Wha'ppen?

Where the hell did the time go? Feels like I've been cheated, short changed or robbed. I've barely posted bugger all this year, and it appears nothing since early June. But, for a change, that's not because there was nothing to post about. But between bouts of activity I've been pretty busy and work and, you know, stuff. I'll have a bit of catch up one way or another, though not chronologically (or indeed following any logic). For a starter, here's a few new for garden moths and one or two highlights that haven't been posted.

Black Arches - new for garden, 29/07/2023

Bordered Straw - 27/07/2023, third garden record

Bordered White - 12/06/2023, the first here since 2002

Box-tree Moth - 30/06/2023, surprisingly the first here since adding it to the VC55 list in 2017

Crescent - 27/07/2023, fifth garden record

Dewick's Plusia - 28/07/2023, a return after adding to garden list last year

Obscure Wainscot - 12/06/2023, another return after adding to garden list last year

Small Elephant Hawk-moth - new for garden, 24/06/2023

Small Rufous - 27/07/2023, fourth garden record

Toadflax Brocade - 19/07/2023, recorded for fourth consecutive year here

Apotomis lineana - new for both garden and me, 09/08/2023

Lesser Treble-bar - new for garden, 15/08/2023

White-point - an overdue new for garden, 20/08/2023

Out There

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.

And the second Arhopalus rusticus this month ....

Bawdsey Quay Mothing 26/08/2012

I've already mentioned the Convolvulous Hawk-moth, White-line Darts and Archer's Darts that we took during the mothing session at Bawdsey Quay in Suffolk on Sunday night - about time I posted the combined list from mine and Adrian Russell's 6 traps and mention the other highlights. Thanks to local moth recorder and birder Matthew Deans, we ran our traps around a scrubby area that runs directly onto the large shingle point, with Bawdsey Manor and its wooded grounds behind us.

We ran a good selection of lights overnight: 400W metal halide, 250W MV, 3 x 125W MV and a 160W/40W blended/CFL combo. Conditions were not exactly superb, but not bad - dry, mild, mainly clear but with a stiff NE breeze to start which then dropped. Our combined total catch was an excellent 931 of 101sp. (with one additional micro pending ID). Here's the list, with new species for me highlighted in bold blue, and other goodies (ie things we don't usually see in VC55) highlighted in green:

0015  Orange Swift (Hepialus sylvina)  4
0385  Anthophila fabriciana  1
0411  Argyresthia goedartella  2
0464  Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella)  2
0648  White-shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella)  2
0733  Eulamprotes wilkella  1
0776  Teleiopsis diffinis  8
0796  Aroga velocella  1
0819  Scrobipalpa costella  2
0873  Blastobasis adustella  36
0937  Agapeta hamana  2
0965  Cochylis hybridella  5
0966  Cochylis atricapitana  44
0969  Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix (Pandemis corylana)  1
0993  Cyclamen Tortrix (Clepsis spectrana)  1
0998  Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana)  94
1042  Rhomboid Tortrix (Acleris rhombana)  1
1048  Garden Rose Tortrix (Acleris variegana)  7
1076  Celypha lacunana  38
1197  Eucosma campoliliana  1
1207  Pine Leaf-mining Moth (Clavigesta purdeyi)  1
1260  Cydia splendana  2
1303  Agriphila selasella  4
1304  Agriphila straminella  1
1305  Agriphila tristella  8
1307  Agriphila latistria  1
1309  Agriphila geniculea  20
1316  Catoptria falsella  1
1331  Water Veneer (Acentria ephemerella)  1
1338  Dipleurina lacustrata  1
1356  Garden Pebble (Evergestis forficalis)  7
1365  Pyrausta despicata  20
1398  Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella)  5
1405  Mother of Pearl (Pleuroptya ruralis)  20
1452  Phycita roborella  1
1454b  Dioryctria sylvestrella  1
1455  Dioryctria simplicella  1
1488  Agdistis bennetii  4
1497  Amblyptilia acanthadactyla  6
1646  Oak Hook-tip (Watsonalla binaria)  1
1680  Maiden's Blush (Cyclophora punctaria)  1
1699  Least Carpet (Idaea rusticata)  2
1709  Satin Wave (Idaea subsericeata)  1
1713  Riband Wave (Idaea aversata)  2
1728  Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata)  2
1738  Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata)  26
1742  Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata)  13
1752  Purple Bar (Cosmorhoe ocellata)  6
1776  Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria)  27
1784  Pretty Chalk Carpet (Melanthia procellata)  2
1825  Lime-speck Pug (Eupithecia centaureata)  4
1830  Wormwood Pug (Eupithecia absinthiata)  1
1855  Cypress Pug (Eupithecia phoeniceata)  5
1862  Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)  5
1883  Yellow-barred Brindle (Acasis viretata)  5
1890  Sharp-angled Peacock (Macaria alternata)  3
1906  Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata)  14
1937  Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria)  5
1961  Light Emerald (Campaea margaritata)  8
1968  Yellow Belle (Semiaspilates ochrearia)  9
1972  Convolvulus Hawk-moth (Agrius convolvuli)  1
1981  Poplar Hawk-moth (Laothoe populi)  2
2000  Iron Prominent (Notodonta dromedarius)  1
2006  Lesser Swallow Prominent (Pheosia gnoma)  1
2007  Swallow Prominent (Pheosia tremula)  1
2030  Yellow-tail (Euproctis similis)  1
2031  White Satin (Leucoma salicis)  3
2044  Dingy Footman (Eilema griseola)  2
2047  Scarce Footman (Eilema complana)  8
2061  Buff Ermine (Spilosoma luteum)  1
2081  White-line Dart (Euxoa tritici)  13
2085  Archer's Dart (Agrotis vestigialis)  4
2087  Turnip Moth (Agrotis segetum)  23
2089  Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis)  1
2092  Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis puta)  5
2102  Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta)  14
2107  Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba)  67
2109  Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes)  6
2110  Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua fimbriata)  3
2111  Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua janthe)  13
2123  Small Square-spot (Diarsia rubi)  4
2126  Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum)  36
2131  Square-spotted Clay (Xestia rhomboidea)  1
2134  Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa)  12
2154  Cabbage Moth (Mamestra brassicae)  18
2160  Bright-line Brown-eye (Lacanobia oleracea)  1
2194  White-point (Mythimna albipuncta)  10
2295  Marbled Green (Cryphia muralis)  1
2297x  Copper Underwing agg. (Amphipyra pyramidea agg.)  2
2299  Mouse Moth (Amphipyra tragopoginis)  1
2303  Straw Underwing (Thalpophila matura)  2
2306  Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa)  37
2341  Cloaked Minor (Mesoligia furuncula)  5
2343x  Common Rustic agg. (Mesapamea secalis agg.)  5
2353  Flounced Rustic (Luperina testacea)  5
2381  Uncertain (Hoplodrina alsines)  1
2384  Vine's Rustic (Hoplodrina ambigua)  13
2441  Silver Y (Autographa gamma)  63
2450  Spectacle (Abrostola tripartita)  1
2474  Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis)  1
2477  Snout (Hypena proboscidalis)  42

