Late July Trapping Hollesley

Well it’s been an interesting spell. I have been coming to the conclusion since I made some Robinson type traps over the winter that the design I have stumbled upon is the most efficient of any. As a consequence and after speaking with potentially impacted neighbours I have placed one equipped with an 125W MV into the front garden. This is where I have taken the more interesting species in the past. I now run two MVs and a compact actinic. Results have been good. I have trapped on 5 occasions during the period and species counts have ranged from 249 to 167. Whilst this sound good (but bear in mind I do all the micros) it has been hard work and the invasion by yellow underwings also started. The worst night was of 16th when there were well over the thousand in the front trap. A quick hand movement saw the trap erupt. Egg trays were weighted down by the number of underwings that decimated most of the smaller moths leaving them in the cloud of scale dust rolling around the bottom of the trap. If you don’t get them you are lucky! Primarily pronuba but also a lot of fimbriata and comes with some janthe and interjecta. But to the other species. Buff-tip has been prominent this year as have the prominents with the second brooders adding to the summer species at the moment. Teleiopsis diffinis has had a good year and I have picked up a number of Festoon not seen in my previous two years. Hawk-moths still going strong with second brood Poplar out now. Also taken in this spell have been, Pine, Elephant, Lime and Privet. Good for pugs on 27th with 9 species: Maple, Lime-speck, Bordered, Juniper, Tawny Speckled, Currant, White-spotted, V and Double striped. Water Beetles flying on 16th (trying to identify these with difficulty), also picked up a Lesser Stag Beetle (Dorcus parallelipipedus) and a longhorn beetle Arhopalus rusticus (ID thanks to Neil Sherman for that one).

A good spell for immigrant in the country. A few taken here. Of the ‘routine’ species, of which some may be resident too I have had Dark Swordgrass, Silver Y (common), Plutella xylostella (abundant), Cydia amplana, Oncocera semirubella and one Yponomeuta rorrella. Other migrants/immigrants appear in my additions to site list.

It has been a good spell for additions to my site list. There have been common species, rare species and migrants/immigrants. Something of a list but started with the moth which to me had the biggest wow factor, a Nemophora fasciella taken by day in the garden: Dotted Clay, Scarce Silver-lines, Portland Moth (very pretty for a noctuid), Dotted Footman (sorry Keith, but then I still haven’t had a 4-spotted), Small Dotted Buff, Sitochroa verticalis, Palpita vitrealis, Large Tabby (in the shower cubicle), Apotomis turbidana, Epinotia brunnichana, Dichrorampha vancouverana,  Mompha propinquella, Anacampsis populella, Batrachedra praeangusta, Elachista (Biselachista) scirpi, Leucoptera laburnella, Phyllonorycter nicelli, P. rajella, Zelleria hepariella, Tischeria ekebladella and Stigmella hybnerella.