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

Huge Pickworth List

As I mentioned in the earlier post, I expected the Pickworth total from last night to be fairly big. It is. The grand total of our efforts from c3.5hrs of running light traps was a whopping ......

4355 of 26 sp.

0461 Ypsolopha ustella 1

0663 Diurnea fagella 5

1025 Tortricodes alternella 138
1044x Acleris ferrugana/notana 4
1054 Acleris cristana 2

1659 Yellow Horned (Achlya flavicornis galbanus) 399

1663 March Moth (Alsophila aescularia) 43

1746 Shoulder Stripe (Anticlea badiata) 67

1852 Brindled Pug (Eupithecia abbreviata) 3

1925 Small Brindled Beauty (Apocheima hispidaria) 149

1926 Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria) 7

1930 Oak Beauty (Biston strataria) 14

1932 Spring Usher (Agriopis leucophaearia) 1
1934 Dotted Border (Agriopis marginaria) 11

1947 Engrailed (Ectropis bistortata) 48

2139 Red Chestnut (Cerastis rubricosa) 1

2179 Pine Beauty (Panolis flammea) 1

2182 Small Quaker (Orthosia cruda) 2893

2187 Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi) 284

2188 Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta) 135

2189 Twin-spotted Quaker (Orthosia munda) 45

2190 Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica) 66

2237 Grey Shoulder-knot (Lithophane ornitopus lactipennis) 1

2243 Early Grey (Xylocampa areola) 2

2256 Satellite (Eupsilia transversa) 2
2258 Chestnut (Conistra vaccinii) 33

Most of the above are yearticks of course (blue text). Small Brindled Beauty is still scarce in VC55, and is pretty much confined to decent woodland over in the far east (at least as far as current records show). Whilst it is to be expected at Pickworth, these number are complete unprecedented with the previous highest total from there being 39.

Small Brindled Beauties

Oak Beauty

Yellow Horned

Grey Shoulder-knot

Small Quaker (1 of 2893!)

Twin-spotted Quaker

Common Quaker ab. confluens

This aberrant form has the orbicular and reniform stigma conjoined

Or, if you are puerile like me, it looks like someone has drawn a comedy penis on it.

Aside from the moths, I also noted a couple of large beetles which looked interesting. Same size, shape and jizz to 'Violet Ground Beetle' but clearly different. I think It is Carabus nemoralis - thanks to Mark Telfer for confirmation.

Recoveries, Garden Moths, Pickworth

A mixed update.

First up, I've had details through for two of the colour-ringed Black-headed Gulls in the last post (no news so far on the Polish bird). VH85 was the most interesting as it is a new individual for Leicestershire. It was ringed as a pullus on 05/06/2010 at Hirsholm near to Frederikshavn in Denmark (same place and ringer as Red V028 I posted about last week). It was recorded at Knott End-on-Sea near to Fleetwood, Lancashire on 09/02/2011, and then no further reports until mine. JAN4 from Norway is not quite so enigmatic, as it has now been reported from Watermead Park by six different recorders. It was ringed as an adult male at Grünerbrua on the outskirts of Oslo in Norway on 20/04/2010, recorded at Watermead Park on 10/12/2010, back in Norway at two different sites near to Oslo on 15/04/2011 and 20/09/2011, and then back at Watermead Park on 01/11/2011 and 10/11/2011, and then again on 7 dates between 04/02/2012 to my sighting on 09/03/2012. It is 1086km as the gull flies between the ringing site and Watermead Park  ...

Garden mothing with the Synergetic/CFL trap on Thursday was pants - just 2 of 2sp:

08/03/2012
0688 Agonopterix heracliana 1
1497 Amblyptilia acanthadactyla 1

Friday night was better, with both the Synergetic and MV traps running and the first spring noctuid species at last, but still a bit rubbish with 22 of 6sp. although a late Early Moth was a bonus.

09/03/2012
0688 Agonopterix heracliana 2
1497 Amblyptilia acanthadactyla 2
1524 Emmelina monodactyla 4
1934 Dotted Border (Agriopis marginaria) 1
1960 Early Moth (Theria primaria) 1 (NFY)
2187 Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi) 12 (NFY)

Agonopterix heracliana

Amblyptilia acanthadactyla

Common Quaker

Early Moth

No garden mothing last night. I decided that with so few moths coming to me, I was going to go to them in big style. I planned to take six traps and a sheet kit all the way over to Pickworth Great Wood where I was sure there would be some moths. Adrian was keen, and joined me with another couple of traps after he'd also left two running at nearby Lady Wood. I knew when I had arrived, as the in-built twatnav in the car showed me stuck in a big roadless green patch ...

