200 Moths

A fine selection of moths captured on Monday morning included a spectacular Poplar Hawk Moth, Sallow Kitten, four new types of “carpet” and many ermine moths including Thistle Ermine. All this brings my count of moth species to over 200.

#663 Poplar Hawk-moth (Laothoe populi)

#750 Oak Hook-tip (Watsonalla binaria)

#807 Sallow Kitten (Furcula furcula)

#808 August Thorn (Ennomos quercinaria)

#778 Cloaked Minor (Mesoligia furuncula)

#802 Spruce Carpet (Thera britannica)

#804 Least Carpet (Idaea rusticata)

#806 Red Twin-spot Carpet (Xanthorhoe spadicearia)

#809 Scorched Carpet (Ligdia adustata)

#805 Chequered Grass-veneer (Catoptria falsella)

#811 Thistle Ermine (Myelois circumvoluta)

#812 Ethmia dodecea (Ethmia dodecea)

800 Species

Some moth trapping this weekend brought my 800 species for the garden. Some of the highlights are shown below. Of the two new macros, the Dusky Sallow is a species from the Cotswolds liking drier calcareous habitats where its caterpillars live on grasses, whereas the Dun-bar is a woodland species needing deciduous trees. Apparently the caterpillars of the Dun-bar are partly carnivorous, augmenting their plant-based diet with caterpillars of other (and even sometimes their own) species.

#245 Yellow-tail (Euproctis similis)

#783 Miller (Acronicta leporina)

#546 Ruby Tiger (Phragmatobia fuliginosa)

#796 Dusky Sallow (Eremobia ochroleuca)

#533 Lesser Yellow Underwing (Noctua comes)

#605 Mottled Rustic (Caradrina morpheus)

#731 Early Thorn (Selenia dentaria)

#797 Dun-bar (Cosmia trapezina)

#800 Yellow-spot Twist (Pseudargyrotoza conwagana)

Burnished Brass

There are hardly any butterflies around during the day, but at night I seem to be doing pretty well catching moths. Last night I struck gold with a flashy Burnished Brass, a striking Shaded Broad-bar and a Scarce Footman, among seven new species. It’s not certain if the metallic marks on some moths are to deter or confuse predators, or if it’s just to look good.

#788 Burnished Brass (Diachrysia chrysitis)

#789 Shaded Broad-bar (Scotopteryx chenopodiata)

#786 Fan-foot (Herminia tarsipennalis)

#657 Scalloped Oak (Crocallis elinguaria)

#279 Dot Moth (Melanchra persicariae)

#787 Scarce Footman (Eilema complana)

#790 Bird-cherry Ermine (Yponomeuta evonymella)

#791 White-foot Bell (Epiblema foenella)

#792 Little Grey (Eudonia lacustrata)

2nd July Micro Moths

These are some of the micro moths I caught recently. A couple of new species of tortrix moths, most of which seem to be found around orchards and fruit trees, of which there are many round here. Also it is the season for grass moths, so several of these appear in the catch.

#779 Marbled Orchard Tortrix (Hedya nubiferana)

#784 Red-barred Tortrix (Ditula angustiorana)

#670 Golden-brown Tubic (Crassa unitella)

#206 Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella)

#200 Garden Grass-veneer (Chrysoteuchia culmella)

#251 Satin Grass Veneer (Crambus perlella)

2nd July Macro Moths

I caught a bumper haul of moths on Friday morning, following a still, warm & overcast night. This included four elephant hawk moths, and a several Heart & Date, Large Yellow Underwing, Uncertain, Flame, Buff Ermine and other commoner moths. Among these here are some of my favourites, including four new species of macro moths for my garden list.

#781 Small Blood-vein (Scopula imitaria)

#783 Miller (Acronicta leporina)

#611 Grey Dagger (Acronicta psi)

#780 Peppered Moth (Biston betularia)

#782 Green Pug (Pasiphila rectangulata)

#632 Clouded Silver (Lomographa temerata)

Hawk Moths and More

More moths caught at the weekend, including Small and Large elephant Hawk Moths and Cloaked Minor, another new species.

