The Year So Far - Derbyshire

So far this year has been slow to say the least.  Only 10 species of moth caught so far (plus 1 Butterfly) with trapping being very hit and miss (mostly due to the weather and being away with work!).

Things can only get better and hoping this cool spell ends soon!

Highlights this year (not many to choose from) would be Grey Shoulder-knot and a Satellite.  Here's a selection of species caught.

Chestnut (21st February)

Silver Y (4th March)

Clouded Drab (09th March)

Common Quaker (09th March)

Early Grey (09th March)

Satellite (09th March)

Beautiful Plume (16th March)

Still waiting for Pine or Oak Beauty!!  Hoping the weather is better next weekend and I get a few more new for the year!.

Happy mothing folks and look forward to all of your updates (#teammoth)

My moth year begins!

Yes, at last, my moth year begins with this lovely little moth found in the firewood shack at the bottom of the garden, Agonopterix yeatiana. A micro-moth of about 1cm in length usually found near the coast, but frequent all year. 

Agonopterix yeatiana

So, the first one for Suffolk according to the table. Lets hope there are many, many more to come :)

A wee smattering...

Really slowed this end - but still a couple new ones to report. Plus I forgot about a Large Ranunculus in my last post:

Large Ranunculus 

Green-brindled Crescent 

Red-line Quaker 

November Moth agg. 

November Moth agg. 

Acleris sparsana (Ashy Button)

So, the numerical advancement is as follows:

212. Large Ranunculus
213. Green-brindled Cresent
214. Red-line Quaker
215. November Moth agg.
216. Acleris sparsana (Ashy Button)

Keep on moth'ing good moth'ers!

Chestnuts!

Hi all,

Just two new to report since my last post:

210: Barred Sallow
211: Beaded Chestnut

Only two but they are beauts!

Barred Sallow

Beaded Chestnut 

Good day...

A month away means I am playing catch up and also enjoying a swathe of new, autumnal moths. Only a few additions but what beauts! 

Numerical update since my last post as follows... 

207. Sallow

208. Lunar Underwing

209. Blair's Shoulder-knot 

Some pics for your delight and pleasure:

Silver-Y - canne get bored of these! 

Lunar Underwing 

Sallow

Blair's Shoulder-knot 

Keep on moth'ing moth'ers! 

Finally cleared a second ton...

Evening moth'ers,

My last update for a few weeks owing to imminent three weeks away. I am proud to have limped and spluttered over the two ton threshold...

194. Orange Swift - Bury St Edmunds, 26th August 
195. Square-spot Rustic - Bury St Edmunds, 26th August 
196. Centre-barred Sallow - Bury St Edmunds, 26th August 
197. Old Lady - Bury St Edmunds, 26th August 
198. Large Red Underwing - Bury St Edmunds, 26th August 
199. Lesser Yellow underwing - Bury St Edmunds, 26th August
200. Green Carpet - Bury St Edmunds, 31st August 
201. Pale Mottled Willow - Bury St Edmunds, 31st August 
202. Flounced Rustic - Bury St Edmunds, 31st August 
203. Garden Pebble - Bury St Edmunds, 31st August 
204. Small Blood-vein - Bury St Edmunds, 31st August 
205. Diamond-back Moth - Bury St Edmunds, 31st August
206. White-point - Bury St Edmunds, 31st August   



Happy moth'ing one and all - couple of few pics for I.D. confirmation below... 

Flounced Rustic

Centre-barred Sallow

Pale Mottled Willow

Small Blood-vein 

White-point

I'll leave you with these copulating beauts - currently horizontal dancing on me front door! 

Pebble Prominent 193...

Hi moth'ers, 

Incredibly since my last post I caught another Tree-lichen Beauty! I didn't appear to be the same individual, so either a further migrant or more suggestive of a colony nearby. 

Anyway, just a few more additions below as I slowly plod towards two ton. Pebble Prominent was new to me and a total beaut! 

184. Euzophera pinguis - Bury St Edmunds, 2nd August
185. Eudonia mercurella - Bury St Edmunds, 2nd August
186. Oegoconia deauratella - Bury St Edmunds, 2nd August
187. Copper Underwing - Bury St Edmunds, 7th August
188. Coxcomb Prominent - Bury St Edmunds, 9th August
189. Lime-speck Pug - Bury St Edmunds, 9th August
190. Wormwood Pug - Bury St Edmunds, 9th August
191. Agriphila geniculea - Bury St Edmunds, 9th August
192. Acrobasis suavella - Bury St Edmunds, 9th August
193. Pebble Prominent - Bury St Edmunds,16th August 

A couple of pics for your delight and pleasure:

Copper Underwing 

Coxcomb Prominent 

Pebble Prominent 

What is this?

Found this Blood Vein at Birdfair! Don't worry it got out of the mud and into the safety of a bush! 

Tree-lichen Beauty 2nd for VC26

With thanks to Tris and Andy for the comments on my last post.

I have run the trap once since and the additions are below:

173. Euzophera pinguis
174. Eudonia mercurella
175. Oegoconia deauratella
176. Canary-shouldered Thorn
177. Straw Underwing
178. Vapourer
179. Dusky Sallow
180. Coleophora trifolii
181. Argyresthia goedartella
182. Lampronia fuscatella
183. Tree-lichen Beauty

Tree-lichen Beauty is only the second record for VC26 and I caught the first too! I had the first on 28th July last year, so within days of this record. Maybe there could be a colony nearby? Suffolk Moths describes them as 'immigrant and recent resident' but all the records are from the coast and specifically east / south-east of the County.

