Monday 30th
The warm nights continue with a minimum of 16°C resulting in another busy trap. Four hundred and ninety four moths included the following firsts for the year; Dunbar, Scalloped Oak, Orange Footman, three Dusky Sallows, Lunar-spotted Pinion, Maple Prominent plus the very local Gymnancycla cannella (2).
Chrysoteucha culmella was down to 13. The only migrants were a Rush Veneer, a Pearly Underwing ( which is having a good year) and fpour Diamondbacks.
Sunday 29th
Warm again at 16.8°C giving 471 moths of 98 species. Chrysoteucha culmella led the way with 165. Dark Arches dropped back to 51. The highlight was a very worn Great Brocade. Shortcloaked and Fen Wainscot were new for the year. Apart from the Brocade the only other migrants were five Diamondbacks and singles of Pearly Underwing, Dark Swordgrass, Rush Veneer and Rusty-dot Pearl.
Last nights moth evening was the best attended yet with over 50 people.
Saturday 28th
With tonights event looming it was good to record a minimum of 16.4°C and quite humid conditions.
The car park trap held 419 moths of 86 species and the feeders trap 232 moths of 64 species.
A Satin Beauty was the first ever record. Least Carpet and Striped Wainscot were firsts this year at the Feeders trap and Rosy Minor and six Langmaid's Yellow Underwings were firsts at the main trap. There were slightly less migrants than the previous night but two Sciota rhenellas wre of particular note. There was only one Small Mottled Willow this time along with two Dark Swordgrasses, two Rush Veneers, a Pearly Underwing and six Silver Ys.
All in all a great mix for visitors tonight.
Moth Night.
The second moth evening this year will be this Saturday, 28th, at 1830.
Everyone welcome. Meet at the car park and see what was caught the previous night. Bring queries, specimens and curiosity along.
The private Estate charges £1 for access as far as the bird observatory.
Friday 27th
There was some light rain overnight and it was not as warm as it felt with the temperature down to 13.5°C. This reduced the catch a bit but there were still nearly 90 species with a good mix of scarce locals and migrants. Eight Small Mottled Willows were of particular note. There were also two pearly Underwings, three Dark Swordgrasses, four Silver Ys and single Bordered Straw, Rush Veneer and Diamondback. For thethird year in a row there was a Sciota rhenella. THe attractive pyralid Rhodophea formosa is most likely of local origin as was a Yarrow and Breckland Plume. A visitors actinic trap added another Small Mottled Willow and a Metalampra italica.
A count of nine Foresters showed how they were appreciating the hot weather but whether their larvae will be able to do the same remains to be seen.
Thursday 26th
Although rain was forecast there were only a few spots. The cloud and humidity gave a minimum of 16.8°C. This gave the most numerous catch so far of 571 moths of 100 species. The total was helped by 248 Dark Arches. There was more evidence of migration led by three Small Mottled Willows, plus male Four-spotted Footman, Dark Swordgrass, two Silver Ys and two Diamondbacks.
Least Yellow Underwing, Lesser Yellow Underwing and Obscure Wainscot were new for the year.
Of local species two each of Blackneck, Bright Wave and Silver-barred were of note. Delicates continued their strong showing with 11.
Wednesday 25th
The minimum temperature crept up to 13.2°C and the catch responded accordingly by increasing to 240 of 79 species. Two Pine Hawk-moths welcomed us into the trap. There was a Silver-barred and Vapourer was new for the year. Rusty-dot Pearl and Diamond-back were the only migrants.
An Acleris kochiella was only the second record of an adult here.
Tuesday 24th
A cooler breeze took the temperature down to 11.7°c and the catch down to 146 moths of 58 species. There were no new species but there was a Pearly Underwing and two Diamondbacks.
Forester moths continue to put on a good show in suitable meadow areas.
Monday 23rd
Even warmer last night with a minimum of 17.3°C but it was very windy. This reduced the catch, particularly in terms of micros. There were 442 moths of 59 species. There were signs of migration with ten Dark Sword-grasses, five Diamondbacks and singles of Silver Y, Bordered Straw and Small Mottled Willow. Archer's Dart and Purple Bar were new for the year.
One of the micros the previous night was Epinotia subocellana which is a new species for us.
Possibly not good news were two Gypsy Moth larvae wandering around in the Moffice.
Sunday 22nd
A bit warmer at just over 16°C and more humid conditions resulted in the main trap catching 545 moths of 113 species. Dark Arches was the most numerous with 108. There were still only a few migrants - 14 Diamondbacks, a Pearly Underwing and a Bordered Straw. New for the year in the main trap were Clancy's Rustic, White-line Dart, and Dingy Shears. Of note in the micros was the third record of Swammerdamia compunctella, plus Ethmia dodecea and Pyla fusca, both of which have only been recorded in single figures.
A trap at the back of the ringing room yielded Tawny Shears and Cloaked Minor new for this year.
Saturday 21st
With the hot, humid, conditions I was quickly down to get traps out. A visitor filled other spaces with his traps.. The sky cleared and the temperature went down to 12.3°C and so the catch was not quite as big as hoped. There were still over 130 species identified. The trap at the back of the ringing room held 195 moths of 84 species. The car park trap had 159 moths of 64 species and an actinic trap by the feeders held 98 moths of 52 species. The Jubilee Field has not been trapped in much and so a catch of 92 species suggests it will be a site worth revisiting.
There were not many migrants with three Four-spotted Footmen, eleven Diamond-backs, a Pearly Underwing and a Bordered Straw in total.
Species new for the year included Rosy Wave, Round-winged Muslin, Peach Blossom, four Clays, Barred Yellow, Miller, Goat Moth, Brown Plume, Swallowtail, four Black-necks, Grey Pug, two Kent Black Arches, Double Square-spot, two Wormwood Pugs, Dotted Fan-foot, and four Common Emeralds. There were also two Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings but no Langmaid's Yellow Underwing yet.
