Sunday 30th
0.6°C warmer and the catch went up to 127 moths of 46 species. With such low numbers it is no wonder the House Sparrows are struggling to rear chicks. Depite the low number there was a reasonable variety There were four species of footman (Common, Scarce, Rosy and first for the year Pigmy ) and four species of hawk-moth ( Pine (2), Elephant, Small Elephant (3) and Poplar). Sycamore and Rustic were new for the year. The only underwings of any type were three Large Yellows. There was a Silver Y and three Diamondbacks.
Saturday 29th
Even cooler last night at 10.5°C. The catch reduced to 110 moths of 48 species. Mottled Beauty, Ruby Tiger and Ghost Moth were all new for the year. There were two Langmaid's Yellow Underwings.
Mottled Beauty. June 29th 2024. I Hunter
Peach Blossom . June 29th 2024
Friday 28th
A clear sky and fresh breeze gave a cooler night with a minimum of 11.8°C. The catch went down, particularly as yesterdays burst of Bird Cherry Ermines had moved on. The attractive pyralid Anania perlucidalis was new for the year. The only migrants were two Diamondbacks.
A Silver-barred and a Nemapogon clematella were swept in the Whitehouse and Haven area, the latter surprisingly new for Sandwich Bay.
Thursday 27th
Similar overnight conditions saw the catch increase to 290 moths. However this was due to an emergence of Bird-cherry Ermines (63 counted) and the overall number of species was down to 76.
The only new for the years were Thistle Ermine, Shark (2) and Water Veneer (just one of these). Eighteen Diamondbacks were a hint of migration.
Overall the underwings seem to be doing very poorly so far, with just the occasional example.
A Cockchafer was also in the trap. They used to be more frequent and could be quite a nuisance as they blundered around.
Wednesday 26th
That is more like it! After a hot day the night was humid and the minimum was 15.2°C. The catch went up to 260 moths of 91 species. There were a number of firsts for the year- Dingy Shears, Common Emerald, Latticed Heath, L-album Wainscot, Clancy's Rustic, Channel Island Pug, Round-winged Muslin, Sciota adelphella, Gold Triangle, European Corn-borer, plus the locally distributed Nyctegretis lineana (2), Anerastia lotella, and the scarce Ethmia terminella.
There were also a few migrants with 12 Diamondbacks and two Silver Ys.
Daytime mothing turned up trumps again with four different Foresters being seen, the most we have seen since the pheromoning experiment was done here. The first Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnets were also seen.
Tuesday 25th
The main event today was the finding of a second Fiery Clearwing.
The catch in the trap continued its slow increase and there were 174 moths of 65 species. It is notable that Dark Arches was the only species to make double figures with 41. Heart and Club, Silky Wainscot, Beautiful Hook-tip (3), Acrobasis marmorea and Hypsopigea glaucinalis were all new for the year. Singles of Silver Y, Diamondback and Dark Sword-grass were the only migrants.
Monday 24th
The daytime temperature continues to rise and it feels humid. Despite this a clear sky helped the temperature down to 11.8°C, plus there was a bright moon. The increase in numbers slowly continues and there were 145 moths of 66 species.
Smoky Wainscot, Silver-barred, Yellow-tail, Broad-barred White and Ethmia bipunctella were all new for the year. Despite the south-east in the wind the only migrant was one Diamondback.
Sunday 23rd
The days are getting much warmer, but at night it was clearer and the temperature was down to 11.5°C. The catch continued to improve very slightly with 109 moths of 50 species. A Silver Y was hopefully the herald of plenty more as the breeze is forecast to head more to south. Magpie Moth, Common Footman, Rosy Footman and Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing were new for the year and there was another Water Ermine. Two species made it to double figures - Dark Arches (18) and Marbled Minor agg. (10).
A Burnet Companion was in the Whitehouse in the afternoon.
Saturday 22nd
The slow improvement continues but with a minimum of 14.1°C we would have hoped for well over 300 moths. There were actually 92 of 42 species. Water Ermine, Birds Wing, Langmaid's Yellow Underwing and Scalloped Oak were all new for this year. There was also the first Scarce Footman, we usually see Common Footman first. Dark Arches was the species to make it into double figures with 14. There were three Silver Ys and a White Colon was of note.
Friday 21st
The days are hotting up and once the full moon wanes lets hope the catches improve. A clear sky also meant the temperature went down to 9.1°C. There were 47 moths of 25 species. No species reached double figures and there were no migrants. Delicates continue their steady form with another four.
Thursday 20th
It is difficult to imagine how other creatures such as birds and bats are coping as the catches of moths remain very small. Last night there were just 21 moths of 13 species.
Southern Wainscot was new for the year and a Lesser Yellow Underwing was only the second this year.
Wednesday 19th
The night started calm but a stiff ENE breeze got up and the catch was restricted to 61 moths of 31 species. White Satin and Riband Wave were new for the year but there were no migrants.
