Suffolk Moths Blog

I haven’t felt very inspired to put out the traps at home or elsewhere since the end of July. Following the running of just one trap on the 15th of October when the bulb blew I hadn’t even bothered to get the ladders out to get down the spare bulb from the barn loft to be able to run a full compliment of 4 traps. It wasn’t until the 26th running two traps that I perked up a bit with a Scarce-bordered Straw captured. On the 30th 5 Rusty-dot Pearl would have been my best ever nights total for the species but these were just at the conservatory windows! A further 18 in the three moth traps with 3 Rush Veneer, my first Dark Sword-grass of the year and a Pale Pinion were among the 18 species. This inspired me to get out that bulb and run 4 lights the following night but a different night completely with only 10 species to the traps.

A further boost came when Jon Clifton examined four micros that Brian took over to him for gen det. Unfortunately we do not have S. laricana as the specimen I retained from Ashby Warren proved to be another male oscellana. The only oscellana taken have been this dark form on the Somerleyton Estate. Caryocolum fraternella was taken with Brian at Herringfleet Hills on 18 July. Monochroa lucidella a moth recorded about once a year in Norfolk was taken at home on 25 July, actually four were recorded that night and a further one a few nights later (no idea what they were at the time). Finally again at Herringfleet Hills on 20 September Epinotia sordidana confirmed, we had at least two that night.

Herringfleet Hills continues to be the best site on the estate and was a little neglected this year with only 3 visits to date, each turning up scarce or rare micros.

I had high hopes of getting a few moths during the warm evening of last Thursday. The large number of hornets in the first trap I inspected soon dashed these hopes and I contemplated packing up if the other 2 traps were also full. Fortunately these contained only a handful that were soon potted. Even so, there were not many moths about considering the ideal conditions and the final species count was 10 including a few Diamond-back and Rusty-dot Pearl that had probably come in on the southerly breeze.  I had also potted a small pale micro that at first glance looked like a Coleophora but further inspection revealed that it had a row of black scale tufts so I pocketed it to check in the morning.
On checking the books and web-sites the nearest I could get to an ID was Epermenia aequidentellus. Unlikely for this area as nearly all records come from the south coast with no records for Norfolk or Suffolk, so I sent a few photos out for second opinion and all agreed that it could well be this species. Jon Clifton gen/detted it today and confirmed it as a male Epermenia aequidentellus.                                                                                                              As it was recorded on the Norfolk bank of the Waveney it goes down as a first record for Norfolk but it could well have drifted across from Suffolk on the southerly wind. Its recorded habitat is mainly coastal, living on wild carrot, so it could be worth looking out for it at some of the Suffolk coastal sites.

Brian

My first post for a while as I’ve been enjoying the warm weather both during the day and at night so haven’t had time to blog. Now with the rain lashing down outside and the temperature down below 10 degrees (in the daytime!) I can write a review of the end of October.
I’ve put in a lot of trapping effort over the period running most but not all nights with various types and numbers of traps. Actinic was a bit of a waste of time so only used on a few occasions with low numbers caught. A single Mv trap run in the garden and at one spot at the workshed wood area have performed the best so all other trap locations abandoned in favour of those. Most interesting sightings for me were the addition of 2 new species to my site list with a Delicate noted on the 27th in the garden trap (a worn one unfortunately, a common theme with my new species I’ve caught this year for some reason!). The garden trap again produced the goods on the 31st with a Cypress carpet, a moth I’m sure is on the way to colonizing Suffolk in the near future as it has resident populations in Essex. Not sure how many county records there have been up till now but I think its less than 10.
While on the theme of migrants I’ve not had the numbers and exciting things that have been reported elsewhere over the period in the UK, but I wouldn’t expect that here anyway being a bit inland. I have had quite a few Plutella xylostella and Udea ferrugalis, along with very small numbers of Silver Y.
Continuing the theme of out of season oddities, I’ve had Pyrausta aurata, Garden carpet, Pebble hook-tip (27th, sitting next to a Mottled umber on top of the trap!) and an Agriphila inquinatella.
Some of the more usual autumnal species have appeared in good numbers this season, again probably because it has been mild. Merveille du Jour has been very prominent, seen almost every night with up to 5 seen sometimes. Red-green carpet (I can remember a few years back this was a rarity in Suffolk!), Yellow-line quaker, Blair’s shoulder knot, Streak and November moth all seen in good numbers. Sorting through the more well-marked Novembers I’ve found a few Pale novembers and in more recent days Autumnal moths. Other odd things of interest have included Flounced chestnut and Diurnea lipsiella. Mottled umber appeared regularly during the period with a December moth caught on the 30th and again on the 1st November.
With cold weather looking like it is finally arriving I don’t think I’ll be trapping much more this year now. Only Scarce umber and Northern winter moth to record for the year list so I may pop a trap on if weather allows but I feel that the main bulk of the recording season is now over. Time to start catching up on records and photo sorting, plus planning what to get up to next year!

Neil

Clive Moore was very fortunate to catch a superb Death’s-head Hawk-moth at Dunwich Heath on Halloween night 31 October!

Even though, over the years, I have caught such treasures as the Many-lined, Three-humped Prominent, Spurge Hawk-moth, Crimson Speckled, Beautiful Marbled, Conformist and Clifden Nonpareil; it is the atropos – the Death’s-head Hawk that is my most wanted. In my mind this is surely the ultimate migrant to catch and one that has always evaded my traps. Incredibly it’s Clive’s second as he caught one at the heath nine years ago!

