More garden moths

Apologies to anyone who is sick of looking at my garden moth catches and would rather see stuff about birds. Its getting to the time of year when the variety of birds on offer is a bit limited, while insects, and particularly moths, go through the roof. I particularly like that each time I check my trap I am half expecting to see something I haven't seen before, and also that a great deal of head scratching tends to follow.

This morning was a classic, with moths I recognised, moths I thought I knew and then discovered were something else, and moths I hadn't a clue of and had to work out. I promise I will still go birding too.

I caught 35 moths of 18 species, and apart from the ones resting on the fence or house, or the ones which flew off, they are all resting back in the trap in the utility room waiting to be released at dusk. The local Robins are definitely on the prowl.

The moth which has caused me the most difficulty was a Rustic Shoulder-knot, or at least I think it is. (It was later confirmed to be correct) This is supposed to be a common moth, but I've never seen one.

Rustic Shoulder-knot Apamea sordens

The problem is that there are several similar looking Apamea species to eliminate. One, Large Nutmeg, varies in size and can be the same length. But I think I can see a hint of the black shoulder streaks peaking out from under the fluffy thorax. Unfortunately I had settled on Rustic Shoulder-knot fairly early on, and released it when it started to get agitated in the pot. If I'd held on to it a bit longer I could have brushed he thorax hairs aside to make sure.

Another moth which I nearly cocked up were a couple of geometers resting in the trap. I thought at first they were Common Marbled Carpets, but when I potted one it looked too small. Indeed it was, and it turned out to be a May Highflyer as did the other one.

May Highflyer

I recorded a May Highflyer in 2018, but not in 2019, so I guess I was a bit rusty.

Last evening several moths flew into the bathroom, including one that was new for the year, a Straw Dot. This one is easy to identify and regular in the garden and at Morton Bagot where we often disturb them from the grass.

Straw Dot

Getting my vote for the most attractive moth caught last night was an Ingrailed Clay, although Lyn wasn't very impressed when I shoved it under her nose.

Ingrailed Clay

The final year-tick was a micro, which turned out to be a Bee Moth. This particular individual was quite small, causing me to be unsure what it was until I potted it.

Bee Moth

The full list was:

Codling Moth 1
Light Brown Apple Moth 1
Bee Moth 1 (nfy)
Common Marbled Carpet 1
May Highflyer 2
Common Pug 1
worn Pug though to be Brindled Pug 1
Pale Tussock 5
Swallow Prominent 1
Straw Dot 1 (nfy)
Orange Footman 1
Vine's Rustic 1
Treble Lines 4
Rustic Shoulder-knot 1 (nfg)
Common Wainscot 1
Heart and Dart 10
Shuttle-shaped Dart 1
Ingrailed Clay 1 (nfy)

There was not much by-catch, just the usual black caddisflies, and a smart Mayfly.

Sunday May 24 - Morton Bagot produces the goods

Sunny intervals and a brisk south-westerly. A stroll around the patch was initially enlivened by the sounded of a reeling Grasshopper Warbler. Unlike last year's bird it was not at all showy, in fact we couldn't see it at all as it sang from the middle of a large grassy field.

Normally that would constitute the bird of the day, but not this time. We were scanning a different field when Dave spotted a Stonechat. Unprecedented here in May, the reason for its presence was revealed when we discovered it was accompanying a brood of three recently fledged juveniles.

Most of the family

Rubicola ?

A closer view of one of the juveniles

I've had a flick through recent WMBC reports and Birds of the West Midlands, and I think this could represent the first breeding record for Warwickshire (discounting Sutton Park which is now in West Midlands - politically at least).

The male was very bright with a restricted orange breast and pale flanks, inviting the temptation to identify it as belonging to the continental race rubicola. However, its a fine line between rubicola and hibernans, and the impression could be affected by feather wear as I would think they look at their most striking in summer before they moult.

The rest of the patch produced nothing better than the continuing presence of the drake Teal on the flash field.

