Crescent Dart and Annulet

David Kirk, staying in New Quay, had these two moths in his trap this weekend. This is the 40th county record for Annulet and the first for the New Quay area, all recent records have been from Aberystwyth northwards. This is the 63rd county record for Crescent Dart, only the second from New Quay, Peter Hall confirmed the first which was taken by David in 2015.
Tony

Annulet (inside plastic tube)

Crescent Dart

Carpet Mystery

We found this small,attractive, very fresh dark grey and white carpet (fw 12 mm) in our house last night and have totally failed to identify it.  Any ideas?

Carolyn & Evan

HorridElla

Having evaded capture yesterday, fortunately this Ypsolopha horridella found the next light on my route to work to its liking.

The garden trap is suggesting that Aberystwyth is turning into a marsh: this week I've caught Marsh Oblique-barred, Crescent, and Brown China-mark, and I think this is Agriphila selasella:

Chris Packham Bioblitz 2018

Tony and I assisted in two Biobliz in the county, Friday at Ynys-hir and Saturday at New Quay.
On Friday there were plenty of people out collecting and counting as many species as they could.
We were doing the 2pm Dragonfly Walk... well, to say we have had no rain in the county for weeks it managed to rain at 2pm on Friday!!  So not many Dragons about although we did manage to see 2 Small Red Damselflies among others.

New Quay was all moths for us.  Two traps; one in Jason Burk's garden - he is one of the volunteers at Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre where the Bioblitz was based for the day and an excellent photographer too, see below. The other belonged to Pete Skinner and had the largest catch of the night.

Totals for the two traps:
Macro Moths - 208 moths of 51 species.
Micro Moths - 63 moths of 19 species.

The object of the Bioblitz is to raise awareness of the plight of wildlife and the countryside in general.  Chris's team were handing out postcards to send to the Minister in charge in the countries he is visiting which in our case is Hannah Blythyn AM.  Please see the photo below of one of these and consider adding your name to a letter or postcard.  You could also write to our MP for Ceredigion at Westminster, Ben Lake.

Chris going through the moths.

POPLAR HAWKMOTH - by JASON

Moorland Larvae

We cannot compete with Chris but a moorland walk up to Llyn Llygad Rheidol below Pumlumon today was rewarded with these two moth larvae.  We also disturbed a Northern Spinach whose larval food plant is bilberry.

Carolyn & Evan

Broom Moth Larva

Fox Moth Larva - early instar

No moths at Nebo/Cross Inn but a bonus Grey Dagger

I'm currently lucky to reach double figures when I put the trap which I put down to our paddocks being like concrete with a layer of dust on top......

However I was pleased to find a couple of Grey Dagger on the apple and pear trees yesterday.

I had a fruitless (!) search today in order to close on the record number which I believe is 4.......

An "ear"ie coincidence

I also had a garden first Ear Moth in my Aberystwyth garden this week (Tuesday) and a Gothic (Saturday). The Ear looked quite different to Vicky's though, with the oval almost invisible:

Other garden firsts last night included Ringed China Mark and Acrobasis marmorea:

and FFY Triple-spotted Clay and Pale-Mottled Willow.
Of three pugs, one (FW c16mm) had a rather reddish body and wings, but the distinct black spots have left me uncertain - is this just a (small) Common Pug?:

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

V Moth at Llawrcwrt

A nice surprize in the trap this morning. The nearest blackcurrent bushes are in the garden some 25 yards away. I shall put the trap by them tonight to see if there are more to be found.

Oak Woodland - Talybont

54 species plus one (you will understand later) in a small Heath trap last night.
Riband Wave and Northern Spinach were the most numerous, 4 Welsh Waves and one each of two of my favourites, Beautiful Snout and Endotricha flammealis.  Our first Dotted Clay and Dun-bar of the year and a nice Common Emerald that would not hang around for photography...
Oh yes and the 'plus one'...a female Purple Hairstreak.

Ina and Tony

Acrobasis consociella

Beautiful Snout

Black Arches

Cloaked Carpet

Dotted Clay

Dun-bar

Minor Shoulder-knot

Rhopobota narvana

Scalloped Oak

Slender Brindle

V-Pug

Welsh Wave

Ypsolopha nemorella

Purple Hairstreak - female