The moths came in twos last night, presumably to get out of the rain. Black Rustic (2), Angle Shades (2), LBAM (2), Silver Y (2 in the trap, 2 hiding on the fence). The odd one out was Ypsolopha ustella, which came alone. Before I went to bed, and before it rained, single Merveille du Jour and Red Sword-grass, probably the most interesting of the lot.
Peter Major had a brilliant recording session on Constitution Hill on the 7th of October - not only did he record a Death's-head Hawk-moth, Convolvulus Hawk-moth x 3 and a Scarce Bordered Straw as mentioned in Mike Bailey's post - but also a Box-tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis) which is another County first. It will be interesting to see how quickly it will spread or whether this is a one-off .
All photos - Peter Major.
Having heard from Peter Major that he caught Scarce Bordered Straw, Death's Head and 3 Convolvus hawk-moths on Consti at the weekend, and having caught Vestal and Rusty-dot Pearl myself on Sunday night, I was encouraged to put the trap out again last night.
This produced my first Convolvulus hawk moth for Troedrhiw Seiri, plus a rare migrant from the tropics, Spoladea recurvalis, which has appeared for the first time in a number of English counties in recent days, and I guess could be a county record for Ceredigion?!
I recorded a Gem earlier this year - it is an immigrant and fairly uncommon in Ceredigion. Last night I recorded two more, which made me wonder if these were bred locally.
I also had both Chestnut and Dark Chestnut - Seeing them together makes it much easier to differentiate. The shape of each being a key pointer - especially the wing tips.
Our catch last night included another exceptional 2nd generation moth- this time a Marbled White Spot and this Turnip Moth.
Carolyn & Evan
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| Marbled White Spot |
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| Turnip Moth |
A walk along the coast path at Llanrhystud on Sunday. Best moth was this Vestal on the shingle, which was happy to pose on my finger. Also two Rusty-dot Pearl and a Silver Y.
There's been little to get excited about in the garden trap recently. Square-spot Rustic appears to be having a good year here (Aberystwyth), but only four last night, equalled by E. angustea. Otherwise Black Rustic (3), Feathered Ranunculus (2), Spruce Carpet (2), Pale Mottled Willow, and a Silver Y.
T. acroxantha appear to be trying to colonise the house. I think I understand where it gets its vernacular name.
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| Pale Mottled Willow |
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| Feathered Ranunculus |
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| Black Rustic |
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| Eudonia angustea |
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| Spruce Carpet |
