Wednesday 31 August 2016

Merthyr mawr last night.


           Portland moth


          Archers dart


            Old lady.
                             39 sp in all, I packed up at 11:45 due to unexpected army
                             night training, a first for me! Was not expecting another
                             Portland moth as I was only 500m out from the car park.
                             No migrants seen.

Tuesday 30 August 2016

Llandaff - 29th August

A warm night to start which rapidly turned chilly after midnight.

Trap filled with Large Yellow Underwings, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing and Setaceous Hebrew Character.

The only other species present were, Light Emerald, Acleris variegana, Light Brown Apple Moth, Brimstone and a couple of Tortrix to check

New to the garden species - Pinion-streaked Snout.







Monday 29 August 2016

Bridgend last night

76 moths of 19 species in our garden trap last night dominated by Large Yellow Underwing, Lesser Yellow Underwing and Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing. The undoubted highlight though was our first record of Vestal since 2006. Other species new for the year were Garden Rose Tortrix, Rusty Dot Pearl and Tachystola acroxantha. This takes our garden year list up to 152 species, a bit down on recent years. Other species last night included a few Apple Ermine (agg), Azalea Leaf-miner, Yellow-barred Brindle, Angle Shades and Silver Y. We were again accompanied by a Common Pipistrelle Bat  at dusk as we set the trap up! We'll upload some photos later when we get the time.

Mike & Emma

Sunday 28 August 2016

Creigiau last night

The omens were good yesterday with Silver Y and Psychoides filicivora both seen in the borders in the afternoon and then we had the annual visit of of Pyrausta aurata. Last year it was accompanied by Pyrausta purpuralis so looking out for that now!


The overnight box attracted 157 moths of 53 species (I counted 48 Large Yellow Underwing & 23 Brimstone but there were probably more!). Highlights were 4 lifers -  Magpie Moth, Agriphila geniculea, Lathronympha strigana and Caloptilia alchimiella/robustella





Another highlight was the appearance of a very crisp Gold Spot


Garden Pebble also made a first appearance for the year.

Llangynwyd last night.

                   Peach blossom

                   V-pug

                    Ypsolopha sequella, new for the Llynfi valley.

                   Stenolechia gemmella, new for the Llynfi valley.
                   40 sp on a warm, still night, 19 of which were micro's. Nice
                   to get 2 lifers, which were both additions to the valley list.

Saturday 27 August 2016

Horton on Gower last night.




Barry Stewart very kindly invited me along to see what might be in his two traps by the coast this morning. It was perhaps a bit cool for much in the way of migrants but the pick of the morning has to be this pug. We have decided that it really can't be anything else except Satyr Pug. However, there is only one other record from 1857 for VC41 and it doesn't fly in August so any other views welcome. I still have the moth if anyone needs to see it. It looks like the smaller, darker ssp callunaria.
We also had a second, rather worn, pug that might have been the same, plus a Tawny Speckled Pug.
I was very pleased to see 2 Mompha miscella which was also a new species for me, and these three other micros.

Possibly Satyr Pug ssp callunaria

Coptotriche marginea
Pyla fusca
Mompha miscella
Mirificarma mulinella

More from Prior's Meadow last Wednesday

Some micros I took home to photograph included 3 different Phyllonorycter species, Acleris emargana, Epermenia falciformis (I recorded 4) Cochylimorpha straminea. 
Phyllonorycter sorbi
Cochylimorpha straminea


Phyllonorycter rajella

Epermenia falciformis

Acleris emargana

Copper Underwing

Just getting the box ready for later and had an early arrival - a Copper Underwing landed on the window. Very skittish but I managed to catch it and grab some pictures without it getting away.

I've logged it as Copper Underwing but the palps suggest Svensson's - is this a reliable indicator? I've just checked my records, and strangely on 27 August last year I posted the exact same query - the result of which was that I logged it as Copper Underwing agg ! Maybe I've answered my own query.



Thursday 25 August 2016

ID help please

Could someone please put me out of my misery - this looks as though it should be easy to ID but after a couple of hours of looking I'm just not seeing it ! I'm blaming my new glasses ...




Prior's Meadow

I can't compete with Paul's Portland Moth of course, but I did have 80 odd species last night at this Wildlife Trust site including this migrant Vestal and a Ypsolopha sequella which I can never resist photographing.
Ypsolopha sequella

Vestal

Merthyr mawr warren last night, Portland moth!


          This Portland moth came to the actinic light at 11PM. The first in the county since 2002 I think.


           Archers dart


           Lesser wax moth. 46 species up to 11:30PM on a still, muggy night. The rain
           started just as I got back to the car. Other highlights - Crassa unitella, Hedge
           rustic, Feathered gothic, Double kidney, Yellow belle and Oak eggar.

Creigiau - Tuesday 23 August

The midweek box attracted 154 moths of 44 species, although it should be said that 58 of them were LYU! Two, if my IDs are correct, will be new for me - Eupoecilia angustana and Cochylimphora straminea



The latter was approx 8mm long, which would be too small for the similar, larger, C alternana.

Three others were new for the year - Blood-vein, Brown China-mark and Dingy Shell



As usual, there are some that I'd be grateful for help with. I'm pretty sure these are Bactra sp. but could they both be B lancealana ?



and finally ... is this tatty beastie a Currant or Wormwood Pug ?




Wednesday 24 August 2016

Cadoxton Ponds 23rd August

I put the trap out at Cadoxton Ponds last night and was rewarded with my first ever Jersey Tigers (x2):
Just over 50 species in total with a quite a few new for the site (i haven't trapped there much) including an orange swift (also a new moth for me), broad-bordered yellow underwing, lesser yellow underwing, copper underwing, yellow-barred brindle, brimstone, common carpet, ringed china-mark, brown house moth, Coptotriche marginea, Dichrorampha acuminatana and Dichrorampha simpliciana. A few I'd like conformation of please:
Crocidosema plebejana?

Cochylis hybridella?

Clay triple-lines?
And a couple I'd like help with please:
 



Llandaff - 23rd August

As the weather was roughtly the same as the night before I tried the trap again.

There was far more activity than the previous night with even higher numbers once again of the usual suspects.

Some that stood out were, Ringed China-mark, Straw Underwing, Sallow Kitten and one more migrant, which was nice, a Rush Veneer.




Tuesday 23 August 2016

Llandaff - 22nd August

A balmy evening, but very windy here with some heavy drizzle most hours after midnight.

Usual species present and in decent numbers for a change, however,  a nice migrant, Palpita vitrealis, was a pleasent surprise. Photos via phone, lovely moth but would just not settle down.