Recent Moths at Hollesley

Been  thinking it was about time I posted again and especially in this migrant rich spell, so after a first class catch on 13th I’ll bring it up to date. Warm days warm nights. 26 daytime and 20 celsius at dawn this morning and yesterday here and I suspect warmer still further inland. My species total on 13th made 71 which is pretty good for September. the first autumn species around with a Black Rustic, Chestnut and Feathered Ranunculus and a Sallow and Large Wainscot yesterday. However the immigrants made it more of a stand-out catch. Two Convolvulus Hawk-moths that were a male and a female showing me the big difference between the sexes in size and markings. Two Vestals and Small Mottled Willow plus the regular Silver Ys, Plutella xylostella, Udea ferrugalis and Nomophila noctuella. The last 3 days have also seen Dark Sword-grass, Four-spotted Footman and Palpita vitrealis but to cap it all the 13th brought me a Blair’s Mocha. I gather this is increasingly seen as an immigrant in recent years. The next 2 nights also look to have as much promise so I’ll keep my fingers crossed for everyone. There was also a spate of immigrants a couple of weeks ago that saw a few Vestals and brought me a Bordered Straw, Gem and Oncocera semirubella. The photo of the Convolvulus also shows a Setaceous Hebrew Character and Large Yellow Underwing that are species thought to be bolstered by immigrants at the moment. Amongst them I have also had my first few Lunar Yellow Underwings of the year that are possibly immigrants as the species seems to be on the decline, though I have taken it regularly at Captain’s Wood (Sudbourne).

What else? Pleased to record a new Nepticulid for the garden on 13th. Ectoedemia sericopeza no doubt breeding on my Norway Maple and differs from the similar E. louisella in having a pale coloured collar. A lot of Willow Beautys this autumn that are unusually small. Anyone else noted this? Ruby Tiger has been prominent recently too and a couple of weeks ago there was a significant second brood of Evergistis limbata. Also abundant this year has been the Dusky Thorn, having taken few till this year.

My trips off to other sites have only turned up interest at Captain’s Wood on 6th where I took my first locally resident Syncopacma. Two specimens of S. larseniella in the trap. Also a couple of salt-marsh Coleophora made it there too. C. asteris and C. salinella. However the greatest numbers in the catch at Captain’s Wood on that occasion was of bugs and beetles, mainly the Forest Sheild-bug, leaf-hoppers and Bradycellus verbasci that seems to be turning up in numbers everywhere this year as is the Sheild-bug.ConvolvulusVestalBlair's Mochasericopeza

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3 Responses to Recent Moths at Hollesley

  1. Paul Kitchener says:

    Wow! I don’t know about being in a different county I must be in a different country to you Raymond. Over the past week I have taken over fifty species most nights which is very good for the time of year but there have been next to no migrants in my Ipswich (IP4) trap. Over the seven nights there has been about six Silver Y, five U. ferrugalis, a couple of P. xylostella and no N. noctuella whatsoever. Even on the very warm nights little seems to be flying more than a few miles inland.

    Paul

    • Raymond Watson says:

      All back to normal now Paul. Possibility of an improvement in a week or so though. Did you get any Coleophora at Dunwich?

  2. Raymond Watson says:

    Just completed a dissection of what I thought might have been a Scrobipalpa taken on 13th and has turned out to be my first Tuta absoluta of this year.
    Immigrant species here and not adventive or greenhouse pest (yet).

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