Aroga velocella

Eulamprotes wilkella

Pyrausta despicata

Dioryctria sylvestrella

Dioryctria simpliciella

Yellow Belle

Cypress Pug

White-point

Marbled Green

Lots of other non-lepidopteran highlights (apart from the awesome Ant-lion) in the traps which I'll cover separately, plus a few new plants from around beaches and saltmarsh. I should mention that our shingle traps were part of a larger group effort with more traps running on the saltmarsh and around a wooded car park. Good moths taken in those traps included Sandhill Rustic and Tree-lichen Beauty - both would be new for me but I'm resisting ticking them as I didn't even get a chance to walk around those traps during the night, let alone assist with the emptying! We were also shown a Small Marbled that Matthew took at his current regular site at Bawdsey Hall - a first for Suffolk I believe.

Mothing Memories - Portland 03/09/2005

Doubling up as an On This Day posting aswell, I've dug out a couple of shots from a poorly planned but eventually successful mothing trip to Portland on 03/09/2005 in the hope of migrants. I travelled down with Keith Tailby in the afternoon, and we entertained ourselves looking for Adonis Blue and the like before meeting up with Adrian Russell for the overnight trapping. We hadn't really thought about where exactly we could trap, and the conditions were not ideal with a very strong wind increasing from the south-east. Setting up traps on a coastal headland could have meant trying to reclaim them from the sea in the morning. After a bit of discussion, and a chat with Martin Cade from the Obs., we decided to set up at Tout Quarry - not ideal but likely to be sheltered, still a chance of picking up the odd migrant and also a chance of picking up one or two local specialities. By the time we decided to get some sleep, we'd already noted a few good species and the morning trawl through the 8 x 125W MV traps was surprisingly good with a total of 368 of 48 species. The main highlights for me (ticks, treats and migrants) were: Cochylis molliculana 1 Eudonia mercurella f.portlandica 1 Rusty-dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis) 1 Mecyna asinalis 1 Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella) 1 Oncocera semirubella 3 Galium Carpet (Epirrhoe galiata) 1 Annulet (Charissa obscurata) 5 Yellow Belle (Semiaspilates ochrearia) 2 Convolvulus Hawk-moth (Agrius convolvuli) 1 Humming-bird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) 1 Dingy Footman (Eilema griseola) 1 Dark Sword-grass (Agrotis ipsilon) 2 White-point (Mythimna albipuncta) 7 Delicate (Mythimna vitellina) 1 Beautiful Gothic (Leucochlaena oditis) 7 Silver Y (Autographa gamma) 13 Beautiful Gothic - a smart resident RDB species recorded locally in the south-west The Delicate - a regular immigrant White-point - a regular immigrant and recently established colonist along the south coast