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.

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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