Suffolk Moths Blog

I have done very little moth recording this year and  was completely unaware of the migrant bonanza of mid October until well after the event had occurred, much to my disappointment. Therefore on the 23rd I was very pleased and surprised to find two Convolvulus Hawk-moth larvae on a patch of native climbing Convolvulus plant which I hadn’t got around to spraying off in my garden. Gardeners among you will know that it smothers plants and is difficult to eradicate but from now on I will transfer some pieces of the root to some of my wild areas in hope of hosting further larvae in the future.

These two were found while cutting grass and were both feeding on the bindweed covering the ground. There may have been more hidden by the nettles. There were signs that they had previously fed higher up the plants but perhaps they spend their last few days feeding close to the ground due to size and weight. I have not seen images of them on climbing bind-weeds before as they are often found wandering to perhaps pupate or in search of more food. The green form is well camouflaged being the same shade of green as the foliage and the round dark dots represent the shot holes frequently found on the leaves as illustrated in the photo

The weather forecast suggests tonight will not be good for moth trapping so I report now for the month. Moths caught during October have fallen into three categories. regular autumn species, out of season species and immigrants.

There has not been anything unusual amongst the routine autumn species. Blair’s Shoulder-knot and Cypress Carpet have had a good year as too has Clancy’s Rustic, though this may be partly immigrant. I took my first November Moth on 12th along with the second Pale November for my home location. I have yet to see any later autumn species such as the December or the Umbers.

There have been a number of unseasonal (second or third brood) moths. These have included, Phyllonorycter salicicolella, Cedestis subfasciella, Ditula angustiorana, Lozotaeniodes formosana, Least Carpet, Treble Brown Spot, Swallow-tailed, Yellow-tail, Common, Buff, Dingy and Rosy Footmans, and the Dark Arches.

October has been the month for immigrants in 2018, however there is also promise for early next week too. The crunch period was from 10th to 14th, when strong southerly winds, that had carried over France and the Iberian Peninsula, hit the UK. Night-time temperatures were above 15 centigrade and above 17 on 12th here. Many of the regular immigrants for the UK were caught during this period. I did not trap on 11th, which unfortunately for me, saw a peak of Spoladea recurvalis that I missed out on. Immigrants have continued to trickle in (else have hung around) since the 14th. Out of my catches there were three species of particular note. Antigastra catalaunalis on 12th, Hellula undalis on 13th and Zelleria oleastrella on 25th. The Z. oleastrella is probably the rarest. It was first recorded in the UK in 2006 but does seem to have been found more commonly since then. There have been at least 11 records prior to mine. The moth can be a pest in olive growing regions. In addition to recognised immigrants there was a exceptional peak of Large Wainscots on 16th which was also recorded at other coastal locations. I also found a sharp rise in numbers of the Yellow-line Quaker on the same date. I took a single Ancylosis oblitella on 12th. This species is common locally but I had not seen one for some time prior to this one turning up, so it is potentially an immigrant addition to the local population.

Iken Cliff, 10 October 2018

It’s looking like we have a population of Clifden Nonpareil in Suffolk. Last night (10 October) I caught my third of the week at Iken Cliff, near Snape. The others were on the nights of 5th and 8th and all were to a 125W MV Robinson placed in exactly the same location.
My plant recognition skills are virtually nil I’m ashamed to say but I have tried to find Aspen and I can only see Silver Birch and Oak in the immediate vicinity. Tunstall Forest is on the doorstep of course.

Paul

This years variable weather and moth catching has continued through September. A handful of good nights mixed in with many of little value. The middle of the month was the better spell for me with the biggest catch on 16th of 75 species. The month started with a moderate Underwing invasion along with high numbers of Setaceous Hebrew Character. The month ended up being dominated by the regular autumn species of Beaded Chestnut and Lunar Underwing. Most regular autumn species have been recorded now amongst the chestnuts, sallows and autumn quakers. Also of course the lovely Black Rustic, Feathered Brindle, Feathered Ranunculus and Deep-brown Dart.

The second brood of Evergestis limbata continued well into the month and I took my second site record of Spilonota laricana on 9th. The Common Wainscot was noticeable common mid-month

Immigrants were dominated by the Underwings, Large, Lesser, Lunar and Broad-bordered. Then on 14th I took a Dark Crimson Underwing. A pleasing catch as I missed out on it earlier in the year when others caught it. At that time mine was a Light Crimson. Good on the Catocala this year! Now need the blue one! Silver Y’s have been regular especially at the end of the month, other immigrants have trickled in. Delicate, Dark Sword-grass, Ostrinia  nubilalis (differently marked to our breeding one), Plutella xylostella, Oncocera  semirubella, Convolvulus Hawk-moth, Nomophila noctuella, Scarce Bordered Straw and a short peak of L-album Wainscots. No Udea ferrugalis this month.

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