Suffolk Moths Blog

Just ran the one 125w trap in the garden last night, and was pleased to find it covered in moths in the morning. Lots of micros to sort through, so took quite some time to work through (c.15minutes first thing closing the trap, all of my hour lunch break plus 30minutes after work too!). 142sp identified, a pretty good number for just one trap I thought. No new species but did see second site records of Strophedra weirana and Goniodoma limoniella after the first records only in recent days. Almost certainly not the same moths as the others were released at other locations on the site. Other  notables: Vitula biviella (3), Zeiraphera ratzeburgiana (2), Juniper webber (2), Eudonia truncicolella, Morophaga choragella and Tineola bisselliella (Common clothes moth – second site record, safely secured in a tube so it doesn’t escape in the house!). Macros of note were few: Fen wainscot, Shaded fan foot singles of each. A few migrants – 1 Diamondback and small numbers of both Willow and Bird cherry ermines. No underwings at all and only 2 Dark arches.

Neil

Continuing a good week of garden moths. Averaging 90 macro species each night (which is as good for my garden as was 2006): 23rd was over 100. Migrants made an appearance on 23rd, with 15 Silver Y, a couple of Dark Sword Grass and about 50 diamonbacks. I’m ignoring most of the micros because I don’t have time each day to wrestle with the book. However, having had five species of plume over the last week (including Mugwort), last night (24th) produced a lovely little Rose Plume (Cnaemidophorus rhododactyla). Is this as good a find as the book suggests? I’ve checked with photographs on-line and I’m pretty sure of the ID (and Matthew has just confirmed!).

My total number of species rose too last night, but nowhere near as high as Matthew with 162sp recorded in 3 traps (2 125w mv + 30w twin actinic) in an area of wet woodland and meadow.
Hints of migration included 2 Dark sword grass, c.25 Plutella xylostella, 5 Willow ermine, c.40 Bird cherry ermine.
Other moths of note: Purple thorn (6), Festoon (4), Shaded fan foot (6), Kent black arches, Beautiful hook tip, T. citrana (5), Blotched emerald (1, still on the wing), Purple clay (5), Slender brindle (2), Cinnabar (a late one), Oak eggar (first for year), Bordered beauty (2 first for year), Dingy shears, E. formosana (only the second site record and A.cinerella (again only the second site record).
Following the recent thread on the blog of underwings, only 2 pronuba noted. Also only 5 Dark arches seen.

Neil

Numbers keep on rising at Bawdsey with c230 species this morning. I estimated 4,000 moths trapped last night; of which 500 were Diamond-backs and 700 Willow/Bird-cherry Ermines! Certainly a major immigration of these species. One Dark Sword-grass and 35 Silver Y.  I reckon I’ve light-trapped 15,000 moths over the past week and has certainly been the best period since 2006!

Another Blue-bordered Carpet this morning is only my third. Three Evergestis limbata and a Platytes alpinella recorded.  Three Crescent Plumes wandered in too.  Female Drinker is the first record this year – one perched alongside an Oak Eggar!  Three Oak Eggars were counted.  Two Dingy Shears, four Rosy Waves, two Shaded Fan-foot and two Dotted Fan-foot.

With the conditions looking good thought I’d try and go for a high species count so 2 traps were put out in my best area of mixed habitats on the site.
In the morning, things looked promising with quite a few moths resting on the outside of the traps. Checking them resulted in a total of 158sp, my best number for the year so far and probably the best I’d now expect given the lower than normal numbers of moths around with me this year. Best moth was a another new site record – the micro Goniodoma limoniella, a very snazzy little moth that must have wandered in from a saltmarsh somewhere close by in the warm conditions as it feeds on Sea lavender. Other nice micros recorded included: Epermenia chaeophyllella, Phyllonorycter rajella (2), Cosmopterix zieglerella (first time I’ve seen this species as an adult, have found mines on Hops here and at other sites before), Brachima inornatella (seen at this spot before), Cosmopterix liengiella (again seen at this spot before), Yponomeuta rorrella (first for year) and Ypsolopha dentella.
Macros included Shaded fan foot (5), Festoon (3), Black arches (8, normally abundant at this spot so this is a low number for me), Lesser cream wave, Dotted fan foot (3), Fen wainscot (3), Purple clay, Dark sword grass, Turnip (1 – first for year!), Suspected, Ghost (a female), Brown silver line (2, still going!) and Maple pug.
The spot I trapped is the location where the colony of White-mantled wainscot has been present in previous years, and none were seen this time. Maybe it isn’t on the wing yet, will have to try again at a later date.

Neil

Goniodoma limoniella

Cosmopterix zieglerella

Has anyone else noticed the recent influx of Yponomeutoidea?

I’ve been noticing increasing numbers of evonymella in recent days with 30 in the Bawdsey Hall traps this morning.  Also present this morning were 37 Willow Ermine – more of a sudden arrival, as earlier in the week odd ones and twos were about.  A few Apple/Orchard Ermines have also been noted.

