Late August 2019

Small Mottled Willow is a near annual migrant to Cambridgeshire, so I was glad to catch up with one here:

Small Mottled Willow Spodoptera exigua

There were also three plain tortrix species in the trap on the 25th - I very nearly passed them off as worn Cnephasia but potted two of them all the same. Photos show they are Celypha rosaceana, a new moth for me although only one individual had any traces of pink that give it its name(and even then you have to squint a little):

Celypha rosaceana

Fortunately I caught another one on the 27th which was much smarter and considerably more gratifying:

Celypha roseaceana

A third new moth for the garden turned out to be a somewhat fortunate addition. I absentmindedly took a few photos of moths at the bottom of the trap which i reviewed a few days later. One of which was clearly Pyrausta purpuralis not the regular P. aurata. Making it even more jammy was that the photo had it opening its wings showing the diagnostic markings on the hind wing:

Pyrausta purpuralis

[551] Celypha rosaceana
[552] Pyrausta purpuralis
[553] Small Mottled Willow

Other good moths included my second Cypress Pug:

Cypress Pug Eupithecia phoeniceata

Plus third records of Rhomboid Tortrix and Tawny-barred Angle:

Rhomboid Tortrix Acleris rhombana

Tawny-barred Angle Macaria liturata

While a new for year Oak Nycteoline was one of the best looking versions of this variable species that I have caught:

Oak Nycteoline Nycteola revayana

Mid August 2019

A couple of trapping nights recently haven't been very productive and they are somewhat of a comedown from the highs in July. Abundant species (Setaceous Hebrew Character, Yellow underwings, Common Wainscot etc) have remained, well, abundant but the more interesting moths have been hard to come by.

One new moth has come about though, a long awaited species that brings up the 550 for the garden:

[550] Six-striped Rustic

Six-striped Rustic Xestia sexstrigata

There was the second garden record of Aproaerema anthyllidella and the first one I've photographed properly:

Aproaerema anthyllidella

Also a garden 2nd was a Grapholita compositella, I had assumed that the individual recorded last year was a one off. Looks like there could be a small population of this locally rare moth nearby.

Grapholita compositella

A couple of underappreciated species that I haven't deemed exciting enough to post photos of before are the following:

Cabbage Moth Mamaestra brassicae

Brown House Moth Hoffannophila pseudospretella

3rd August 2019

The move in to August coincided with a distinct drop in diversity with 'only' 78 species recorded. As is the way recently though, there were some excellent moths.

The most interesting was a Peacock moth species, There are two similar species and I hadn't seen either before. Due to the extensive grey band across the forewing I thought this was Sharp-angled Peacock Macaria alternata. Looking at it some more though, other features didn't seem to fit. Noticeably the large and obvious 'paw' print on the forewing and the complete dark line on the hindwing fringe (above and below) strongly suggested Peacock Moth M. notata. It does seem that that no single feature is diagnostic and a suite of features combined is the best way to determine the identity. Both species are rare in VC29 but on balance, I am content that it is Peacock Moth.

Add caption

Peacock Moth Macaria notata

The second new moth for me was a crisply marked plume moth, the Triangle Plume:

Triangle Plume Platyptilia gonodactyla

New for the garden were two species I had recorded just once at Corbett Street:

Bulrush Wainscot Nonagria typhae

Batrachedra praeangustea

I had recorded the migrant Rusty-dot Pearl a few times at Corbett Street but this is the first one here:

Rusty-dot Pearl Udea ferrugalis

[545] Batrachedra praeangustea
[546] Triangle Plume
[547] Rusty-dot Pearl
[548] Peacock Moth
[549] Bulrush Wainscot

Notts Moths - August 2019

I was up in the East Midlands for a few days and had the trap out a couple of times. There wasn't a huge difference in what I catch in Cambs but there were a few things of interest:

Dusky Thorn Ennomos fuscantaria

Gold Spot Plusia festucae

Phyllonorycter harrisella

Flame Carpet Xanthorhoe designata

The rarest moth was actually my new friend the Box-tree. There were three individuals over the two nights which is as many as have been recorded in the whole of Notts up to 2018. I'm sure there have been more in 2019 that haven't made it on to the system; it definitely seems to have advanced its march into the Midlands.

Box-tree Moth Cydalima perspectalis

29th July 2019

The new micros keep coming, with the best being a smart Evergestis pallidata:

Evergestis pallidata

Yet another new pyralid:

Rhodophaea formosa

I thought I had recorded Asilapteryx tringipennella before but it looks like it was at Corbett Street only:

Asilapteryx tringipennella

There was also a worn but still smart carbonaria form of Peppered Moth, not one I get annually:

Peppered Moth Biston betularia f. carbonaria

[542] Asilapteryx tringipennella
[543] Evergestis pallidata
[544] Rhodophaea formosa

25th July 2019

It was the hottest night here since like ever so I was looking forward to the results in the trap. A storm in the early hours did affect things however although there were well over 100 species again.

