Didn’t feel like autumn much this month, with some warm sunny days and mild nights. There were some good spells of southerly winds that brought plenty of migrants to the UK and I did get a few, more on this later.
Trapped on 16 nights during the month. Best night the 23rd with 45 species recorded in 3 traps. The Moth Night event also took place during the month from the 12th-14th. Best night of the 3 here was the 13th with 39sp recorded in 2 traps.
Generally moth numbers were very good for the time of year, with some of the autumnal species putting on a really good showing. Black rustic, Merveille du Jour (average of at least 5 a night here), Flounced chestnut, Dark chestnut, Dotted chestnut, Pine carpet and Orange sallow were all particularly prevalent. However I would say here at this site that Lunar underwing and Blair’s shoulder knot were in low numbers. Lunar underwing has showed a steady decline for a couple of seasons now, hopefully it will bounce back.
There was a single record of Dusky-lemon sallow on the 19th (quite a worn one).
A significant trend this autumn has been the variety of summer species appearing again in small numbers. Here is a list of what I have noted: Endotricha flammealis (a few), Carcina quercana, Pebble hook-tip (15th), Clouded border (16th), Cedestis subfasciella (a few), Blood-vein (23rd), Double-striped pug (2), Least carpet (25th) and Dark arches (26th). I’m sure others have noted the same and/or different species.
Micros have been much more interesting than the macros this month. First, there were 2 new site records – Cosmopterix pulchrimella on the 23rd and Bedellia somnulentella on the 25th. The pulchrimella is a leaf miner on Pellitory of the wall of which there is none round here so it must have wandered a bit of a distance to get here. This moth is also a new Suffolk record. The somnulentella is a leaf miner in Bindweed and going on the number of places I have seen the mine this year is having a good season, something it is prone to do.
Other micros seen have included Plutella porrectella (8th), Acleris schalleriana (2 on 18th), Agonopterix ocellana (25th) and Diurnea lipsiella (from the 23rd onwards). More unwelcome was the discovery of 100′s of larvae of Indian Meal moth Plodia interpunctella in a sack of bird seed. A nice colourful micro but not one I want to spread so the seed was destroyed.
Finally on to the migrants. Being 10 miles inland I’ve not had the numbers the coastal guys have been getting, but the commoner species have been around in low numbers. Scarcer species have included the Vestal, seen regularly from the 18th in ones and twos both at light and during the day with a maximum of 3 on the 26th. Palpita vitrealis (3 on the 23rd and another worn one on the 26th). Crocidosema plebejana (18th, only the second site record). Other recorders not too far away from me have seen more rarer migrants but none appeared here but that is all down to luck, maybe it will be my turn in the next migrant spell. Only had the one Scarce bordered straw here all year whilst others have reported lots. I have a theory on this – I think the moth has been breeding on arable crops or the weeds growing amongst them. I am quite a distance from arable land here in suburban Ipswich whilst I know the guys seeing lots of the moth are surrounded by farmland. No proof of this but just a thought.
With cold weather now finally setting in will it be the end of this excellent year for moths?
Neil