Third pretty chalk carpet

Last night I had another pretty chalk carpet, my third since 22 June. This one was quite battered and faded. 

Good night in Bontgoch

 Over 50 ssp. of macros last night including Shark, Ghost moth female, Double line, Green arches, 4 Swallowtails and Round-winged Muslin, Small Seraphim and Smoky Wave.

Out now in Carmarthenshire - what about Ceredigion?

 Another little reminder - please keep an eye out for larval workings of Pachyrhabda steropodes. Below is copied and pasted from the Carmarthenshire moth blog. I`m envious of your small marbleds and Welsh clearwing records, by the way!

Laura Moss recently (25/6) sent me an excellent photo of Pachyrhabda steropodes larvae spinnings. Note the two orangey elongated shapes in the photo and that the sporangia are missing = eaten, under soft shield-fern fronds (its food-plant ) at Llangynin (NW of St Clears). Something to look out for.

A second small marbled!

With only two previous records for the county, both on the same day in 2015, a small marbled 2 nights ago was a surprise but a second one last night was quite unexpected! This one has more pronounced markings that the first so posting here for the record. Aberaeron. 

A Clearwin(g)-win situation at Bwlch Corog, Glaspwll. 20/06/2025

 With a renewed determination to search for the Welsh Clearwing and very good mothing conditions in the week running up to the 20th June, a short notice weekend survey was commissioned by Coetir Anian https://www.cambrianwildwood.org/

On a very humid and warm Friday evening, three 15w green phosphor traps were placed out on the peat bog and a 125w MV in the ancient Oak woodland.

105 species were recorded (81 macro and 23 micro) including Waved Carpet, Striped Wainscot and Welsh Wave. 

Waved Carpet. P McGregor

Striped Wainscot. P McGregor

Welsh Wave. P McGregor

Early Saturday morning, with the temperature having not dropped below 14c and sunny intervals developing, lure traps were placed at suitable birches (with possible signs of clearwing activity) and along a wet gulley clad with mature willows, looking for Welsh Clearwing and Lunar Hornet Moth respectively. By 11am, five Welsh Clearwing had been recorded and three Lunar Hornet Moth.

Welsh Clearwing. P McGregor

With much cooler conditions having arrived by Saturday afternoon, a contrasting 48 species were trapped Saturday night, Small Yellow Wave probably being the most notable. A total of 126 separate species were recorded over the two nights.

A very satisfying weekend of moth recording.

Phil.

Another Ceredigion rarity - small marbled

A rare immigrant from my garden in Aberaeron last night. Very small and if I wasn't now checking all micros too (started this year) then I would have ignored this as "just another micro" ☺️

Not sure about previous Ceredigion records but there are none for Ceredigion on iRecord that I can see and not that many for the whole of the UK. 

Lesser cream wave and pretty chalk carpet

Both infrequent in the county from what I gather - the pretty chalk carpet only has single figure records I think. Lesser cream wave from the meadow at Llanerchaeron and the pretty chalk carpet came to a light trap in my garden in Aberaeron. 

Eucosma ??

Got this one yesterday at Llanerchaeron on the meadow. It's not ideal that the rear top of the wing is missing but you can just see a portion of the lighter panel in the wing displayed in E. cana and E. obumbratana. I was leaning towards E. cana. LERC's AI had it down as E. obumbratana but it also has similarity to E. fulvana but I think this would make it a county first. Anyone with a firm thought (just for fun - I am not trying to claim a county first here ☺️).

Pug puzzle

 This small pug was in my trap on 18 June. I took two photographs to try on Obsidentify. One it suggested was Valerian Pug as a 100% certainty; the other it offered Lead-grey Pug at 60%.

I don't think it is Common Pug (central spot absent, white spot on termen appears to be present); we have plenty of red valerian (Centranthus ruber) in the garden, but the nearest Valeriana officinalis I know of is 6 miles away on Tregaron. As for Lead-grey, there is or was cow-wheat less than a mile from here.

Migrants and more

Not many moths in the garden trap last night, but a few migrants was an encouraging sign: Dark Sword-Grass, Silver Y (3) and Diamondback. Later, doing my gardening chores this afternoon, I disturbed a Bordered Straw which had presumably been attracted to the light but avoided the trap.

I visited Cors Ian this morning. Glyphipterix thrasonella in abundance. Highlights were a Scarlet Tiger and several Phiaris micana:

Smell the roses

A short walk (that took a long time!) around the dunes at Ynyslas on Tuesday evening. I was pleased to see Shaded Pug (2), but most noticeable were rose feeders: around 150 Acleris bergmanniana in the slacks and along the side of the golf course, and Notocelia roborana (1) and Hedya ochroleucana (c20). 

Shaded Pug

Acleris bergmanniana

Other highlights included Eucosma campoliliana (c10), Caloptilia stigmatella (1), Crescent Plume (c20), Cydia microgrammana (c10)  and the off-puttingly named Celypha cespitana (1).

Celypha cespitana