200+ species were again trapped on the night of 22 July - following the hottest day since July 2006.  Micro-lep highlights included Platytes alpinella, Evergestis limbata (three), Green Oak Tortrix (1 – scarce here – probably a disperser), Tachystola acroxantha (first of year), Phtheochroa inopiana, Cochylis molliculana and Lozotaenoides formosanus (two wanderers).

Macros were represented by Leopard Moth, Plain Pug (about 5), Varied Coronet (rare here), Bordered Beauty (rare at Bawdsey – two trapped), Ruby Tiger (first for year), Buff Footman, Shaded Fan-foot, Double Lobed (two), Gothic, Rosy Wave and Oak Eggar.

Other species of interest in recent nights have included Batrachedra praeangusta, Anarsia spartiella, Epiblema costipunctana, Lunar-spotted Pinion, Saltern Ear, Ground Lackey (an all-dark brown female similar to one illustrated in ‘Skinner’), Water Ermine, Fen Wainscot, Blue-bordered Carpet (second for Bawdsey), Small Emerald White Colon and Silky Wainscot.

Very few yellow underwings so far, I can count on one hand how many interjecta and janthe I’ve had; with slightly higher numbers of comes and fimbriata.  Not had an orbona for a week or so and pronuba numbers still quite low (thankfully!)  Not recorded any janthina yet this season. 

This year does seem a good one for the plume moths with me, with another new species for the site turning up last night following on from the Yarrow plume last week. This time it was a Triangle plume Platyptilia gonodactyla. The best moth from a total of 109sp in my 2 traps.
Next few nights look very good for trapping (but probably not sleeping), will be interesting to see what turns up. Will the number of species finally increase to more normal levels that I would expect at this site at this time of year? Certainly totals have fallen short so far.

Neil

On the 15th I went with Brian Jones to a new location, a newly created meadow or perhaps just a field that has remained fallow for four or five years next to Fritton Church. At the bottom of the meadow 20 metres or so of mixed, mainly broadleaved woodland and then Fritton Lake. Some very good flowering meadow plants already established makes me wonder if it wasn’t specially sown, I will find out shortly!
144 species recorded. By far the most common Grass moth up here has been C. perlella and there were plenty of those this night. The best moths were again a Plume this time Crescent, Marasmarcha lunaedactyla, also a handful or more of Yarrow Pug, specimens of which Brian and I took home to id. Also recorded Olindia schumacherana, Gothic, Dark Sword-grass, Miller, Birds Wing, Green Silver-lines( good numbers this year) Slender and Wormwood Pugs. gigantella, perlucidalis, Leopard and Lobster moth( Lobster seems to be everywhere on the Estate) Southern Wainscot. The only Prominent of the night was Maple with around Five.

Trapping at home on the 16th and 124 species on my list, by far the most recorded but with the Micro book and more traps that’s to be expected. Some interesting stuff recorded; Dark Spectacle which has just started up here, Broom, Plain Golden Y, Puss moth, Figure of Eighty, my first home record for Pale Oak Beauty, Cream Bordered Green Pea, 5. This species often outnumbers viridana here. Also 5 Water Ermine. Micros, European Corn-borer 2, gigantella a home regular, Batrachedra praeangusta which would not sit still for a photo. However the blunder was a big one as at 9 am having just got out of bed previously getting up before dawn as I do to check the traps I promptly shook off the sheet a very dark winged with orange patch and two white areas per wing, Vapourer. I immediately went to my Skinner book and realised it was a Scarce Vapourer and rushed back to try and find it, to no avail.

The 17th was really only about trying to recatch the S. Vapourer. Only two mv traps put out, 18 metres apart. 85 species no target achieved. However, second site record for Wormwood, second and third site records of Bordered Sallow along with Dingy Shears, Brown Scallop which I’ve previously recorded here, Ghost moth but not as many as the previous night, Dingy Shears, Garden Tiger, C. B. Green-pea, micros included Holly Tortrix and Acrobasis marmorea.

I was away in southern France for five weeks, until last week. Did some MV trapping there, and discovered that June had been as bad there as it had been here.
My garden catches before I went away were frighteningly low – by far the worst I have had since moving to Suffolk. Fortunately, this week had made up for the bad start and allayed (temporarily) my concerns for the state of the Suffolk countryside. Nothing astonishingly rare in the garden (yet), but a welcome return of species I haven’t recorded here for several years – eg maple prominent, scarce silver lines, ghost, double lobed, clouded brindle, water ermine. My usual ‘speciality’ species are present and in fair numbers – muslin footman, beautiful hook tip, cream-bordered green pea, least carpet, orange-moth. New species have included silky wainscot, bordered sallow and mugwort plume. Migrants so far minimal, and total numbers (as opposed to numbers of species) are still relatively low, but at least there are moths to look at when I check the garden trap!