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

Garden crowd pleasers

I've waited almost 5 years to record Garden Tiger in my Garden ... Monday night's trap finally provided one:

I also recorded True Lovers Knot frequently at my old house, on the other side of Aberystwyth, but again, this week is the first time in this garden (with 4 on Tuesday).

Other highlights were Reddish Light Arches (I think):

and Double Line, Green Arches and Bordered White.

Micros included Gold triangle, Ypsolopha sequella, Epinotia signatana, Scrobipalpa acuminatella and Pammene fasciana.

Cloaked Pug

Visitors to the garden this weekend included the biggest pug I've ever seen:

Cloaked Pug

48 macros in total on 28th included Heart and Club, Dingy Shell, Small Yellow Wave (2), Clouded Border, Freyer's Pug and my first Large Emerald. Among a further 35 species of micro were Exoteleia dodecella, Grapholita janthinana, Aethes cnicana, Anania lancealis, Anania coronata and Water Veneer (adopting its usual moth trap pose):

Also a micro that looks identifiable but which has me stumped:

On the 30th, as well as the Cloaked Pug the trap held FFY Phoenix, Short-cloaked moth, Grapholita funebrana, Phycita roborella and Matilella fusca, perhaps attracted by the fires in Cwm Rheidol: