31st July 2020

As it was one of the warmest nights of the year, the trap was predictable busy. A return of 131 species was one my highest ever although with the exception of Water Veneer (100+) and Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner (60+) numbers of the commoner species were fairly low. The quality was extremely high though with an amazing five new for the garden:

[602] Phyllocnistis unipunctella

[603] Scythris limbella

[604] Merrifieldia baliodactlylus

[605] Clavigesta purdeyi

[606] Lesser Spotted Pinion

The main event was the striking micro Scythris limbella which has the rather great vernacular name Goosefoot Owlet. This is a proposed Red Data Book species and doesn't appear to be regular anywhere. It is also the first modern day record for VC29. 

Scythris limbella

Just a few days after recording my first Phyllocnistis species, I caught another. This one has a distinct dark wing markings indicative of P. unipunctella:

Phyllocnistis unipunctella

A small distinctive looking small plume turned out to be Dingy White Plume Merrifieldia baliodactlylus. A nationally scarce species than in the vice county is pretty much restricted to a handful of records at Wicken and Chippenham Fens:

Dingy White Plume Merrifieldia baliodactlylus

A species that I had seen before was Clavigesta purdeyi, a pine feeding tortrix that turned up at Corbett Street in 2014:

Clavigesta purdeyi 

Finally, a Lesser Spotted Pinion was great to trap after grilling several Lunar Spotted over the years:

Lesser Spotted Pinion Cosmia affinis

There many other moths new for the year including my second record of Eudemis profudana:

Eudemis profundana

While there were two of the superb Stathmopoda pedella:

Stathmopoda pedella

And the smartest Eucosma campoliliana I have caught:

Eucosma campoliliana

Caloptilia semifascia

26th July 2018

The flood of new moths shows no signs of abating, with the latest selection taking the garden list attained in not quite three years past that of what I achieved at Corbett Street in  seven!

[462] Bucculatrix ulmella
[463] Borkhausenia fuscescens
[464] Stathmopoda pedella
[465] Apotomis betulatana
[466] Grapholita compositella
[467] Dewick's Plusia

There were two headliners, with the formerly rare migrant now probable scarce resident, Dewick's Plusia, being much anticipated:

Dewick's Plusia Macdunnoughia confusa

The second major highlight was much less expected: the quite frankly weird micro Stathmopoda pedella:

Stathmopoda pedella

A small micro at the trap bottom looks good for Bucculatrix ulmella:

Bucculatrix ulmella

I've done incredibly well for tortricids this year with a stack of new ones and here's another:

Apotomis betuletana

...and another in the form of Grapholita compositella which is locally regionally and one I wasn't anticipating here:

Grapholita compositella

Borkhausenia fuscescens is more expected (I recorded it a few times at Corbett Street):

Borkhausenia fuscescens