Tuesday 18th
The night started calm but fairly clear and with a minimum of 12.4°C it was hoped the catch would improve. It did a bit to 115 moths of 46 species. Rosy Wave, Double-lobed, Bordered Pug and Cream-bordered Green Pea were new for the year Delicates continue to do well and eight were counted. A Silver Y was the only migrant.
Monday 17th
Conditions remain unfavourable for moths. The temperature remained in double figures at 11.8°C and there were 66 moths of 25 species. Large Yellow Underwing dominated with 16 examples. Common Rustic agg. and Donacaula forficella were both new for the year. Five Reddish Light Arches was of note.
Sunday 16th
Although the wind dropped a little bit overnight it was not enough to tempt many moths out. There were 40 moths of 16 species. Three Delicates and a Dog's Tooth were of interest.
Saturday 15th
Another unsettled night with a strong, cool, breeze. There was enough cloud to keep the temperature above 10.1°C. There were 121 moths of 32 species, still well below the norm at this time. Barred Straw (2) and Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing were new for the year and there were two Diamondbacks.
We have just heard of a new macromoth for the recording area - Fiery Clearwing. An adult was recorded and photographed on June 12th. This once very rare species and one with special legal protection is doing well in Kent and being found at a range of new sites.
Friday 14th
With heavy rain forecast most of the night the trap was placed in a sheltered spot. The cloud meant the temperature did not drop below 12.3°C. There were only 17 moths of five species - Middle-barred Minor (2), Heart and Dart (4), Setaceous Hebrew Character (5), Large Yellow Underwing (5) and Flame (1).
A male Adela croesella was in the Haven.
Thursday 13th
A slight drop of 0.4°C in the minimum plus more breeze saw the catch reduce to 54 moths of 19 species.
Wednesday 12th
The fun of wildlife is you can not predict what will happen next. Last night was a bit warmer at 9.8°C and the catch improved significantly to 72 moths of 36 species. Our second ever record of Porter's Rustic was a surprise. There was also a Clouded Brindle which at best occurs just a few times each year, plus the first Treble Brown-spot for the year.
Tuesday 11th
Two traps were set more in hope than expectation. The temperature tumbled to 6.7°C. The car park trap held 16 moths of 12 species and the feeders trap had five moths of four species. These are probably the worst catches this millennium at this time of year. A Pine Hawk-moth did its best to raise the standard.
A case of Coleophora limosipennella was also found in The Elms during the day.
Monday 10th
The forecast was for cold north westerlies to set in and the day time was cold and damp to start with. The cloud which preceded this helped keep the overnight temperature above 11.7¨C. This resulted in a decent catch of 127 moths of 30 species. A Golden Twin-spot was a surprise this early and a new moth for the year. Silver Y was the other migrant.
Sunday 9th
The sky started cloudless and this allowed the temperature down to 6.2°C. The catch went down to 55 moths of 21 species. Buff-tip was new for the year but there are still lots of regulars which have not emerged here yet although some inland traps are getting them.
Saturday 8th
Two traps were run in preparation for the moth night. The car park trap had 99 moths of 27 species. This included a second Pandemis cinnamomeana and three Delicates. The feeders trap held 50 moths of 27 species. Giving 35 species in total. It was left to a visitors trap at the back of the ringing room to deliver the goods. The best was our first ever record of Alder Moth. There was also the first Privet Hawk-moth for the year
Friday 7th
A bit of cloud helped keep it a bit warmer at 8.3°C. This was enough to increase the catch to 75 moths of 25 species. There was one Diamondback plus Uncertain and Lesser Yellow Underwing were new for the year.
Visitors trapped an Ingrailed Clay which is not recorded regularly here.
The first lot of Mullein moth caterpillars have been heading underground to pupate but smaller ones are now in a race to defoliate the Mullein plants.
Thursday 6th
A cooler, clearer, night with the temperature own to 7.3°C resulted in a small catch of just 42 moths of 20 species. Pinion-streaked Snout was new for the year. There were no migrants in the trap.
Wednesday 5th
Last night was cooler at 9°C but not before the first part of the night was cloudy. There were still 216 moths of 48 species. Firsts for the year included Dog's Tooth, Eyed Hawk-moth(2), Peach Blossom and Reddish Light Arches. There had been a small emergence(or arrival?) of Delicates with five fresh examples. Diamondbacks were down to seven.
Visitors doing some dusking added Rest Harrow, Breckland Plume and Yarrow Plume to the list for the year. None of these have ventured near the trap yet.
Tuesday 4th
Last night there was no breeze, the temperature did not go below 15°C and there was a layer of cloud, just what was needed.
There were 274 moths of 72 species. Migrants consisted of 17 Diamondbacks and 12 Silver Ys. Four Shaded Pugs was good. Singles of Peppered Moth, Clouded Silver, Bordered White and Dusky Brocade were all new macros for the year. New micros included Green Oak Tortrix (just the one for now), Synaphe punctalis, and, best of all, our third ever record of the distinctive pyralid Anania verbascalis. A Buttoned Snout and a Purple Bar were also of note.