Suffolk Moths Blog

The second part of June has been quite frustrating at times for trapping here. Some nights the traps have caught reasonable numbers, while other nights have been dire with very little seen! Worst night was the 19th when 2 mv traps only caught 29sp. Best night was 23rd when 121sp were caught, but this doesn’t beat the 9th that I have already reported on when over 140sp were seen.
Here are what I would class as highlights from the period for me. Pempelia formosa, Blotched emerald (a high count of 14 on the 12th), Purple clay, Cream-spot tiger (12th, only my second site record), Dusky brocade (a few), Telecrisis tripuncta (17th), Red-necked footman (one found by day on the 18th), Nut-tree tussock (larva found on the 18th, proving breeding on the site now), Broad-bordered bee hawk (2 larvae found on the Honeysuckle growing in my garden), Festoon (2 on the 22nd), Shaded pug, Beautiful golden Y (1 on 22nd), Grass emerald, Clouded border (over 60 caught on 23rd when I ran traps in a wetland area on the site), Large emerald (first for year have now been trapped), Shaded fan-foot (the 10 caught on the 23rd were the first for the year), Dotted fan-foot (5 on the 23rd a good number for here), Trachycera marmorea (23rd), Southern wainscot (12 on the 23rd first for year), L-Album wainscot (2 on 23rd, first for year), Suspected, Slender brindle, Bordered beauty (2 on 23rd), Gelechia muscosella (23rd), Scarce silver lines, Least carpet (first for year 26th), Kent black arches (also 26th). Eyed hawk moth still the commonest species seen here this year so far, with a few more Pine hawks and Elephant hawks and a single Privet. Commonest species now Uncertain and Heart and club with Large yellow underwing increasing and Broad-bordered just starting.
Still a couple of nights of June left to maybe try trapping although cool conditions are forecast, a regular feature this June unfortunately.

Neil

Brian and I turned out for this scheduled meeting but it would appear to have been cancelled, probably due to the weather forecast. As it happens it probably would have been a poor night as it was damp, and threatening light rain, but at home for example, despite how the rest of you may have fared I had only 5 minutes of rain at home in the afternoon. Anyway at least he got to see my best moth of the previous nights trapping at home in the form of Aphomia zelleri. Thursday night was too good to miss and among the 111 species were Cream Bordered Green-pea 6, and Water Ermine 4, with the ‘peas’ being present at every trap. Shore Wainscot recorded which was one of the less usual moths for home. My first Privet Hawk of the season also a Dingy Shears. All traps dominated by Dark Arches which outnumbered everything else.  Micros included G. oppressana and Teleiodes vulgella.

A big influx of Episyrphus balteaus, the marmalade hoverfly. Probably a migration swarm. The hummer still resident around my valerian. Any more migrants around? I saw a clouded yellow in Hampshire last week…

I have not been trapping particularly intensively at home and whilst Matthew has been busy elsewhere than the Hollesley Marshes I have paid visits to Staverton Park (16th) and the Tangham area (12th and 21st). My best catches have been in the micros but have had some nice macros too. At home the dominant species are Heart and Club, Uncertain and Dark Arches. Rustic has appeared recently too. Hawk-moths especially Privet and Elephant are routine and I have finally picked up the Pine at Tangham and interestingly a Lime at Staverton Park. Staverton Park provided the lovely Blotched along with the Large and Common Emeralds and a truly melanic Riband Wave. There were also 4 Grey Arches and a Miller. Several Red-necked Footman at Tangham (definitely resident in Suffolk). At home a second Rosy Wave, a recent Rufous Minor and my first Large Nutmegs.

The striking, though small, Eulamprotes wilkella has been frequent at home and Tangham. Archips xylosteana was abundant at Staverton Park which along with A. podana and Ditula angustiorana made identification a little confusing. I was pleased to turn up a Spatalistis bifasciana there too which adds weight to the argument that the species is associated with oak and not the berries that they were previously thought to feed on. I was then exited to see a ‘little runner’ (as I call the Tinea related group of micros) that I didn’t recognise. It proved to be Niditinea striolella. Quite a scarce species and a first for the county. Then at home I managed to pot one of the little runners in my roof space that was associated with the mouse remains there. This was N. fuscella (not so scarce!).

