A holiday at the start of the month coupled with quite a few cool clear nights has meant it has generally been a quiet September for recording here. There were even a couple of frosts at this heathland site towards the month’s end, adding to the feeling that autumn is progressing rapidly this year. One of the better nights was the 18th when 61sp were caught in 2 mv traps with a few things of interest.
There has been little evidence of moth migration in my traps here this month which has been a shame as the capture of a few of those brightens up an otherwise dull catch. With winds from the north dominating I suppose it’s not too much of a surprise. I understand the coastal trappers have picked up a bit but it just doesn’t feel like a good autumn for immigration to me at the moment.
The few records of note here have included the following. Red underwing (just a single found at rest in the daytime), Lunar yellow underwing (regular, doing well, best count 11 on the 18th), Tree-lichen beauty (a late record on the 16th), Dotted footman (18th), Heath rustic (a worn one on the 18th the sole record for the year), Large ranunculus (26th, not annual here), Flounced chestnut (first for year on the 27th, along with 2 Feathered thorn also new for year) and Cochylis molliculana (17th, still only a few records for this here).
There was also a run of Box-tree moth Cydalima perspectalis from 14th-18th, possibly showing that it is breeding somewhere locally. There was a normal form on the 14th, followed by 2 dark form on the 16th, then 1 normal and 1 dark on 17th then finally a normal one on the 18th. All from my garden trap and all different as each one was kept in the fridge until the end of that week.
Some of the autumnal species of moths have yet to appear here (Barred sallow, Brick, Streak to name a few), others have been in very low numbers (e.g. Black rustic, Merveille du Jour). Others have built up numbers already e.g the Chestnut. All seems a bit mixed up this year! What will the next month bring?
Neil
Large ranunculus
Box-tree moth normal form
Box-tree moth dark form