Curious Drinker

A couple of weeks ago Silke watched this caterpillar circle the upturned earthenware pitcher c.30cm high for 2 hours.  It kept peering over the edge.
In the end she went and put it on the ground somewhat amazed it had escaped the attention of various hungry garden birds though if a cuckoo had been passing...

Talybont

Must have been a high tide last night, we had a Shark in the moth trap!  Forgive me, I'm sure I've used that joke before.
Put a small trap under the honeysuckle.  Only eleven species mainly Treble lines and Heart and Dart others were; Setaceous Hebrew Character, Buff-tip, Dark Arches, Elephant Hawkmoth, Brown Silver-line, Common Marbled Carpet, Red-green Carpet, Small Magpie and last but not least...a Shark.
Ina and Tony

Oblique Carpet

 Two moths found in the bedroom yesterday evening. They must have escaped when I was opening the trap earlier in the day. I hesitate to put a name to the micro, can it be a a Bee Moth? Perhaps Ina will comment.

Freyer's Pug

A much better night in our garden last night apart from a small bucket trap carefully placed near to a Honeysuckle in full flower, which was skittled presumably by one of the local cats. The highlight was a Freyer's Pug which was a first for me in Ceredigion. There are only 19 county records with 3 modern records all from Simon's garden in Aberystwyth. We had 30 Macro species and 8 micros. Most numerous were Treble Lines followed by Heart and Dart.
Tony & Ina

Freyer's Pug

Small Elephant Hawk-moth

Tawny-barred Angle

Least Black Arches

Alder Moth

Hedya nubiferana

Figure of Eighty

Cydia pomonella

Chrysoteuchia culmella

Obscure Wainscot

A rather breezy night on the bog! only 16 species in total but one of them was an Obscure Wainscot. This species was only discovered in the county last year with records from Cors Fochno and Aberporth. Hopefully last night's record shows that they are now breeding on Cors Fochno. Amongst the others were a rather unusually marked Devon Carpet, Peppered Moth, Scalloped Hook-tip and Small Seraphim. The micros were Diamond Back and Phylloporia bistrigella.
Tony & Ina

Obscure Wainscot

Devon Carpet

Scalloped Hook-tip

Small Seraphim

Llawrcwrt - Barred Umber

I'm quite envious of Carolyn and Evan with all their hawkmoths. I've only seen one Eyed Hawk-moth and never seen a Small Elephant Hawk-moth. The only less common moth in my trap yesterday was this Barred Umber. I have caught one or two in recent years and 4 in 2016

Lead Belle and a Plethora of Hawk-moths

Last night's moth trapping included this Lead Belle (early flight period and tear shaped black central spot) from a local woodland we have not trapped in before and four species of hawk-moth from our garden trap.

Included in the trap were several Maybugs and this Carrion Beetle.  The last edition of E moth from Butterfly Conservation is encouraging us to send these Silphidae records to iRecord.

Carolyn & Evan

Lead Belle

Eyed Hawk-moth

Poplar Hawk-moth

Elephant & Small Elephant Hawk-moths

Black Sexton Beetle (Nicrophorus humator)