At this end of the year with little in the way of micros to report and with only two traps running intermittently my catches tend to be a pale shadow of those reported by Matthew for Bawdsey. Whilst the mix is similar, my highlights are fewer, though there has been some interest. The immigrants have been dominated by an abundance of Udea ferrugalis and Plutella xylostella. Though I have had small numbers of the less common migrants I am still awaiting a Pearly Underwing and Four-spotted Footman at my home site. However on the wet and windy morning of 17th I spotted a strikingly marked and unrecognised pyrale on the vanes of my trap. Unfortunately I made a big mistake. Being in a hurry to get the trap in and out of the rain I switched the power off before approaching the trap and by the time I had got a pot ready for the moth it was blown away in the wind and rain. A quick description to Matthew pointed me to Spoladea recurvalis a very good match with nothing else coming near. A species also captured by Matthew a few days prior. A lesson has been learned!

My species count during the middle of the month with the peak of migrants and also good moth weather was in the 40s. All the regular autumn species have been taken along with some hangers on such as a Red Underwing on 16th and the much reported second broods. I have taken most of the second brood species so far reported but perhaps not mentioned are Acrobasis suavella that has been regular and one A advenella. I have also had the Garden Carpet and one fresh specimen turning up on 31st. The Vines Rustic has made a resurgence too probably as immigrants. Carcina quercana and Barred Sallow have been prominent here this autumn.

Weather on the turn now to much colder conditions later in the week and most autumn species on the way out. The catch now has the November Moth, Red Green Carpet and Feathered Thorn indicating the oncoming winter.

A few late oddities in the Bawdsey traps have included Double-striped Pug, Dingy Footman and Dark Arches last night (29th October).

Rosy Footman was recorded a few nights ago. Species counts fairly stable at around 35 – 40 species being noted nightly which is not bad for the end of October.

Scarce Umber was recorded new for the year 27 October. Mottled Umber, November Moth and Dark Chestnut are now very regular.

Migrants have been very disappointing over the past week; despite many exciting catches being reported nationally. Rusty-dot Pearls have increased in number; a few Diamond-back and Crocidosema plebejana thrown in; no Gems nor Vestals for over a week.

A handful of Dark Sword-grass and Pearly Underwing have been about and just the odd Scarce Bordered Straw, Delicate and Silver Y.

I had hoped that the tropical southerly winds would bring something more exciting but alas this has not happened. Perhaps it is time to pack my traps away for the season and start my reports.

As nobody seems to have posted anything for a few days I thought I would drop a short line about what I’ve been catching recently … which is not a lot really. Green-brindled Crescent and Yellow-line Quaker have been my commonest moths of late, with the odd Feathered Thorn, Angle Shades and November Moth sp’ also putting in an appearance from time to time. A slight improvement last night delivered singles of Rusty-dot Pearl (still a rare moth for me), Mottled Umber, Large Wainscot, a worn Merv’ de Jour and a late Dark Arches.

Well, last night the moth party came to an abrupt end. The number of species dropped along with the total moth count. Only around 25sp recorded with about 50 moths trapped down from the recent average of 35sp and 90 moths. Only notables first sighting of Streak for the year, another Flounced chestnut and 5 Merveille du Jour continuing its appearance in good numbers here. Migrants represented by 4 Plutella xylostella only. Also saw a Treble-brown spot at the kitchen window in the evening, another species to add to the unusual second brood moth list.
Traps off now with the stormy weather approaching.

Neil

After a busy first half to last week with no time for trapping, I was able to run lights for the rest of the week to take advantage of the warm conditions. Species counts impressive for the time of year with between 30 – 45sp a night with a mix of running a single trap up to a maximum of 3 again depending on time available to sort them.
A sprinkling of migrants seen, nowhere near the numbers Matthew gets on the coast but pleasing for me all the same. I’ve seen Four-spotted footman (a male, my third this year), Udea ferrugalis (a small number most nights my first for a few years), Silver Y (only a couple), Dark-sword grass (1) and numerous Diamondbacks.
Nice autumnal species have included the following. Merveille Du Jour (regular now with an impressive count of 10 seen on the 16th in 3 traps), Satellite, Blair’s shoulder knot (good numbers), Mottled umber (16th, first for autumn), November moth (first for year), Flounced chestnut (17th, first for year), Grey shoulder knot (18th). Red-line quaker and Yellow-line quaker now regular. Red-green carpet, Pine carpet, Spruce carpet seen in good numbers with fewer numbers of Grey pine carpet. Unseasonal things continue to appear with Yellow-tail, Rosy footman (in numbers), Buff footman (2), Treble-brown spot, Pebble hook tip and Carcina quercana (a good count of 11 trapped on the 16th) all noted. One moth that hasn’t been around in any kind of numbers here is Barred sallow, normally the commonest species here. This year I’ve seen more Sallow.
I’ve had bulb problems myself too, lost one last night due to the heavy rain. I think although the air is warm the rain is cold hence why the damage is occurring.

Neil

With the mild nights over the past few days I’ve been looking at the weather maps and hoping for a few migrants. I’m ten miles from the coast so whatever I get is about 5% of what a coastal site could expect. Sure enough, I’ve had a few silver y and rusty-dot pearl, a couple of pearly underwings and a gem. Not a particularly good return compared with other years. My ‘resident’ autumn species are showing well – good numbers of merveille du jour, angle shades, November moth, green-brindled crescent, large wainscot, dark chestnut and black rustic. Lunar underwing, the common sallows, Blair’s shoulder-knot and lesser yellow underwing are still with me. A few feathered thorn, large ranunculus and sprawler, and some odd second generation flame, yellow-tail and oak nycteoline.

Things will get even quieter soon, but I know I’ll keep plugging away, hoping for that elusive death’s-head.

Tony H.