Had a good selection of  Argyresthia species, mostly on my travels. The very attractive all metallic A. goedartella was common at Staverton along with the variable A. brockeella and a glaucinella and retinella. Tangham has provided A. pygmaeella and what now appears to be the ubiquitous A. cupressella. As anticipated Tangham has also been turning up a good range of conifer feeders. Rhyacionia pinicolana, pinivorana and buoliana are all present.

As usual I do identify my Coleophora species. This has mostly turned up commoner species but I have taken a C. adjunctella at home which is a scarce salt-marsh species and has one other Suffolk record 110 years ago according to The Moths of Suffolk. C. milvipennis is frequent at Staverton where I also picked up a serratella and glaucicolella but Tangham has provided the most interest with a good range of species. In particular one which I believe is the scarce C. alnifoliae. This species is very similar to 3 other species and the dissection shows only slight differences. I am happy that the moth matches but would like expert opinion for a confirmation on the genitalia prep. If you have this expertise please follow the link https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/mothdissection/photos/photostream/lightbox/1838660890?sortOrder=desc&photoFilter=ALL&orderBy=mtime#zax/1838660890 . I also took both species of Tischeria there; dodonaea and ekabladella.

Finally I have been identifying the Nepticulidae I catch, having obtained suitable literature. This year they have recently included Stigmella sakhalinella, salicis, svenssoni, roborella and samiatella, Ectoedemia albifasciella and quinquella, however the best one turned up at Tangham. A large (for a nep) species stridently marked with loosely scaled turned out to be Bohemannia auriciliella. Clearly a first for Suffolk but also appears to be only the sixth for the UK. Being thought to be a birch feeder it is likely to be resident in the Tangham area.

Brian and I visited the site on Sunday 22nd. Going much further into the site than ever before apart from our day time breeding bird surveys. I have been cautious about going too far in before as it is so easy to get lost there, too easy to stray from the main ride and be lost until day light at least. As it happens day time wasn’t too far off when we left at around 02.45. A 4X4 job to get to the targeted area. Brian transferred his gear to the truck and we set off. As a precaution, I tied white bags here and there at any point for possible errors on the bleary eyed return journey.

Last years main event at Ashby Warren was finding Red-necked Footman but a bigger find lay in wait this June. 9 traps put out with 4 on the main ride and others branched off produced 140 species. At the first busy trap, on the one trap round, Brian spotted a Four-spotted Footman as we were moving off. Subsequently 5 more were found in four well spaced traps. This must be from local breeding in our view, especially as migrant activity is low at the moment and few have turned up nationally. The big question is, is this a result of last Autumn’s influx or have they been here for years. A return is planned to coincide with National moth night which this year is woodland species based and spans 3-5 July so we will pick the best of these 3 nights to hopefully find the species again.

Other good species were encountered too! Red-necked Footman 15, still pointing to this site being the stronghold as we get the highest numbers at Ashby Warren. Juniper Pug, new for us both in good number, Beautiful Hook-tip in high numbers here, Green silver-lines plentiful, Large Emerald, Pine Hawk-moth in low singles with single Elephant and Poplar were the Hawk-moths. The only wainscot a single Southern. First Large Emeralds of the season too.

Micros were the secondary highlight with P. aeriferanus, S. bifasciana, E. grotiana, S.weirana and S. nitidana among them.

On our most recent moth night, blog to follow shortly, Brian and I captured 4 Shaded Fan-foot. There was no bramble any where near the trap site, although a single uddmanniana and about 3 Peach Blossom were noted. The nearest bramble was around half a mile from the trapping area, with hardly any strands of bramble far off growing in the woods let alone thickets of the stuff. Plenty of dead leaves of trees around. They are perhaps not just associated with bramble or at least travel a long way from it as we have already experienced at other sites on previous occasions trapping at this time of year. This time though, it was a real surprise to pick them up in an area devoid of the suspected food plant, and I confirmed today there was no bramble around with a daytime search for it and a chat with the Gamekeeper regarding the nearest clumps.

Spent May in the USA – tried a moth trap but the nights in Maryland were too cold! For the past fortnight I’ve been in Salisbury, Wilts. Ran an actinic trap on several nights and caught a few nice things. Apart from heart and dart, the commonest species I caught there were heart and club, small elephant hawk and broad-barred white. None of these are on my garden list at home. However, on my first night back in Suffolk last night I caught all three species. Are they having a good year all over the country? If so, why?

Also had a hummingbird hawk on the valerian in the garden yesterday (it had to barge its way past dozens of small tortoiseshells, which seem to running riot this year).

Tony H