug (Nabis ferus)

The garden has been providing a few bits as well. This one literally landed on my neck whilst out there in the sunshine. I felt the movement and plucked it off, saw it was a small beetle and potted it for checking. Turned out to be a new one for me.

Acupalpus meridianus

This one was nestled up on an eggtray in the moth trap, which is a garden tick.

Vincenzellus ruficollis

Otherwise there have been a few more NFY moths turning up.

Least Black Arches

Oak-tree Pug

Ivy Muncher plus

Found this larva on a brick wall immediately adjacent to a large ivy bush in the garden. I recognised it straight away as it's one I've found here before on the same ivy bush ....

Old Lady

I've got it feeding up in a tub of ivy leaves and will rear through - with a bit of luck I can get a few shots of a pristine fresh adult.

Over the weekend I had a bit of a half-arsed attempt at recording Emperor Moth with a pheromone lure. I tried three sites on different days and times without success. Either I'm not patient enough, the lure is dead or the moth is genuinely not present (and quite possibly all three at the same time!). One of the sites was Warren Hills, one part of what little heath and billberry scrubby moor we have in the Charnwood area. Green Hairstreak was on the wing but too quick and active for a snap.

The lure is just about visible in a black net wrap on the twiggy bush

Recent bits from the garden traps include:

Least Black Arches

Brindled Beauty

V-Pug

Water Carpet - only fifth for garden and first since 2009

Streamer, first since 2012

Caloptilia rufipennella

Caloptilia stigmatella

Pine Beauty

I also had a great night out in the field with Adrian Russell and Graham Finch last week, at a site right in the north-west of VC55. Grange Wood is a decent sized mixed woodland, which is actually in the county of Derbyshire but just falls within the VC55 recording area (one of the historical quirks that again show how the VC boundaries have nothing to do with current political boundaries). We had a great mix of species, including a couple of full British Ticks for me - a cracking Blossom Underwing that Adrian took to photograph and this tortrix:

Pammene giganteana - third VC55 record

Also a few nice-to-see species for the year including Early-tooth Striped, Lunar Marbled Brown, Purple Thorn and a few Lead-coloured Drabs including this lead-coloured and drab one ..

Lead-coloured Drab

Garden Mothing

I've had both garden traps out every night this week so far - but no great catches, all a bit slow compared to Devon last week. Highlights were these .....

Acleris cristana

Red-green Carpet

Brindled Beauty

Least Black Arches

I also found this larva near my MV trap on Wednesday evening. It looked vaguely familiar, but I just bunged it in a tub with some weeds and grass to check it out later.

Usually any moth larvae I find in the garden are either generalists that I can rear on pretty much anything, or I find them on a particular plant anyway and use that to rear. This one though was not touching anything. I checked it in Porter this evening and remembered what it is, one that I have seen before but a new breeding record for the garden - Centre-barred Sallow. It must have fallen or got blown out of the ash tree in my garden as it should be feeding on the buds at the moment. I've released it back on to the tree to fend for itself.