Set my traps up on 13th, 14th, 17th, 19th and 21st at home and went mobile to Staverton Park on 14th and Tangham on 19th. 200 plus species at home on 14 and 21st. Ran on 17th following strong west and south west winds during that day in the hope of getting some of the migrants blown across from the south of the country and wasn’t too disappointed.
13th saw 2 to 300 Large Yellow Underwings in the front garden trap causing chaos. Not so bad on the other dates except 21st. Mouse about and a Shark! Otherwise nice to see a few Chionodes distinctella this year.
14th got me a nice site addition of Dichomeris alacella. I seem to do well on moss and lichen feeders here. Super photo of the species on ‘Moths of Suffolk’. I get a lot of Ectoedemia heringella in mid-summer and this was a start of them. Took me a while to identify this tiny moth but now I know it it makes looking for other neps at this time rather difficult. Staverton Park provided some nice catches. Larger moths like Biff-Tip, Leopard, Black Arches and Green Silver lines were common, also the Lackey, Festoon, Vapourer and a Scarce Silver Lines. Lots of Monochroa cytisella, some strongly marked Eudemis profundana and a few Strophedra nitidana. I picked up several Dystebenna stephensi, which, whilst Staverton Park may be its supposed habitat I have also picked up at home. Neil presents a photo of his catch at Ipswich on ‘Moths of Suffolk’. Look out for this species it may be more widespread, it doesn’t always show the brown markings in the wing patterning but the dark at the termen is a character. Anarsia spartiella taken, not lineatella unfortunately but did have some migrants there: Oncocera semirubella, Plutella xylostella, and a Small Mottled Willow.
17th was my hope for blown across migrants and I had a Striped Hawk-moth, a Catoptria verellus (not a looker is it!) and amazingly my second Olive Crescent of the year. Was this an immigrant or blown in from the Suffolk colonies? A single Blastodacna atra was a new site addition.
19th turned colder than originally forecasted so the catch was not large but the Tangham trip was worthwhile. 4 Suspected and 3 Epinotia brunnichana. My first Cedestis gysseleriella another Anarsia that wasn’t a lineatella a Twin Spot Carpet, Festoon, Drinker Anania verbascalis, Saltern Ear and a Dark Sword-grass added interest.
21st at home was a big catch, plagued again by the Underwings, aproximately 350 Large in total with 250 in the front trap which with the Broad Bordered and Lesser probably totaled around the 350 mark at the front trap. Smaller moths just a mess amongst the scales on the bottom of the trap. The catch did non-the-less give me two site additions a Sitochroa palealis and a Pempelia genistella. Might also have 2 Mompha lacteella but will need to do a gen prep to be sure. Nice to be seeing a few Large Emerald around at the present too.
Regular catches of the migrants Small Mottled Willow, Dark Sword-grass, Silver Y, Rush Veneer and Diamond-backed, with one further Bordered Straw during the period.