Last day of August, a bank holiday and its tipping it down with rain outside – typical British summer weather! Has given me time to reflect on the few weeks since I last posted. Been a good period generally for moths, with counts still up over 100sp until last weekend. Noticeable how the rain and cooler temperatures have reduced moths in the last week, especially the micros.
I’ll start with a few daytime observations. Seen Hummingbird hawk twice (same moth) in the flowerbed by the work shed, mainly nectaring at Verbena, a plant I’d recommend highly for attracting this moth. Next, I’d left some Lettuce plants to go to seed in my veg garden and a search revealed about 30 larvae of Small ranunculus feeding on them. Not had the moth in the trap this year however, but will probably get a few next year now! Lastly I found the mines of Stigmella incognitella on an Apple tree in my garden, this being a new site record.
Now onto trapping highlights. Square-spotted clay (19th), Coronet (regular, I can remember when this was rare in Suffolk), Hedge rustic (first year record 20th), Beautiful yellow underwing (a few), Agdistis bennetii (a couple of sightings of this wandering saltmarsh moth), Small mottled willow (odd ones earlier in the period), Ectodemia atrifrontella (a few sightings), Tree-lichen beauty (only odd ones now, tailing off), Vitula biviella (21st), Toadflax brocade (second site record, 21st, very fresh – breeding locally perhaps?), Ptocheuusa paupella (23rd, only my second site and life record), Clay triple lines (23rd), Bulrush wainscot (a few sightings) and Vestal (2 on the 30th, part of the national influx). I also have a worn tortrix that looks very much like Zeiraphera griseana (Larch tortrix) but that will need a gen.det to be certain, would be a new site record.
A few other observations. Caught a Buff-tip on the 20th, seems a very late record to me. A couple of moths seem at a low ebb at this site this year (so far anyway). Pinion-streaked snout is normally a regular, but I’ve only seen the odd one this season. Square-spot rustic has been very low on the ground, with no counts over 10 in my traps yet, perhaps the drought conditions earlier this year didn’t favour this grass feeding species? Of course it could still be running a bit late, with the peak yet to come. Certainly I would say the whole summer has been running behind due to those cold snaps we have had.
One of the best captures of the period wasn’t a moth, but an Ant-lion trapped on the 22nd, this being the first IGC record. Hopefully more will follow and colonize the site, plenty of suitable habitat here for them.
Traps now dominated by ‘brown jobs’ now just waiting for the colourful autumn stuff to appear, shouldn’t be too long now. A few cooler nights (which are due this week) should get them moving.
Neil
Love the Ant-lion. Fabulous insects. They turn up occasionally here. A little autumn colour here with Centre-barred Sallow and some of the Thorns.
I’ve been getting good numbers of Square-spot Rustic up here on the Suffolk/Norfolk border Neil. Since the first one on 14th August, I’ve had double figures in the traps on most recording nights since then with a peak of 60+ on 28th.
Brian