Small & Elephant Hawk Moth

#219 Small Magpie Moth (Anania hortulata)

#676 Coronet (Craniophora ligustri)

#778 Cloaked Minor (Mesoligia furuncula)

Small Ranunculus (Hecatera dysodea, #777)

This nicely marked moth is a bit of a rarity as well. Small Ranunculus (Hecatera dysodea) was believed extinct in UK between 1914 and 1997, when it was found to be re-established in South-East England. This moth has been spreading North and West since, but there are still only a few records per year in Gloucestershire. This moth’s caterpillars are found on Prickly Lettuce, which itself found as a not-very-common weed on roadsides and disturbed ground.

New Moths - 23 June 2021

It was dry and still, but a bit cold overnight, so there weren’t too many moths in the trap this morning, but nonetheless three new species; a pug and two micros - all quite small and not very colourful.

The pug is a Currant Pug (Eupithecia assimilata), whose larval food-plant is (unsurprisingly) currant bushes. The large dark spots at the front of the wings and pale spots towards the trailing edge identify this species, which has 2 generations during the summer. Garden Pebble (Evergestis forficalis) is also double-brooded, favouring gardens and allotments where its caterpillars can be a pest on cruciferous plants (eg. cabbages). Finally the False Cacao Moth (Ephestia woodiella) has several similar relatives, but most of them are more likely to be found in food warehouses or your kitchen cupboards in the dried fruit, nuts or flour, than in the wild. Flying mostly in May-July, it seems to be becoming more common.

#776 Currant Pug (Eupithecia assimilata)

#774 Garden Pebble (Evergestis forficalis)

#775 False Cacao Moth (Ephestia woodiella)

New Moths this Weekend

Apart from the pugs, carpets and some others I covered separately, there was a great selection of moths in and around the moth trap this weekend. There were plenty that I also caught last year, but I can’t show them all, so here are the new species that I didn’t already mention in other posts. Even with all the great materials around on the web, especially the “Flying tonight” sites for Norfolk and Hampshire it still takes quite a time to go through and identify everything, and I’ve still got a few caddis flies and other non-moths I need to look at.

#752 Marbled Minor (Oligia strigilis agg)

#755 Brown Silver-line (Petrophora chlorosata)

#756 Scorched Wing (Plagodis dolabraria)

#759 Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix (Pandemis cerasana)

#760 Crescent Bell (Epinotia bilunana)

#761 Small Square-spot (Diarsia rubi)

#768 Common Grey (Scoparia ambigualis)

#769 Dusky Brocade (Apamea remissa)

Four Pugs

Here are for of the pug moths I’ve caught over the last week or so. There are quite a bewildering number of often rather similar-looking pug moths to choose from, but these are some of the commoner ones at this time of the year.

#479 Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata)

#749 Mottled Pug (Eupithecia exiguata)

#757 Foxglove Pug (Eupithecia pulchellata)

#762 Freyer's Pug (Eupithecia intricata)

New Carpets for the Garden

Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata) and Common Marbled Carpet (Dysstroma truncata) are both very variable in colour, and have been present in decent numbers while I’ve been trapping this spring (they are present right through to the Autumn as well). Among these I also caught some new species from the large family of colourful carpet moths: Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria), Cypress Carpet (Thera cupressata), the rather striking Flame Carpet (Xanthorhoe designata) and Barred Yellow (Cidaria fulvata). Cypress Carpet is a newly arrived species in UK, first found in 1984 but now spread to Leylandii hedges all over the South of Britain. None of the species mentioned cause damage to carpets, by the way.

Common Swift Moth (Korscheltellus lupulina, #766)

Both these moths are Common Swifts. I caught the all-dark one the other day and wondered what it was, but there is a melanistic form which is about the same colour as a Common Swift, the bird. The females apparently also tend to be duller than the males, which I suppose is what you see on the right. These moths fly in May-June, their caterpillars living the rest of the year underground nibbling the roots of grasses.

Moth Eggs on the Wall

These moth eggs appeared on the wall of the house overnight. I’ve no idea what kind of moth laid them, but it does not seem a great place for their caterpillars to hatch, as it’s quite a long crawl to the nearest greenery of any kind.

