Garden Moths - 20/05/2020

A clear, but warm, night looked very promising for moth-trapping. Indeed by late evening the trap was teaming insects, mostly not moths. I could see caddisflies, flying ants, parasitic wasps, and mayflies crashing about in there.

This morning most of the above were allowed to escape before I started checking the egg-boxes in earnest. In fact the wall and fence came first and I quickly found an Alder Kitten ensnared in a spiders web on the kitchen window. I released it, but it doesn't look well. Normally I brush cobwebs off the windows the evening before, but last night I forgot. PS Medical update: The Alder Kitten revived around midday and has flown off to find a mate.

Much healthier was a Knot Grass on the wall, and an Alder Moth, and a Puss Moth on the fence.

Knot Grass

Alder Moth

Puss Moth

Turning my attention back to the trap I quickly spotted another year-tick on the perspex, a Tawny-barred Angle.

Tawny-barred Angle

The egg-boxes in the trap contained a new species for the garden (though probably overdue) in the form of a Common Wainscot, and also a Figure of Eighty, which was new for the year.

Common Wainscot

Figure of Eighty

The last moth, which will be new for the year if I can identify it, was a very dark Bryotropha species, and I think it will probably prove to be Bryotropha affinis. I am currently waiting to see whether @UKMothID will confirm it. If they can't, it'll be Nigel's job. PS after hearing nothing it looked like bad news for the moth, but I decided to try for a better photo (see below) and identification has now been confirmed. It flew off strongly in the general direction of our bird feeder.

Bryotropha affinis

The total list of 31 moths of 16 species was as follows:

Case-bearing Clothes Moth 1
Ruddy Streak 2
Bryotropha affinis 2 (nfy)
Codling Moth 1
Figure of Eighty 1 (nfy)
Garden Carpet 1 (nfy)
Common Marbled Carpet 2
Alder Kitten 1
Puss Moth 1 (nfy)
Alder Moth 1 (nfy)
Knot Grass 1 (nfy)
Treble Lines 2
Common Wainscot 1 (nfg)
Heart and Dart 11
Shuttle-shaped Dart 2

One moth featuring in the above list as new for the year, but not photographed, was a Garden Carpet which may have been the geometer I saw on the window as I first went outside. I then found it high up on the side of the garage, but disturbed it as I climbed onto a garden chair to get a shot.