Figure of Eighty and Brussels Lace

Two FFYs in the garden trap this morning:

Figure of Eighty

Brussels Lace

Any hints on this micro would be welcome ... is it just a pale Eupoecilia angustana?

Simon

plume from Ynys Las, help please

I have been looking at Yarrow and Tansy, palps clear of face fur when I look through a glass as per Yarrow but leg striped between spurs (although not a clear cut change) as per Tansy.
Its wl is 10mm. so a bit small for those.
I then considered Crescent Plume.  Plenty of Restharrow in bloom where I found it.
Sorry poor pic.  I still have it as it was already without one hind leg so maybe get a better pic tomorrow unless some one tells me which it is on this evidence.

A Bumper Night

A warm balmy night produced 46 macro species from three traps - garden, woodland and woodland ride.  Here are photos of just some of the moths which were new for this season.

Carolyn & Evan

Beautiful Snout

Brown Rustic

 

Ghost Moth (f)

Four-dotted Footman

 

Grey Arches

 

Tawny-barred Angle

 

Mottled Beauty

Beautiful Golden Y and Large Yellow Underwing

With my trap out of action (burnt out ballast unit) I have had to wait and let the moths come to me. As it happens, I didn't have to wait too long.  The BGY turned up on the window in the kitchen and the LYU flew in through an open door from the hay meadow we think of as a lawn. 

 

The LYU is sometimes abundant here and suffers badly in the hay making season. I think I have only seen the BGY three times before

My first bagworm

Aberystwyth Cemetery (Llanbadarn Road) is a sea of ox-eye daisies at the moment: two species of Dichrorampha there last night (I think alpinana and acuminatana). Also this Grapholita compositella on trefoil:

Passing again on the way to work, I noticed this small case moving along a fence, containing what might be Luffia ferchaultella:

The garden trap improved this week, with May Highflyer, Small Elephant HM, Scorched Wing, Green Silver-lines, Freyer's Pug, Blastodacna hellerella, and Bactra lancealana.

Simon

Hay meadow and Red-tipped clearwing

We were very lucky to be able to trap in some lovely hay meadows a couple of miles up the valley from Talybont. The view at 6:30 this morning was stunning:

The meadows are full of Yellow rattle and we were hoping to see Grass rivulet, but no joy there. We did have 22 species including lots of Double line, White ermine and Mottled beauty. Also Grass emerald, Shoulder-striped wainscot and our first Large yellow underwing of the year.

Grass emerald

Yesterday we checked out a known site for Red-tipped clearwing on Cors Fochno. Using a pheromone lure we quickly saw 4 males. We potted one for a photograph but it refused to sit still so apologies for the clarity of the shot.

Tony & Ina

Double Line & Map-winged Swift

Our first garden trapping after a fortnight's absence produced 12 species including these two new species for this year.  The Double Line is a Nationally Scarce B which we catch regularly here as we are close to Rhos pasture and the Map-winged Swift which favours our overly abundant bracken!

Carolyn & Evan

Double Line

Map-winged Swift

Ni Moth

We caught this slightly worn Ni moth on the 3rd of June just before leaving on holiday.  It was subsequently verified by David Brown when we attended one of his moth courses last week.  On looking at the Atropos Flight arrivals web page there have been several sightings of this rare migrant around the country in the last fortnight.

Carolyn & Evan

Scarlet tiger

Whilst exploring Cefn Coch near Glas-pwll yesterday, we found this Scarlet tiger resting in the long grass. Despite this being the only known site for Welsh clearwings in the county we found none, but maybe it's a little too early.

Tony & Ina

On the Bog

I returned to Ceredigion for 3 nights this week. It was nice to see some of you and apologies for those I didn't get to meet.

I ran the Robinson one night at Brynarth, next door to Cors Ian but it was a bit chilly - and the reason I didn't run the Skinner up there. 25 species of macro and so far 1 micro with about 4 still to id. Like Simon, I walked across Cors Ian during the day and recorded quite a few micros and the odd macro in doing so. The highlight for me was being given the opportunity to trap on Cors Fochno, so on Tuesday night accompanied by Tony, I set up 1 Robinson and 1 Skinner on the edge of the bog. It was a mild night with only a slight breeze. I have quite a few micros to get through later in the year, including a lot of Coleophorids, but the list so far stands at 56 macros and 13 micro species, although I expect the micro numbers to at least double. Of interest: Silver Hook (first time I've ever caught this moth), Southern Wainscot, A wainscot still to id (but my money is on a Striped Wainscot), the first Riband Wave of the year, and a lovely Puss moth male. There was a male Ghost lekking as I set up. Micros included the rather dainty Adaina microdactyla plume. Peter Hall

Cors Fochno: Chinese Character

Cors Fochno: Fox

Cors Fochno: Peach Blossom

Cors Fochno: Puss

Cors Fochno: Scallop Shell

Cors Fochno: Silver Hook (in a pot)

Ynyslas and Clarach

A few photos from yesterday, last night and today.
Some daytime fieldwork on the dunes and a couple of actinic traps produced a reasonable catch including yet another Bordered Straw.  The migrants are making it to vc46 at last!  Today we found Thrift Clearwing at Clarach, to a pheromone lure.

Thistle Ermine

Shore and Shoulder-striped Wainscot

Wormwood Pug

Bordered Straw

Heart and Club

Crescent Plume

Six-spot Burnet

Thrift Clearwings 

Ina and Tony

Coed Y Bont Longhorn swarms

A picture which does not do justice to this spectacular micro.  This morning perched on a fern frond illuminated by a ray of sunshine it glowed!  The low bushes seemed to attract a crowd upwards of 30 individuals using those extremely long antennae held out at what seemed like 170°- 190° to balance as they bounced up and down and round.  I saw 2 such gatherings but there were probably more as I was mainly looking for birds.  They didn't settle and didn't seem to interact so what was it…a lek?

Tregaron Micropterigidae

Highlight of a (very slow) walk around Cors Caron yesterday were these Micropterix moths with their more common cousins:

M. aruncella

M. aureatella

Brown China-marks were also enjoying themselves by the boardwalk:

Simon

Lampronia sp.?

Thursday night was also my best catch of the year so far, including Cork Moth, Bordered Straw, Rush Veneer, Epinotia bilunana, Poplar Grey and Alder Moth all new for the garden.

Epinotia bilunana

Alder Moth

 On Friday evening I netted this micro, which I am inclined to claim as Lampronia morosa; can anyone confirm or refute?

FW 6mm

Thanks
Simon

Dark Sword-grass and Barred Umber

This turned up at Llawrcwrt a couple of nights ago. I couldn't find it in the book but Tony came to my rescue (yet again). I think I was confused as it is not holding its wings in quite the approved manner. It is the first recorded here. I read it is a migrant and scarce before mid July.

Also in the trap a Barred Umber.  I recorded one here in May 1989. This was a good deal smaller that I remembered

Crambus pratella v lathoniellus

A couple of comparison photos in case anyone comes across these moths.
C.pratella is most likely to be encountered on short turf grassland, coastal sandhills and heaths.  These were at Ynyslas yesterday.

Crambus pratella

Crambus lathoniellus

Ina

Rainy night catch

The 60w actinic and a white sheet produced over 40 sp including these two which I believe are Beautiful Brocade and Bordered Straw.
I will check the blogs to see if BS has come in numbers or whether 6 small pots of marigolds which sat in the garden for a week before planting yesterday may have harboured a chrysalis.  This one is immaculate and doesn't look like a wind battered migrant.  What do you think?
I also had a Silver Hook which has come up from the bog.