Update: A couple of weeks later the eggs have hatched and there are a cluster of tiny and very hairy caterpillars.

Elephant Hawk Moth

Very happy to catch one of these beauties in the moth trap last night. They fly from May-July, with willowherb and bedstraws being their larval plants. The Elephant Hawk Moth is not really that rare in southern England, but except for its caterpillars which look like an elephant’s trunk, it’s not something you will easily see without access to a moth trap.

#767 Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor)

More May Moths

The Buff Tip moth is one of my favourites, looking just like a snapped off birch twig, though it also frequents other species of deciduous tree. The Treble Lines moth is also one that I caught in June last year. It flies from May to July, its caterpillars eating plantain.

The two new species are the Marbled Minor, actually one of a trio of closely related species that feed on grasses, and the Rush Veneer, that also feeds on clover and grasses. The latter species is an immigrant from the continent that occurs in UK in large numbers sometimes, but usually later in the summer - this is quite an early record.

#603 Treble Lines (Charanyca trigrammica)

#612 Buff Tip (Phalera bucephala)

#752 Marbled Minor (Oligia strigilis agg)

#753 Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella)

750 Species

Four new moths the other night brought my species tally up to 750. I’ve now seen 158 moths, 103 of which were added since I bought my moth trap around a year ago. We’re still waiting for some warmer evenings, but it does look like the weather is finally changing for the better.

#606 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata)

#747 Pebble Prominent (Notodonta ziczac)

#748 Poplar Grey (Subacronicta megacephala)

#749 Mottled Pug (Eupithecia exiguata)

#750 Oak Hook-tip (Watsonalla binaria)

#236 Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata)

Finally a Still, Dry Night

It wasn’t warm, but at least there was no rain and it wasn’t blowing a gale, so I was able to put out the moth trap for the first time in a few weeks. This year it seems you have to take your chances when they arrive. It was not a great haul of moths, but a couple of new species. Muslin moth (Diaphora mendica) is a May flier, there were four of these grey/brown males in the trap, but none of the white coloured females. The Puss Moth (Cerura vinula) also flies in one generation from May-July - I have found it’s impressive-looking caterpillars around the village, but not in the garden. Other trapped species were the Spectacle (Abrostola tripartita) caught in the moth trap, and a Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae), caught in a nearby spider’s web.

#745 Muslin Moth (Diaphora mendica)

#596 Spectacle (Abrostola tripartita)

#746 Puss Moth (Cerura vinula)

April Moths

Despite the cold night-time temperatures there were a few moths about last night, not many in numbers but a few species including a few new ones. Pale Tussock was the most striking, also this is a quite early record for a species normally out in May-June. The Knot Grass moth is also more common later in the season, while the others are more typically spring species.

#740 Pale Tussock (Calliteara pudibunda)

#741 Brindled Beauty (Lycia hirtaria)

#743 Knot Grass (Acronicta rumicis)

#742 Waved Umber (Menophra abruptaria)

#479 Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata)

#744 Brindled Pug (Eupithecia abbreviata)

March "Heatwave" Moths

As it was such a warm, still evening and I’d seen several butterflies during the daytime I had to put out the moth trap. As well as several Early Grey, Common Quaker and other moths I caught earlier in the month, I captured these two new species. The Early Thorn has two generations, the first in Feb-May and a second in July-Sept; it is found on blackthorn and hawthorn bushes. The Double-striped Pug also has two generations in Mar-May and Jul-Aug and is a common species with a variety of food-plants,

#731 Early Thorn (Selenia dentaria)

#732 Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)

First Moths of 2021

Having caught precisely nothing up until now in the moth trap, I was delighted with my haul this morning - I obviously chose the right night for it. Seven different species came to the light; all of them new for my garden list as they are all species that have one generation during the year, flying early in the year.

#728 Oak Beauty (Biston strataria)

#723 Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta)

#724 March Tubic (Diurnea fagella)

#725 Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica)

#726 Small Quaker (Orthosia cruda)

#727 Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi)

#729 Early Grey (Xylocampa areola)