Insects were putting on a good show too. Newly emerged dragonflies included Four-spotted Chaser, and Broad-bodied Chaser, while new butterflies included Large Skipper, Brown Argus, and Common Blue.

Four-spotted Chaser

Broad-bodied Chaser

Brown Argus

Common Blue

Large Skipper

The conditions became more overcast towards midday which was good insofar as the butterflies were easy to get close to, but not so good in that they tended to settle with wings closed.

Finally, no trip to Morton Bagot would be complete without a mystery insect. In this case a stack of small beetles is presented without a name. My guess is that they may be an early instar, and that the adult beetles may be easier to identify.

Nymphs of European Chinchbug Ischnodemus sabuleti

I will add a caption if I find out what species they are. - And sure enough thanks the Tristan Bantock I now know they are the nymphs of a bug, not a beetle. The Internet is fantastic for giving answers to seemingly unfathomable questions.

Garden moths after a windy 24 hours

Two nights ago conditions were perfect for mothing, but as I try not to put the trap out on consecutive nights I relied on opening the bathroom window. More of that later.

Yesterday it was blowing a gale, and although it eased a bit overnight, I wasn't massively optimistic when I examined the trap this morning.

Sure enough it contained fewer moths than my last two efforts and almost no flies. No micros, no Pugs, clearly it was a night for the tougher, harder moths. Indeed the first egg box I looked in revealed a very hard moth, but only in the sense it was dull as ditchwater to look at, and I didn't know what it was. A good sign.

After combing my way through the pages noctuids in my moth guide I came up with the answer. A Mottled Rustic.

Mottled Rustic

Further research revealed that it was described as common (even abundant in one reference), so why has it taken me two years of regular trapping to see one? A possible answer came in the latest UK Moth Atlas which describes it as much reduced in abundance. Also, a "Flying Tonight" blog (for Hampshire) has it well down the list of commonest moths being caught at the moment, although this could simply be a reflection of it being at the start of its flight period.

I did catch a couple of pretty moths last night; White Ermine, and Buff Ermine. The latter I seem to catch every year, but the former not since 2018.

White Ermine

Buff Ermine

The full list is as follows:

Buff Ermine 1 (nfy)
White Ermine 1 (nfy)
Treble Lines 1
Mottled Rustic 1 (nfg)
Flame Shoulder 1
Heart and Dart 7
Shuttle-shaped Dart 1

I also found a very spectacular beetle, one which I remember seeing regularly in my student days in Swansea as they buzzed around the Hall of Residence at Clyne Castle, Swansea, most ending up splattered by bloodthirsty, and slightly terrified, fellow students. A Cockchafer.

Cockchafer

If it had made it through the bathroom window the night before, there may have been screams (and that's just me).

Instead two very smart moths turned up; a Spectacle and a Flame Carpet. both were new for the year, but seem to be annual here.

Spectacle

Flame Carpet

The only bird worth reporting was a Great Spotted Woodpecker heard calling this morning, although it may be worth mentioning that there seems to be only one pair of Swifts flying around the district this year.

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.

A micro in the bathroom and a trip to the Pits

Last night was warm, and if I hadn't been trapping the night before I would have been mothing. Instead I relied on the traditional method of leaving the bathroom window open, and this produced a single tiny moth which I potted for examination.

Caloptilia cuculipennella

The Twitter moth expert came up with the same name, but advised that identification could not be certain on the basis of the photo. I agree with that, so it will be one for Nigel (Warks Moth Recorder) to sort out in due course.

Due course has arrived (02/10/2020) and it was indeed C cuculipennella, and more to the point was a fifth for Warwickshire. Apparently they are generally understood to emerge later in the year, so this record is evidence of a little known early generation.

This morning I fancied a change of scene and went to one of Neil's patches, which he refers to as The Pits. It used to be an enormous working gravel pit, which on my first visit, in 1998, I christened Salford Priors Gravel Pit. Now it's mostly reclaimed farmland, and the Pit part is much nearer Dunnington.

