19sp in the traps last night, with more moths coming onto the wing now. Early grey was new for the season. Also of note for me was a Shoulder stripe, a rare species here last seen 9 years ago! Best moth though was a micro – Caloptilia falconipennella, a rare species that I only have 7 records of here.
March moth numbers seem to be dropping off now but Orthosias continue to increase. Still no Clouded drab or Twin-spotted quaker here yet but they will appear soon I’m sure.
Neil
Shoulder stripe is one of my regular spring species, but I’ve never seen small brindled beauty. My Orthosias have only just started, but last night I got a couple of early grey, clouded drab and a twin-spotted quaker. Such is the way with moths: we tend to assume ‘common’ species are universal. Which makes it all the more interesting to compare notes from different parts of the county.
Well done with Saturday’s meeting. I really do value the get-togethers – I rarely see other moth-men from one year’s end to the next.
Tony H.