Late October 2020

The second half of the month involved a couple decent mild nights which produced two new moths for the garden.

Sprawler is a late autumn species of broad-leaved woodland so I had thought it would be difficult to catch one here:

Sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx

Chestnut on the other hand is a common and widespread species that can occur throughout the winter into early spring. It was a strange gap in the garden list and finally, two individuals turned up this month:

Chestnut Conistra vacinii

An Acleris sparsana was just the second for the garden:

Acleris sparsana

Three more Merveille du Jour turned up including two together on the 16th. A total of four this year is my best ever return. 

Merveille du Jour Griposia aprilina

Some other great moths from the tail end of the autumn:

Feathered Thorn Colotois pennaria

Mallow Larentia clavaria

Red-green Carpet Chloroclysta siterata

This might be it now for the year; there are just a handful of realistic possibilities that will be addition to the year list before the years end.

[622] Sprawler

[623] Chestnut

Early October 2020

October was overall pretty good with most of the classic species turning up and a handful of new ones for the garden. An early Mottled Umber on the 6th was the first new species for the garden and just the third I have recorded in Cottenham:

Mottled Umber Erannis defoliaria

Merveille du Jour is always a much anticipated October moth:

Merveille du Jour Griposia aprilina

Some other species that were new for the year in the first half of the month:

Rhomboid Tortrix Acleris rhombana

Large Wainscot Rhizedra lutosa

Red-line Quaker Agrochola lota

Yellow-line Quaker Agrochola macilenta

Sallow Cirrhia icteritia

[621] Mottled Umber