The water level was too high to leave much exposed gravel, so I only really saw a few common ducks, Little Grebes, and gallinules. A single Gadwall was the most noteworthy waterfowl species I could find.

Gadwall

Plenty of Reed Warblers were singing from phragmites around the edge of the pool, and these had attracted at least two, probably three, Cuckoos, including a calling female. Sadly, none posed for me. Instead I managed to get a shot of a newly emerged Black-tailed Skimmer before I headed home.

Black-tailed Skimmer

A rainy night of garden mothing

Last night the temperature fell to no lower than 12 degrees, and it drizzled for the first couple of hours, so I was hopeful of a substantial catch.

I was therefore slightly underwhelmed by a count of 14 moths of 10 species. None was new for the garden (perhaps I have been spoilt over the last two years), but there were some nice ones.

Two Pale Tussocks caught in the act

Codling Moth - the first of many no doubt

Seraphim

Buff-tip

Vine's Rustic

Brown House Moth

The Pale Tussocks are resting in an embrace following a night of passion (I like to think). This is the second time I have found this species in such a situation, so I am guessing this is not unusual.

Technically the Brown House Moth was not attracted to the trap as it fluttered from the front door when I was putting the bins out. I had also seen one a few days ago when one flew to the trap in the middle of the afternoon when it was obviously not switched on. Somewhat ironic.

I was slightly surprised to discover that I hadn't caught a Buff-tip last year, so this was the first since 2018. Meanwhile the Seraphim was only the second I have trapped, but the first was in 2019.

The full list was:

Brown House Moth 1
Ruddy Streak 1
Codling Moth 1 (nfy)
Common Marbled Carpet 2
Seraphim 1 (nfy)
Pale Tussock 2
Buff-tip 1 (nfy)
Flame Shoulder 1
Vine's Rustic 2 (nfy)
Shuttle-shaped Dart 2

Maybe the rain was too persistent, but its not a bad haul.

A couple of caddis-flies were resting in the trap. I photographed one to see if it can be identified.

Athripsodes aterrimus

If I find out what it is I'll add a caption. There you go. I'm fairly confident it's right. I also caught a Glyphotaelius pellucidus caddis-fly (same species as seen at Morton Bagot on Sunday).

Sunday May 17

For the first time in two months Dave joined me for a stroll around the patch, socially distanced of course.

The sun shone for most of the time, and the temperature was warm enough to encourage songbirds to sing and insects to fly. So although the birds on offer were similar to last time, I felt a whole lot better. The new normal is very similar to the old normal here at Morton Bagot.

After quickly ticking off Swallow and House Martin for the patch year-list, we invested considerable time trying to see one of the three singing Reed Warblers and six singing Sedge Warblers which were largely hiding from view.

Sedge Warbler

Reed Warbler

Two male Tufted Ducks lurked on the Netherstead Hall moat, and the flash field served up a pair of Little Ringed Plovers and three Teal. Not a sniff of a passage migrant.

Happily the local damselflies are now emerging in numbers. Commonest were the Beautiful Demoiselles, but not too far behind were Large Red Damselflies, one of which persistently landed on my bald pate, much to Dave's amusement. We also recorded one or two Azure Damselflies, and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

Blue-tailed Damselfly

Large Red Damselfly

Azure Damselfly

Lepidoptera were less well represented, but we saw a dozen or so Small Heaths, and single figure counts of Small Tortoiseshell, peacock, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Speckled Wood, and Brimstone, plus the first Cinnabar Moth of the spring.

Cinnabar

All the usual mammals were seen including a Muntjac which spent ages feeding away without any idea we were watching. It pays to be downwind.

Muntjac munching

No visit would be complete without a mysterious insect to ponder. Today's was some kind of caddis-fly I think.

Glyphotaelius pellucidus

Research is underway. It turned out to be easy to identify as a male Glyphotaelius pellucidus, quite a common and widespread spring emerging caddis-fly, but new to me nonetheless.