A cold night on the bog

 With a temperature of only 10 C at dawn on Cors Fochno only a small selection of moths had taken shelter in our traps. Only37 moths, 15 macros and no micros. Two firsts for us this year were Heath Rustic and Red-line Quaker.

Tony & Ina

Marbled White Spot

 This very fresh Marbled White Spot was in our woodland moth trap this morning.  It appears to be a partial second generation moth.  Looking at its flight histogram in the new B.C. Atlas this moth has been recorded before in mid-September. 

Carolyn & Evan

Brindled Green

 I'd not come across this moth and had to be told what it was. Tony also tells me it's a first for Llawrcwrt. It last had an outing on the blog in 2015 so perhaps time for another.

County first

 Steve Walsh caught this Cypress Pug in Bow Street this week. This is the first Ceredigion record for this species, which is established in southern England and south Wales. They have been extending their range steadily northwards since being first discovered in Cornwall in 1959. 

On the same night Steve also recorded a Palpita vitrealis, only the eighth county record.

Tony & Ina

Rearing of Mystery Larva

 We found this young larva in our woodland moth trap on the fourth of July this year and as we had no idea what it was we decided to try and rear it. It conveniently took to eating bramble leaves and went through four instars before pupating a month later.  The adult moth finally emerged 5 weeks later revealing itself, somewhat to our surprise, as a female White Ermine; unfortunately its wings failed to unfold properly.  Is this a partial second generation moth or was it too well fed and nurtured emerging early instead of pupating over the winter?

Carolyn & Evan    

     
                July 4th                                               Next instar July 6th         

      

    Next instar July 11th                                      Final instar July 23rd   

                                           

                                        Emerging pupa August 4th

                                           

                                                                                                                                         Adult White Ermine September 12th

First Black Rustics for the Garden

 We are promised a mini heat wave this coming week but with the appearance of the first Black Rustics in the garden, Autumn has quite definitely arrived in Talybont.

Lyonetia clerkella and Stigmella aurella mines are very obvious now too, the former on Cherry and Apple and the latter of course on the Thornless Blackberry that for some reason escaped the attentions of the Blackbirds this year.

Only eleven species graced us with their presence in and around the trap; Dusky Thorn, Brimstone, Silver Y, Lesser and Large Yellow Underwing, Common Marbled Carpet, Spruce Carpet, Square-spot Rustic, Black Rustic and a very worn Setaceous Hebrew Character.  The only micro was Eudonia angustea.  A few photos below.    Ina and Tony

Black Rustic

Brimstone

Common Marbled Carpet

Common Marbled Carpet

Dusky Thorn

Silver Y

Spruce Carpet

Spruce Carpet

Square-spot Rustic

Heath Rustic

 A relatively poor night but we caught our second ever Heath Rustic in our garden trap.  On initial inspection it looked like a rather small unseasonal Hebrew Character.

Carolyn & Evan

Autumn has arrived

 Not too many moths last night in the garden and no return of the Convolvulus Hawkmoth or anything similar.  We did however have an Autumnal Rustic, a moth I look forward to every year with mixed feelings.  A lovely, smart looking moth but also marks the end of summer.

Ina and Tony

Autumnal Rustic

Brimstone

Canary-shouldered Thorn

Centre-barred Sallow

Epiphyas postvittana

Flounced Rustic

Lesser Yellow Underwing

Setaceous Hebrew Character

Dark Sword Grass at Llawrcwrt

 

 I have had three Dark Sword Grasses over the last three weeks. All in remarkably good condition, considering they are migrants. This is todays candidate.

 

Flounced Rustic

One of the advantages of only having caught 4 moths last night is that it gives me plenty of time to look more closely at them. The Flounced Rustic is actually a very beautiful moth. However, it doesn’t seem to me that it flounces about in an exaggeratedly impatient or angry manner.

Presumably it’s name derives more from that of a flounce, or flounced, dress.

Flounce is an exaggeration, a frill or a flounce. It is a wide strip of fabric gathered and sewn to a skirt or dress. They most often appear at the hem and help exaggerate the character and silhouette of a skirt.