Gothic and Ear Moth

Vicky King recorded these two species for the first time in her garden in Aberystwyth on Saturday night. There are only 7 records for Gothic in the Aberystwyth area, 1 from the 1920's and the rest in the last 5 years. They are not very frequent visitors to light traps, which may explain the low number of records, but Vicky had 2.


It is not possible to separate the "Ear" moths without dissection. This is probably Ear Moth because of the early flight period and the garden habitat.


Tony

Nanteos

Numbers were quite low last night at Nanteos - only Dingy Footman made it to double figures - but some attractive moths nonetheless. Star of the show (but most difficult to photograph) was Blomer's Rivulet. Also Clouded Magpie and Pammene aurita (2), and my first Antler and Honeysuckle (Ypsolopha dentella) moths for some time.

Clouded Magpie

Pammene aurita

Udea olivalis

Cors Fochno NNR July 12th

The long spell of warm weather meant I was up to date with my regular trapping sites and it enabled me to fulfil a long standing promise to come and trap on Cors Fochno again.  So last night I was joined for a while by Ina and Tony and I ran 2 White Robinson MV traps on the edge of the bog for my usual 3 hours spell.  The wind dropped and the midges emerged and it stayed reasonably warm - 15 degrees when I left for home just after 2am.  I have about a dozen or so moths to id later in the year, so in the end I will record just over 90 species. Smoky Wainscot topped the numbers bill for macros with 72 individuals (Agriphila straminella for micros with 86), then Dingy Footman (63) then Marsh Oblique-barred (58).  Good numbers also of Scarce Footman (38), but I didn't record any Common Footman.  For me at least, of interest was a nice female Oak Eggar, Garden Tiger, Grass Emerald, 2 Double Kidney.  Micros were in shorter supply and to date nothing exciting recorded (maybe Elachista albidella is a good record?), but a few still to id. In total 679 moths counted. Peter Hall

Cors Fochno: Round-winged Muslin

Cors Fochno: Scalloped Hook-tip

Cors Fochno: Four-dotted Footman

Cors Fochno: Oak Eggar

Cors Fochno: Garden Tiger

Cors Fochno: Grass Emerald

 

Blackneck

A bumper catch last night included this Blackneck - a first for us. The trap was set in our pasture of unimproved grassland with known Tufted Vetch nearby.

Carolyn & Evan

Bilberry Pugs

A warm, sticky night was not ideal for climbing through the woods near here to reach a large area of Bilberry where I left a small Heath trap with a 6W actinic light. The rewards were amazing with 6 Bilberry Pugs in a total of about 300 moths, 59 macros and 17 micros. This is only the 5th county record, which is not surprising as they live in such remote places.
Other notable macros were: 44 Black Arches, 40 July Highflyer, 26 Dingy Footman, Barred Red, Large Emerald, Welsh Wave, Buff Footman, Tawny-barred Angle, Satin Beauty, Bordered  Beauty, Rosy Footman, Beautiful Carpet, Beautiful Snout, and Satin Lutestring. Also a surprise were 7 Marsh Oblique-barred which had presumably dispersed from Cors Fochno only about a mile away.
Tony & Ina


Bilberry Pug



Bordered Beauty



Endotricha flammealis



Marsh Oblique-barred

Beautiful Hook-tip

Joy Silvester caught this moth in her garden near Talsarn. This is only the fifth record in Ceredigion. Strangely enough the first three records were in 2006 which I remember as being a hot summer similar to this year. The other was in 2013, I can't remember what sort of summer we had then.
Tony

Haworth's Pug

Things are slowing down a little now, but as moths seem to disperse on these warm nights still worthwhile putting the trap in the garden last night.
32 species, after our resident Sparrow had done with them...the little so&so manages to find ones I haven't seen and fly past with that 'look what I got' expression on his face.  Having said that he must be a good dad, providing food for what seems to be yet another brood - at the expense of our moths that is.  When all was gathered in he even went in the shed for a look round and I caught him in the greenhouse yesterday.

Back to moths;  7th record of Haworth's Pug for the county and only the second this century.  The first Cabbage Moth we have seen in a while.  The first Cydia splendana in the garden this year, they also don't seem as common as they used to be.

Agriphila tristella - note narrowing at centre of white line

Cabbage Moth

Dingy Footman - not to be confused with Buff!

Haworth's Pug - F/w 8mm