Suffolk Moths Blog

One word can be used to describe this moth night here at IGC – superb!
As this was the last survey night for the event, I put out 4 traps, 2 at home (1 30w twin actinic) and 2 at the work-shed area on the course. A check of the traps at home first thing revealed a good selection of species but nothing in large numbers really. 38sp recorded. Best moth was found underneath the sheet under the actinic trap, a male Four-spotted footman. Only other moth of minor interest a Pinion-streaked snout. Then it was up to the sheds to check the other 2 traps. A look at the first one in the half-light of the early morning revealed 3 whitish moths sitting on the outside close together – all Light emeralds I thought to myself. Then, hang on a minute, one of those is very white, not a Light emerald but a Palpita vitrealis! Very pleased to get that one having not had it at the site before and having missed out on the good numbers seen last year. A great start! A check of these traps showed a great variety of species, the list just kept on growing! There were also many more moths in the traps too, but not too many of the brown ones so everything was well settled and not disturbed by loads of underwings! Highlights included: Feathered gothic (6), Ypsolopha sylvella and alpella, Square-spotted clay (a late record), Autumnal rustic, Lunar yellow underwing, White-line dart, Red underwing, Dusky thorn (as mentioned before, rare here), Four-spotted footman (another male one like the one in the garden), Ear moth (a late one), Scarce bordered straw (as the name suggests, scarce here), Epinotia brunnichana, Vestal (3), Frosted orange (not common here), Epinotia ramella, Eudonia pallida, Cloaked minor (a very late one), Lesser swallow prominent (7, seems to be going on later than normal this year) and Centre-barred sallow (another scarce moth here). 65sp in all and across all the traps a total of 88sp, a very good total for me at this time of year.
Not only was it good for moths, but I also found a nice impressive beetle hiding under one of the traps – a Sawyer or Tanner beetle Prionus coriarius. I’ve recorded this species at the site before at moth traps, it’s just a bit smaller than a Stag beetle and can give a bit of a nip so it was handled with care! There were a few Hornets and wasps too to contend with, a trend that has been continuing throughout the later half of the recording season here.
I’ll report more on September in another post, not been a bad month for recording so far here.

Neil

Palpita vitrealis

Four-spotted footman male

Dusky thorn

Sawyer beetle

Sawyer beetle front-on – watch those jaws!

Poor weather and a lengthy spell of food poisoning meant no trapping till 6th September. Things hotted up then especially during the National Moth Nights during which I trapped every night with my standard two MV traps and took part in the mark recapture exercise. The National Moth Nights were migrant aimed this year and the build-up weather was not promising. Easterlies and south easterlies from across Europe did however help us on the east coast at the time. Total species catches were 39 to 50 during the spell. 6th brought me 2 Vestals, an Ethmia bipunctella, Dark Sword-grass and Silver Y. 8th a Udea ferrugalis and Dark Sword-grass. I started my marking on 9th and marked Vine’s Rustic, White Point and Large Yellow Underwing as well as larger standard migrants. I had around 100 Large Yellow Underwings, 80 to 30 Vine’s Rustics and around 20 White point each day. My recapture of the Large Yellow Underwing climbed to 11% over 5 days. Others were recaptured to a lesser extent. Of the true migrants only one Dark Sword-grass was recaptured. Migrants recorded over the 5 day period were 14 Plutella xylostella, 1 Tuta absoluta (13th), 7 Udea ferrugalis, 34 Nomophila noctuella, 2 Palpita vitrealis (one on 13th), 2 Convolvulus Hawk-moth (one on 13th), 2 Vestal (one on 13th), 16 Silver Y, 4 Small Mottled Willow, 2 Scarce Bordered Straw, 13 Dark Sword-grass and 1 Pealy Underwing on 13th. This was the first Pearly Underwing for my home site and the first Tuta absoluta for the year. Shame they weren’t on a Moth Night. The catch on 13th was an interesting one. It has reinforced by feeling that the edge of rain storms moving up from France are good for migrants at my home site.

Wandered up to my Snape site on 12th and picked up one Small Mottled Willow there but no other migrants. Rosy Rustic was the most abundant moth there and was pleased to catch my first Epermenia falciformis. The only others of note were a Lunar Yellow Underwing and two Phyllonorycter; quecifoliella and messaniella.

For other interest at home; I have had 4 Depressaria badiella and autumn species have just started. Lunar Underwing at Snape and Hollesley and the lovely Autumnal Rustic at home on 13th.