Shot of the beauty and a few others below. Cheers!

Straw underwing 

Vapourer 

Dusky Sallow 

Tree-lichen Beauty 

I smell two tons!

Super busy times! Which accounts for the delay in posting since I got to the seemingly feeble ton and a half mark! On the upside I've done some real damage towards 200 and had some raw crackers along the way! 

Here is a numerical update for your delight and pleasure, you will note a spike in recorded mircos towards the end of the below... this is because my father bought me the BIBLE! Don't call it a fight back - but I am fighting back. I am coming for you Les!

146. Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
147. Ruby Tiger
148. Phlyctaenia coronata (Elder Pearl)
149. Blastobasis adustella (Dingy Dowd)
150. Buff Footman
151. July Highflyer
152. Small Rivulet
153. Varied Coronet
154. Scalloped Oak
155. Dun-bar
156. Carcina quercana
157. Cydia pomonella (Codling Moth)
158. Oegoconia quadripuncta (Four-spotted Obscure)
159. Pyrausta aurata
160. Catoptria falsella (Chequered Grass-veneer)
161. Nut-tree Tussock
162. Agriphila straminella
163. Bryotropha senectella
164. Celypha striana
165. Cabbage Moth
166. Willow Ermine (Yponomeuta rorrella)
167. White-spotted Pug
168. Horse-chestnut Leaf Minor (Cameraria ohridella)
169. Argyresthia pruniella (Cherry Fruit Moth)
170. Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
171. Assara terebrella (Dark Spruce Knot-horn)

172. Small Waved Umber 

As ever I include some pics for your consideration: 

Small Rivulet

Elder Pearl 

Small Waved Umber

Brown Plume - Elveden, not the garden 

Meal Moth - again not my garden, but at work! 

Willow Ermine 

White Spotted Pug

I'd welcome fellow garden moth'ers advice on the following three micros. The first is particularly distinctive - but just couldn't clinch it! 

You all rule! Happy weekend and happy moth'ing!

Small Ranunculus - Great Record for Derbyshire

Caught this wee beauty the other night and no matter how hard I looked in the books I couldn't ID it. Posted this picture to #teammoth and @Stewchat suggested Small Ranunculus. Checked in Waring and it looked good, however on reading the text appeared doubtful as this species recently disappeared from the UK.  It's classed as a Nationally Scare B species and has slowly been spreading north since its reappearance in Kent in 1997. 

No way, not in my garden. 

Les Hill (@dorsetmoths) confirmed the ID of Small Ranunculus as did my County Recorder who added the following interesting information - 

'The Small Ranunculus first turned up at Beeston in 2009. It was then recorded in Alvaston in 2010 and later at Midway in 2012.  Your record serves to consolidate the likely breeding in the area.'

I have since had one more fresh looking one at the light trap so I had best get checking Prickly Lettuce!

Small Ranunculus (19/07/2013)

Just goes to show the importance and value of moth trapping and that even records from a small urban gardens are very valuable.  

Certainly the highlight of my moth-ing year (so far!) 

Ton and a half!

My lack of posting since hitting the big one ton means I have a pretty hefty update!

Numerically it now looks like this:

106. Privet Hawkmoth  
107. Buff Arches 
108. Buff Tip
109.Large Fruit Tree Tortrix
110.Turnip Moth
111. Pale-shouldered Brocaded
112. Clouded Bordered Brindle
113. Poplar Grey
114. Smokey Wainscot
115.Large Ivy Tortrix
116. Beautiful Plume
117. Broad-barred White
118. Small Ranunculus
119. Yponomeuta evonymella (Bird Cherry Ermine)
120. Ringed China-mark
121. Acleris fosskaleana (Maple Button)
122. Dwarf Cream Wave
123. Single-dotted Wave
124. Clepsis consimilana (Privet Tortrix)
125. Mompha ochraceella (Buff Cosmet)
126. Large Emerald
127. Bryotropha terrella (Cinerous Groundling)
128. Ostrinia nubilalis (European Corn Barer)
129. Gypsonoma dealbana (Common Cloaked Shoot)
130. Prays fraxinella (Ash Bud Moth)
131. Argyresthia retinella (Netted Argent)
132. Least Carpet
133. Mother of Pearl
134. Dotted Border Wave
135. Endotricha flammealis (Rosy Taby)
136. Ditula angustiorana (Red-barred Tortrix)
137. Agapeta hamana (Hook-marked Straw Moth)
138. Barred Straw
139. White Plume Moth
140. Small Fan-footed Wave
141. Brown Scallop
142. Clay
143. Acleris variegana (Garden Rose Tortrix)
144. Orthopygia glaucinalis (Double-striped Tabby)
145. Dingy Shears

Ok, so technically it isnt a ton and a half - its five short - but basically its a ton and a half. Having had a look at the leader board I think we should do some drugs testing - there may be a little doping going on in the 300+ club. The fact that Les is tickling 400 is truly wonderful! What is possible in a year? 500, 1000, more?

Anyhows, here is some sweet photos from this last batch. Happy mothing!

Privet (chuffing awesome) Hawkmoth

Buff Tip

Large Emerald - total camouflage! 

Buff Ermine - looking particularly awesome 

V-Pug

Orthopygia glaucinalis - was particularly chuffed with this one. Very smart mothage!