26th August 2020

For a supposedly common moth, the stunning Bordered Beauty doesn't turn up here very often. In fact this is the first for the garden and only the second I've seen in the village; the previous being in 2013.

Bordered Beauty Epione repandaria

Signs of autumn continue with the years first Barred and Centre-barred Sallows. Here's the latter:

Centre-barred Sallow Atethmia centrago

While Dioryctria abietella was new for the year:

Dioryctria abietella

Box-tree Moths are becoming more regular now and my first melanic version turned up:

Box-tree Moth Cydalima perspectalis 

A fairly late Lobesia abscisana was of some interest as was a smart Vapourer:

Lobesia abscisana

Vapourer Orgyia antiqua

[616] Bordered Beauty

19th June 2017

The Scarlet Tiger was certainly unexpected and a stunning moth to catch here. It actually landed on the trap just as I was giving it a check at 23:15 - brilliant. I used to get numbers of this moth in my garden in central Oxford - this was before I knew much about moths but I still have a few photos of them I think. Over this way, they are rather rare - not sure about VC29 but pretty much unheard of in Norfolk for example. 

There were also a few other good moths amongst 85 species recorded, with a total of six new for the garden:

[312] Argyresrthia brockeella

[312] Cherry Fruit Moth

[313] Aethes beatricella

[314] Variegated Golden Tortrix

[315] Scarlet Tiger

[316] Blackneck

The Argyresrthia brockeella was tricky to photograph but eventually it worked out ok. A very smart little moth indeed and the first for me away from Chippenham Fen:

Argyresthia brockeella

In the same genus as the above, the Cherry Fruit Moth was a lifer for me:

Cherry Fruit Moth Argyresthia pruniella

Yet another lifer, was this Aethes beatricella, a fairly local species:

Aethes beatricella

The Variegated Golden Tortrix isnt bad looking either:

Variegated Golden Tortrix Archips xylosteana

Blackneck is always scarce here and this is my first record since 2012:

Blackneck Lygephila pastinum

Other decent moths included the first adult Vapourer for the garden after a caterpillar last year:

Vapourer Orgyia antiqua

Grey Pug Eupithecia subfuscata

Fan-foot Herminia tarsipennalis

3rd July 2016 - more clearwing action

I thought I would try again for Yellow-legged Clearwing and I was pleased when a clearwing came into the VES lure after about 30 minutes...only it was a Orange-tailed Clearwing. I had totally forgotten that this species comes to the same lure, so an unexpected bonus. Less thrilling was that the moth made a run for it before I had got any photos at all.

Also found in the day time was a larva of The Vapourer which had hitheto been unnoticed on the garden rose and was seemingly also attracted to the lure? A pretty cool caterpillar and the first for the garden.

Vapourer Orgyia antiqua

Overnight trapping was dominated by micros with a strange absence of the commoner macros that were present in abundance a couple of days ago. 

The eleven new moths for the garden over the day took the list to over the 150 mark. In a good year at Corbett Street I would be pushing 300 but 2016 hasn't been too great so far so I expect a somewhat lower return.

[146] Batia unitella
[147] Orange-tailed Clearwing
[148] Large Fruit-tree Tortrix
[149] Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix
[150] Pseudagyrotoza conwagana
[151] Marbled Orchard Tortrix
[152] Homoeosoma sinuella
[153] Endotricha flammealis
[154] Shaded Broad-bar
[155] Dot Moth
[156] Vapourer

Pseudagyrotoza conwagana

Homoeosoma sinuella

Batia unitella

Large Fruit-tree Tortrix Archips podana

Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis cerasana

Marbled Orchard Tortrix Hedya nubiferana