Reddish Light Arches was the most numerous with 22 in the main trap. Amongst local specialities there was a Silver-barred, Water Ermine and Bright Wave.
There was another Hummingbird Hawk-moth last night along Sandown Road.
Thursday 19th
A trap was set in the carpark last night and it looked busy at first look in the morning. Little did we know what was to follow. The Warden was bringing in the trap when bizarrely lost his shoe, tripped over said shoe, fell face-first downwards, and simultaneously dropped the trap and booted said trap with the other foot! The lid came off, eggs cartons everywhere, and a cloud of hundreds of moths went skyward. What was left afterwards was the remnants. A Pine Hawk-moth and a Double-lobed was salvaged 🙁
On the plus side, another attempt with the pheromone lure struck gold with two RED-BELTED CLEARWINGS! No sooner had I written about them yesterday...
Wednesday 18th
No trap was set last night but two Orange-tailed Clearwings came to a lure on the Green Wall. A few other species were lured for but without success, including Red-belted Clearwing which was last recorded here in 1995 and remains a top target.
Tuesday 17th
An actinic in The Elms produced 61 moths of 31 species. Mottled Beauty was surprisingly new for the year AND the most numerous moth with eight. Pale Oak Beauty and Coronet were also new. In addition there were three Barred Reds (of the green prasinaria form), Scoparia basistrigalis, Epinotia abbreviana, Gypsonoma dealbana, and Exoteleia dodecella.
Monday 16th
A Silver-barred and two Burnet Companions were in the Whitehouse and a Forester in the Oasis.
Saturday 14th
Our first two Foresters were in the Whitehouse nectaring on the Southern Marsh-orchids whilst a Bordered Straw in the Dragonfly Pond Field was a notable field sighting.
Friday 13th
One of the busiest traps of the year. A Hedya ochroleuca was only our fifth record and we caught another Striped Hawk-moth. Common Lutestring, Common Rustic agg., Beautiful Hook-tip, Treble Brown Spot, and Barred Straw were new for the year.
Thursday 12th
The weather being more settled brought 150 moths of 44 species where a Sycamore was new for the year. Iron Prominent made its first reappearance in a while along with a just as smart Poplar Grey. Our first Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet Moth was on Prince's Beach.
Wednesday 11th
A Striped Hawk-moth was the highlight of a busy trap where there were 144 moths of 62 species.
Tuesday 10th
Still very breezy overnight but a decent haul of 114 moths of 35 species. Dark Arches overtook Setaceous Hebrew Character with 20 caught, a good showing of Delicate with eight present and our second Elephant Hawk-moth of the year.
A Red-tipped Clearwing was expertly caught on the Estate without net or pheromone assistance, the first Clearwing of the year for the Obs. A Fiery Clearwing was also reported nearby and an Orange-tailed Clearwing was caught by a pheromone trap.
Monday 9th
The first Silver Barred was seen last night whilst people were out dusking.
The wind dropped a bit but it remained fairly cool. There were 82 moths of 30 species with some indication of migration, namely the first Bordered Straw this year, plus two Silver Ys and a Dark Sword-grass. The distinctive micro Ethmia bipunctella was also caught.
Our first Hummingbird Hawk-moth was along the Green Wall.
Sunday 8th
The stormy rain did not materialise but it did rain. The temperature went down to 9.3°C. Heart and Club plus the attractive pyralid Evergestis limbata were new for the year. Delicates continued their daily showing with another two plus there were two Silver Ys. Of more surprise was a very late and fresh looking Common Quaker.
Saturday 7th
Very blustery and some rain again. There was a hint of migration with three Diamondbacks and a Dark Sword-grass.
Friday 6th
With forecasts of heavy rain and wind the trap was placed in a sheltered spot. Once again the weather was not as wet as promised the minimum temperature was the same as last night. There were 79 moths of 33 species. Uncertain was new for the year.
Thursday 5th
A stiff breeze last night restricted the catch to 95 moths of 25 species. It felt cooler than the 11.1°C registered at the trap level. The one new species for the year was also a migrant, namely a Rush Veneer.
Wednesday 4th
Our first Bright Waves of the year were on Prince's Beach and a good total of 12 Oblique-stripeds.
The wind is continuing to rattle the area and dry the ground. Last nights minimum was a bit higher at 9.4°C due to some cloud. There were 150 moths of 38 species. Bird's Wing was new for the year and there were some migrants in the shape of a Small Mottled Willow, Silver Y, Dark Sword-grass and two Diamondbacks.
Tuesday 3rd
It remains dry but the forecast cooler, windy, spell introduced itself with the temperature down to 6.6°C. The catch fell to 93 moths of 28 species. Lesser Swallow Prominent was new for the year.
A check of some micros from the golf course last week revealed the first record of Elachista triatomella.
Monday 2nd
It was actually 0.4°C warmer but the catch was much lower. There were 164 moths of 45 species. A Small Magpie was the first in the trap this year. A Dark Sword-grass and a Rusty Dot Pearl were the only migrants.
A Swallow Prominent caterpillar and some Puss Moth eggs were found at the south end of the Estate.
Sunday 1st
Another good night even though it was a degree cooler at 11.3°C. There were 302 moths of 61 species.
The highlights were the second ever record of Alder Moth (and the first in the main trap) plus the first Small Mottled Willow this year. Other species new for the year were White Satin, Dusky Brocade plus Small and Ringed China-mark. In the micro section Sciota adelphella and Luquetia lobella were firsts for the year.
There were nine Delicates a Diamondback and two Dark Sword-grasses.
