wordofmoth

Chilly, with a hint of Brindle

The early Spring temperature dipped to just 3.5°C last night meaning that it was slim pickings once again. Just 7 moths, each a different species made it into the notebook … and one of them was a volunteer on the kitchen window during the day.

Nonetheless, the flip-side of Spring is that the moths tend to be recently emerged and therefore in great photogenic shape. The ‘volunteer’ was Yellow-barred Brindle, a moth with considerable variation, this one showing beautiful blue scales amongst its ‘brindled’ wing pattern.

The cold weather also makes the moths docile and this Brindled Beauty sat patiently with its hind wings showing.

A number of moths are ‘Brindled’ – the two above, Brindled Pug, Green-brindled Crescent etc. – and it was only today that I took the trouble to check its meaning. The Collins dictionary refers to ‘brown or grey streaked or patched with a darker colour’; appropriate for both of those above.

Brindled Pug is a common moth, one that I’ve been catching and my last post showed a comparison with its similar cousin Oak-tree Pug. This morning I caught the latter … I think!

I find them tricky, but the fairly rounded central spot with a clear white patch beyond it makes this, I hope, a fairly clear example. As ever, happy to be corrected.

Other than that, little of interest, though Brimstone Moth is always worth spending a moment on, to admire the colour:

And lastly, Eudonia angustella, the first this year of a small group of moths – Scoparia/Eudonia Crambids – that I really like.

Slim pickings

Despite promising conditions as I set the trap, by morning it was cold (9ºC) and there were just 13 moths of 9 species.

The moths of early Spring, the Common Quakers and Early Greys, are now fading slightly as the scales wear off their wings. But one of the joys of mothing is that new species appear and today’s ‘funky moth’ prize was swept up by this wonderful male Muslin Moth – think Muppet!

Other than that there were some signs of migration, perhaps left from previous nights though, with a nice Dark Sword-grass and a Rusty-dot Pearl that posed with wings open (and damaged) to reveal its grey hindwings.

Finally, in my last post I tentatively identified Oak-tree Pug. Thanks to those who helped confirm it and this morning I had its very similar cousin, Brindled Pug (I think – identifying Pugs keeps my fingers permanently crossed). Here they are alongside each other, today’s Brindled on the left and last week’s Oak-tree on the right.

Happy mothing …

Red Sword-grass

At long last the wind and rain has let up and I’m able to start trapping again. And what reward. This Red-Sword-grass was just outside the trap on the night of the 11th April, a rare moth for these parts and a lifer for me.

It’s a beautiful moth, probably brought here from foreign shores on the recent gales. As you can see, it’s a ‘twig-mimic’ and I particularly like the way the face is evolved to replicate the broken-off end of a small stick.

I let it go into some wood chipping we have in the garden. I’ll let you see if you can find it again!

Whilst this was the highlight, also nice was this Red Chestnut, which was a first for my Budleigh garden.

Other than this, nothing notable on the 11th, or last night, the 12th, but still some good looking moths, of which a selection here.

Tachstola acroxantha – a common, but very pretty, micro

Lastly, I’m not great on Pugs, but I wondered if this might be Oak-tree Pug, given the fairly rounded fiscal spot and the white patch beyond it. Any thoughts welcome.

Starting a new year

Last night I dusted off the moth trap for the first time this year and was rewarded with some nice, if mainly common, early Spring moths.

Amongst the arrivals, this Oak Beauty (above) was the visual star of the show, followed perhaps by the superficially similar Brindled Beauty:

In terms of being less common, this Pale Pinion was good to see, one of two that were in the trap.

At this time of year most species are still to show in their adult forms, but the ‘Quaker’ – Orthosia – family are early risers with several species about. In addition to the usual Common Quaker and Hebrew Character, I also had Small Quaker and Twin-spotted Quaker, as well as a nice Clouded Drab.

Common Quaker, showing its grey hindwings.

Finally, one or two other nice fresh-looking species, including:

All in all a nice start to the year with the promise of lots more to come.