White-line Dart is new for the garden and only my second recorded in the village:

White-line Dart Euxoa tritici

Another day another pyralid, although this time the new garden record involved a more widespread species Acrobasis repandana. Unfortunately in the process of trying to get it into a pot it made its escape, so this is the only shot obtained:

Acrobasis repandana

I've had a few Caloptilia species this year and another new one turned up, C. stigmatella:

Caloptilia stigmatella

Another species I've recorded just once in the village before is the striking tortrix Epiblema foenella. However, this one is a fairly dull individual, the white blotch on the forewing is normally bright white:

Epiblema foenella

The final new one was Mompha epilobiella, an apparently common species which I haven't come across before:

Mompha epilobiella

The best of the rest included the gardens second record of Recurvaria nanella, a fairly rare species of gelechiid:

Recurvaria nanella

[537] Caloptilia stigmatella
[538] Mompha epilobiella
[539] Epiblema foenella
[540] Acrobasis repandana
[541] White-line Dart

23rd July 2019

The start of a small heatwave coincided with a dramatic overnight thunderstorm. So while diversity wasn't as remarkable as this time last week, the rain didn't stop some interesting moths arriving.

The headliners were two pyralids - firstly the stunning Oncocera semirubella, one of those species that jumps out at you in the field guide and a really good species to record here.

Oncocera semirubella

The second pyralid was considerably more cryptic and also somewhat worn. The only match is Pempelia genistella a predominantly coastal species with records seemingly mostly from Suffolk and Essex in the region. Not sure if there's been many (or any) VC29 records.

Pempelia genistella

I had almost ignored a plain gelechiid but the photos show it to be a match for Acompsia cinerella:

Acompsia cinerella

Another scarce species locally, Phtheochroa inopiana, was the next one added to the garden list:

Phtheochroa inopiana

The final new one involved two tortrix individuals in the Dichrorampha genus - they are quite different to each other but both look likely to involve D.vancouverana:

Dichrorampha vancourverana

There were plenty of other good moths which included the second garden record of Eucosma campolinana. I failed to photograph the first one so its a shame that this years had seen better days:

Eucosma campoliliana

[532] Acompsia cinerella
[533] Oncocera semirubella
[534] Pempelia genistella
[535] Phtheochroa inopiana
[536] Dichrorampha vancouverana

21st July 2019

Somewhat unusually I came across a tortrix amongst the childrens toys in the house - it was unfamiliar to me but I quickly established it to be a Grapholita species. The dark palps strongly suggest that it is G. funebrana  (AKA Plum Fruit Moth) rather than the similar tenebrosana.

This species does not commonly come to light so it is uncertain that its occurrence in the house was related to my trapping two nights previous. Next door does have several plum trees so I imagine that was its origin.

Grapholita funebrana

[531] Grapholita funebrana

17th July 2019

In what can only be described as a monster catch of 144 species (which is yet another record number for me in Cottenham) there were some great species.

Best of the bunch was a superb male Black Arches - relatively common elsewhere in Cambs it is clearly not so round here. Along with Garden Tiger it has been top of my most wanted list for quite a few years. The tiger may well be a lost cause but you never know.

Black Arches Lymantria monacha

Nearly as rare here is the Magpie Moth; I recorded it once at Corbett Street (in 2012), so it is a great addition to the High Street list:

Magpie Moth Abraxas grossulariata

There were some new micros too although an Eudemis profundana escaped prior to a photo being taken. A subtly smart Pyrausta despicata did stick around though:

Pyrausta despicata

While a couple of Swammerdamia caesiella took a bit of studying in order to give me a degree confidence in their identification:

Swammerdamia caesiella

Another one for the 'agg.' list was this tortrix which is either Acleris notana or ferrugana:

Acleris notana / ferrugana

[525] Swammerdamia caesiella
[526] Acleris notana / ferrugana
[527] Eudemis profundana
[528] Pyrausta despicata
[529] Magpie Moth
[530] Black Arches

13th July 2019

A cooler night with a reduced catch still produced some good moths. The highlight for me was a Small Scallop, a fairly widespread species that I hadn't come across before not even at Chippenham Fen.

Small Scallop Idaea emarginata

The small but distinctive gelechiid, Brachmia blandella was also new:

Brachmia blandella

Another gelechiid was also new and quite striking - a species of Syncopacma that is almost certainly S.larseniella. Unfortunately it is inseparable from cinctella without dissection. 

Syncopacma larseniella / cinctella

Just about annual now in the garden is Lunar-spotted Pinion. I'm still waiting for a certain other Cosmia species though......

Lunar-spotted Pinion Cosmia pyralina

[523] Syncopacma larseniella / cinctella
[523] Brachmia blandella
[524] Small Scallop