Mild conditions at the end of October brought some reasonable numbers of moths to my traps here. Nothing too exciting but nice to see most of the regulars. Dark chestnut, Feathered thorn, Diurnea lipsiella, Mottled umber and Satellite have all now been recorded but still no Red-line quaker. The Epirrita have also appeared in good numbers, with a count of 102 on the night of the 28th that contained 3 clear examples of the Pale November. All 3 of those were in my trap running in the woods. Streak, Black rustic, Green brindled crescent and Merveille du Jour have all had a good year. At present Yellow-line quaker and Chestnut have only appeared in small numbers, both normally common here.
Very few of the commoner migrants here, most probably home bred now. Had late Vine’s rustic, Setaceous hebrew character and a Snout.
With cold weather now forecast for a while with the first major frost this morning (2nd November) don’t think I’ll be trapping much more now this year.
Neil
I used to get Pale November regularly in Gloucestershire many years ago and I had been waiting and waiting for it at home so to see it at Captain’s Wood really was delightful for me. Doesn’t seem so common in Suffolk? Lots of Yellow-line Quaker for me and also a few Red-line. Not missing any regular autumn moths now after taking the Blair’s Shoulder-knot but I have never seen Diurnea lipsiella.
I don’t think it is common in Suffolk, not seen it at many sites myself. Could be under-recorded though due to its similarity to the other species. Surprised you didn’t pick up Diurnea lipsiella at Captain’s wood as the habitat is similar to my site – heathy Oak/Birch woodland. Does fly in the daytime too along woodland rides at this time of year when it is sunny, so may be worth trying that.