Autumn arrivals, Boxed in

I’m aware that posts on this blog are like trapping rare immigrants – infrequent, hard to predict, but always with the hope that fair winds (or less work!) will bring better numbers. Suffice to say I’ve been so busy that mothing, and this blog, have been less frequent than I’d like.

Last night I set the trap, however, and was rewarded with some lovely Autumn moths. News, too, below, of other arrivals from the start of the month …

… but first, the Boxes. Amazon may use plenty of cardboard ones, but they are well behind the Box-tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis) which was first seen in the UK in 2007 but since then has bloomed, as it has on the continent too. It’s originally an oriental moth, carried to Europe and the UK on the wind and in imported goods perhaps. There are two colour forms:

My trap on 2nd October was swamped by over 60 of these, mainly in its commoner, white form. Last night a mere 40+ were settled neatly in and around the trap.

To say it’s doing well is an understatement, with its larvae presumably decimating local box shrubs.

Nonetheless, the southerly winds currently bringing the warm air from Africa and Southern Europe is also bringing the moths, alongside some of our local, and beautiful Autumnal species. Last night I was graced with the following likely immigrants:

… ‘vitrealis’ coming from the Latin vitrum, or glass, reflecting the translucent glass-like wings.

The colouration in the wings of Vestal (Rhodometra sacraria) varies with the temperature at which the larvae develop (1), with yellower wings and pinker stripes coming from higher temperatures. Apparently, these two might have grown up close together but not in exactly the same spot!

Though also usually thought of as an immigrant – and an uncommon one at that – this Blair’s Mocha (Cyclophora puppillaria) is one of two caught last night, with another three at the start of the month and other regular records too, making me think it has probably colonised nearby:

Other nice moths from last night included two that have really got the Autumnal feel about them, reflecting the moss/lichen covering on damp branches and the sparkling light of dew on leaves:

Both these are likely to be local, not least because of their minty fresh appearance.

Next, news from the start of the month when I caught this fantastic Convolvulus Hawkmoth – likely another immigrant.

I’ve only ever had one before, so it’s fabulous to see and a real beast as you can see from the photo of it alongside my little finger. I also love the face-like appearance of the markings on the back of the thorax – not quite as pronounced as the more famous Death’s-head Hawkmoth, but enough to make a predator think twice, nonetheless.

And finally, this amused me …

As I removed this Feathered Ranunculus from the trap it fell and landed on the Large Yellow Underwing and, to my surprise, both moths seemed happy.

Perhaps it was riding the Big Yellow Bus … to avoid getting Boxed in …

Reference:

(1) Royal Entomologist Society, PROCEEDINGS OF THE ORDINARY MEETING HELD ON 6TH OCTOBER, 1948

Decent weather, decent moths

15th and 16th April

At last, some warmer weather with southerly winds to bring moths to the SW. The result was some nice Spring moths, including migrants in significant numbers, and reflecting the changing Autumn colours which are quickly becoming fresher and brighter as the garden comes alive. At the same time, there is still a need for the moths to insulate themselves from the cool temperatures.

The best of the bunch …

None of these moths is rare, but all nice to see. One of the joys of mothing is its seasonal nature. No matter how often you’ve caught them before, they always come as a nice surprise as you see them again for the first time in the year. I always find myself getting out the field-guide to remind me, and asking for expert advice on Twitter – which is, fortunately, a generous and supportive place for moth-help. These two are an example; very similar moths, both of which can be very variable and separated only by some subtle differences to the angles on the cross-lines:

Also not rare, but perhaps the best for me, was this Shoulder Stripe – amazingly, a lifer.

Not having captured it before is more to do with my lack of activity with the trap in previous Springs than any distribution of the moth – my determination to do more March and April mothing paying off with several new species this year already, including this one.

Whilst all the moths above are resident to this part of the world, the southerly winds – after persistent easterlies – also brought some migrants (though it’s possible that there is some local colonisation going on too). In particular, I’ve done really well for Dark Sword-grass, with five on the 15th and another 2 this morning …

And another potential migrant was this little Udea ferrugalis (Rusty-dot Pearl) in this morning’s trap:

It’s such an exciting time of year as the season gets going properly … as always with mothing, anything can turn up in even the most unlikely settings. And even if identification isn’t a challenge, taking photos of a 7mm creature that doesn’t always what to pose certainly keeps you busy! …

The New Mothing Year

It may be well into February, but the mothing year is just starting for many. Indeed, only the promise of some warm air from the south has persuaded me to dust off the trap – and with electricity bills so high, the 20W actinic bulb rather than the 120W MV!