Pickworth has got brilliant access all through the wood, though some rides can be a bit damp and the main gate to get in is a right pain in the arse. For this early season session I opted to run at the eastern side of the wood which meant I didn't have to open the gate. I set up three traps along the main ride first and got them going, then another three along a parallel ride and the sheet at a turning point along the entrance track. When Adrian turned up he ran two traps further along the eastern ride from the sheet. This ride and the entrance track are pretty much the boundary with Lincs (Holywell Wood is in Lincs).

Red dot is 125W MV over sheet, orange dots are 125W MV traps, green dot is Synergetic trap,

cyan dot is an actinic combo trap

A good sight, lights = working gennie and traps

This sight wasn't quite so good initially - the nearest MV trap seems to have a dodgy choke wire ....

Moths on the sheet early on - a very small fraction of what we recorded

Plenty of bits to photograph, and it will be a substantial list for an early season session - I reckon there will be close to 2000 Small Quakers alone ......

The art of out-of-garden mothing

In anticipation of getting out and about, I'd ordered some replacement 40W actinic tubes from Watkins and Doncaster to repair my actinic/tungsten trap. I ordered them on Wednesday night and they arrived on Saturday morning (remember Friday was a holiday for some reason or other) - superb service. So on Saturday I set about refurbishing all of my traps including the big uns. Here are the various lights I use ..

Clockwise from top left: 250W MV (lighthouse), 250W Metal Halide (eye cancer light), 80W actinic / 100W tungsten combo (newly repaired), 125W MV (x4 traps), 160W blended (choke-less alternative)

Having sorted the traps, the weather on Saturday was warm sunshine, almost cloudless, bone dry, blistering north-easterly. The weather yesterday (and today for that matter) is like a stuck record. In mothing terms, the weather is pants. However I have long held a theory that irrespective of the conditions, if you go to where the moths are you will catch something. With this in mind, I managed to tempt Adrian out on a foolhardy excursion to the best bit of woodland in VC55 - Pickworth Great Wood. This is a long way to go (right in the north-east of the county on the border with Lincs.) and if you are going that far you may aswell load up with as much as you can and make a real go of it by staying overnight. Some would suggest that doing this on a night when the conditions are pants is plain daft. They may be right.

A half-loaded Vectra estate - 8 traps, 3 gennies, 6 cable reels, 2 petrol cannisters, 2 x 250W choke assys, box of pots, net handle, loads of wasted space that could have been filled with more traps and cable if I had any and a tripod light/gear if Adrian wasn't taking his. The footwells and passenger seat are utilised for essentials like cameras and i-Pod, and non-essentials, like clothes, bedding, food and drink. All that remains to go into the back is a pasting table - you'll see later. Adrian's Discovery was simlarly loaded.

Having arrived at the trapping site, and before deploying kit, ensure you have selected a suitable base for the night and for collating and emptying the traps in the morning. Get on with the task in hand (put the lights on) and then get your bed sorted. Happily, the now empty Vectra is long enough to sleep in and a damned site warmer than a tent at this time of year.

Sit around a tripod light having a natter and potting the odd moth, and occasionally patrol the traps before topping up the gennies and getting some shut-eye. Set your alarm for dawn. ish. Now the hardest work of the whole venture. Gathering up the traps to a central point, reeling in the cables and bring back the gennies. If you've chosen the site well with decent tracks and rides, you will make this easier by packing up your bedding and using the again-empty car to transport everything back.

Gather the traps to a cool shady spot pending emptying. This is 9 of the 12 traps we ran in total last night.

After the hard work comes the prize - leisurely emptying lots of traps in the early morning light with nothing going on except the dawn chorus. Tawny Owls still calling this morning, Cuckoo singing in a cleared bit of the wood, Great Spotteds drumming and calling constantly, plus an array of common warblers, thrushes and tits.

This is what the pasting table is for - a very convenient trap emptying station with room for pots and cups of coffee.

Cups of coffee? Where do you get that in the middle of woodland. And what about some breakfast ....

After plenty of coffee (or tea as I had this morning), and some smashing bacon baps, the trap-emptying sadly comes to an end. No more anticipation of what could be lurking on the next egg box. Mind you, also no more chances of inadvertently putting your fingers on one of these ....

Massive queen Hornet with a Muslin Moth in the same cavity for comparison.

Now comes another chance to utilise your surroundings to best effect. If you are in woodland, there should be plenty of photographic props around. If you have used the Forestry woodyard as your base the opportunities are increased.

Lots of props

Make use of that table again. Might aswell fire up a gennie to power the macro light for the camera whilst I'm at it.

Prop in use

As for the catch - well, I'll summarise that later but suffice to say the theory held out. Just about. Definitely a night of quality over quantity, with some great moths (in a VC55 context) but few individuals vs the effort.

Here's a couple of flowers from the wood ..

Water Avens

Ramsons