Garden moth update

Before I get to last night's catch I should mention two little moths caught in the bathroom over the last few days. Both were micros, one instantly recognised as a Juniper Webber, a species I last caught in 2018. The other was unidentifiable to species level, but was at least a Parornix ag, and therefore a tick whatever it turns out to be. 

Update: It turned out to be Parornix scoticella which was not the species I had guessed at. It appears to be a relatively common micro. Thanks to Nigel S and his microscope.

Juniper Webber

Parornix scoticella (confirmed by gen. det)

So to last night. The temperature held up at a respectable 13 degrees and there was total cloud cover. These reasonable conditions produced 75 moths of 32 species (not including two very worn micros). 

Better still, I added three moths to the garden/life list, and another five to the year list. Also a Coleophora ag will very likely turn out to be new for the garden when Nigel gets to inspect it closely.

The lifers were an Anania coronata (a large and distinctive micro despite not having a generally accepted English name), Crambus perlella (a grass moth which is apparently common), and a Sharp-angled Carpet (definitely the most attractive moth of the night).

Anania coronata

Crambus perlella

Sharp-angled Carpet

The latter moth, despite looking amazing, was quite troublesome to identify. Other amazing Carpet moths are available, and my first thought was the much rarer Wood Carpet. However, shortly after sending a tweet I realised my mistake (as did the expert who replied). Sharp-angled Carpet is still a fairly local moth in Warwickshire I think.

The Coleophora ag may turn out to be lineolea, based on flight time and general appearance, but I won't know until the recorder examines it.

Update: It was examined and was actually Coleophora serratella, new for the garden but also one of the commonest Coleophora moths.

Coleophora serratella

As for the year-ticks, these included two I have only caught once previously in the garden; V-Pug and September Thorn. The latter flies from July to September, so isn't well named.

V-Pug

September Thorn

The other year-ticks occur annually in the garden: Euzophora pinguis, Cydia splendana, and Common Rustic ag.

Euzophera pinguis

Cydia splendana

Common Rustic ag

The full list was:

Bird-cherry Ermine 1, Diamond-back Moth 1, Coleophora ag 1, Mompha subbistrigella 1, Juniper Webber 1, Twenty-plume Moth 1, Celypha striana 1, Zeiraphera isertana 1, Codling Moth 3, Cydia splendana 1 (nfy), Euzophera pinguis 1 (nfy) Phycita roborella 3, Eudonia mercurella 1, Eudonia lacustrata 3, Garden Grass-veneer 8, Crambus pascuella 7, Crambus perlella 1 (nfg), Anania coronata 1 (nfg), Sharp-angled Carpet 1 (nfg), V-Pug 1 (nfy), September Thorn 1 (nfy), Scarce Footman 1, Common Footman 11, White Satin Moth 1, Coronet 1, Uncertain 4, Dark Arches 1, Marbled Minor ag 1, Common Rustic ag 1 (nfy), Shuttle-shaped Dart 2, Heart and Dart 4, Large Yellow Underwing 6. 

PS: I have updated this post several times today. In the last few weeks I have changed the way I process and later release moths. I now do it indoors (in the utility room) in the morning. This means that any escapes get no further than the window. I then return the catch to the trap to "roost" until the evening, when I take the trap back outside and let them escape as they wake up.

One by-product of this method is that one or two moths seem to disappear into the utility room before I have noticed and counted them. Hence the need for updates as the list rises, particularly at release time. This evening for example a Mompha subbistrigella, and more surprisingly a Marbled Minor ag appeared and got themselves added to the list.

But now that really is it for the day.