December Moth

I have been looking back at the December 7th entry last year. This is for Ina, Lizsnell, Rosemary Royle and Sarah. It appeared in a newly acquired MV Skinner trap cunningly placed in the cowshed over a wet and windy night.  I rather like them too.

Small Seraphim

A very mild night with cloud cover last night made us put traps in three different locations.
Epirrita species showed a vast difference between sites - 59 individuals in woodland, 5 in open wetland and 0 in the garden.  Feathered Thorn was absent from the woodland.
Even though some near-by large Leylandii were cut down last year we did manage one Blair's Shoulder-knot in the garden.
Two species of note were a late Narrow-winged Pug and a Small Seraphim much later than any previous record we know of.  Does anyone know of such a late record of the latter species?
Ina and Tony

Narrow-winged Pug

Small Seraphim

Blair's Shoulder-knot

More Micros

A quick search round Ynyslas this morning just after looking for birds at high tide.

A common leafmine on Bramble Coptotriche marginea.

Stigmella anomalella on Rosa priminellifolia - the Rose Leaf Miner.

Coleophora gryphipennella (cases) on Rosa priminellifolia - this is only the second record for vc46; but it feeds on all Rose species.

Coptotriche marginea

Stigmella anomalella

Coleophora gryphipennella

Ina

Ectoedemia subbimaculella

We collected a few leafmines yesterday at Black Covert and amongst them was this one on Oak.

Underside of leaf - showing slit.

Larva in situ - showing dark head

http://www.leafmines.co.uk/html/Lepidoptera/E.subbimaculella.htm

Thanks to Ben Smart for helping me out with confirmation of a new one for vc46.  I will be trying to breed this through but will have to wait until next June for it to emerge....fingers crossed.

Ina

Mottled Umber

A warmer night produced seven species in our garden trap including our first Mottled Umber of the season.  The most numerous were the November Moth agg, and Red-line Quaker.

Carolyn & Evan

Mottled Umber

Ynys-hir

A better night weather-wise last night brought out a few of the autumn species. 98 moths in the MV Robinson and 82 moths in a small 6w actinic 'bucket'....it was a bit crowded in there!  These are minimum numbers as a few made a quick exit, especially from the bucket as people started to turn up and were interested in the moths.  So honours were about even.
19 macro species and 4 micros including;
15 Epirrita moths most of which seemed to be November and at least one Autumnal - the delay in blogging was caused by examining some of these.
Chestnut, Red-green Carpet, Spruce Carpet, Common Marbled Carpet, Green Carpet - one v worn & one quite fresh, Merveille du Jour, Yellow-line Quaker (24), Green-brindled Crescent, Snout (7), Black Rustic (just 1), Grey Pine Carpet, Satellite, Large Wainscot, Brick, Red-line Quaker, Sallow, Copper Underwing (h/w examined) and Autumn Green Carpet.
Micros; Udea ferrugalis (the only migrant), Notocelia uddmanniana, Acleris sparsana and Acleris rhombana.

Sorry, but when I do the blog you get the micros first!!!  ;-)
Ina & Tony

Cors Fochno

Nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year in two actinic traps on the bog last night.
The photo is of a Large Wainscot and a male Bulrush Wainscot, we should have included the Small Wainscot in the photo for comparison. I think we could have squeezed it in if we had thought of it!

Ina and Tony