I’ve now run it twice in the last few days and, not usually starting so early in the year, my very first moth (13th Feb) was one that extends my life list: Pearly Underwing (Peridroma saucia).

Whilst it looks plain, the name comes from the hindwing which has the colouring of mother-of-pearl and is really smart:

Beyond that, nothing special, but this morning brought a handsome Oak Beauty (Biston strataria) and a Silver Y (Autographa gamma), presumably an immigrant swept here on the southerly winds.

The only other moth was a Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata) which volunteered itself on the kitchen window – no photo taken, but this is a similar moth from last year.

It’s good to be starting again. The promise of warmer weather to come and the prospect of new moths always makes things exciting at this time of year.

Scary weather … nice moths!

I’m not sure I really like this warm weather – another sign of our warming climate – but one can’t deny it brings good moths. I ran my 125W MV light last night and though numbers were small it pulled in some lifers for me.

Best was this Cosmopolitan (Leucania loreyi) – an immigrant that I’ve not had before and which I misidentified at first as Large Wainscot:

Also new for me, this rather pretty-looking micro, Acleris hyemana, which, other than a couple of Rusty-dot Pearls, was the only other micro in the trap.

All the others I’d had before, but however often I catch it Merveille du Jour is a moth that I never tire of:

Merveille du Jour

Simply stunning: the best lichen mimic of all the moths. But also beautiful was this Feathered Thorn, clearly showing why the males carry the ‘feathered’ moniker:

Finally, the most numerous by far were these November Moth Aggregates – three very similar species that are impossible to separate without at least a hand lens on an inert specimen. I simply chose to aggregate them here:

November Moth Agg.

I’m so conscious of the energy bills at the moment that running the 125W bulb seems like an extravagance, so it’s the 20W ‘dark’ bulb tonight on my portable trap … and we’ll see if I get the same kind of success.

Convolvulus

A quick update to report on a great night for moths last night, 11th Sept. Best by far was my first ever Convolvulus Hawk-moth, a species I’ve never managed to catch up with until today.

What a stunner! This one looks pristine to me, and superbly camouflaged for resting on tree bark. But disturb it and it will flash its pink and black abdomen …

Delighted to get this lifer. Also in the trap was this Delicate:

… and a moth that is rare nationally and largely confined to the SW coast, Mecyna asinalis.

I get this annually here in Budleigh; it’s a subtle moth, one which a photo doesn’t really do justice to.

With more warm air today and tonight I’m hoping for more migrants. Fingers crossed.

Autumn’s arrival?

Some lovely moths in the traps last night. I say ‘traps’ because I ran my new home-made, light-weight actinic trap for the first time alongside the usual MV. Both produced some good results with the moths reflecting the start to the changing colours of Autumn’s arrival.

Best of the bunch in terms of scarcity were the immigrant Scarce Bordered Straw (though could now be a local breeding moth) and Pinion-streaked Snout, the latter a lifer for me.

Also a lifer, though remarkable because it’s not uncommon, was this Small Wainscot, with its beautiful, delicate darker veins and its ‘shaggy’ thorax:

The summer seems to have whizzed by, August about to give way to September, and the moths are starting to reflect the Autumn colours. Here: Frosted Orange; Angle Shades; and Dusky Thorn …

Whilst I catch the three above at least annually, this Tawny-barred Angle was the first I’ve had since 2019:

And in terms of migrants (in addition to the Scare Bordered Straw, above) the actinic attracted this beautiful Dark Sword-grass:

Numbers are definitely dropping off, but I love this time of the mothing year. Mornings are a bit later, so the cup of tea that accompanies the opening of the trap can also involve a little lie-in. The moths are often interesting too, with species on the move and the chance of some good migrants still. Clifton Nonpareil is already showing up on my Twitter timeline … I sit and wait.