Return to Sightings Archive Index
This is an archive of the UTB moth sightings for the June to December
2004.
Photographs have
been removed to save space on the website.
November
& December 2004
The final list of moths for 2004 received from
Peter Hall:
BALLINGER COMMON – 20/10/04
Setaceous Hebrew Character: Spruce Carpet: Feathered Thorn:
Yellow-line quaker: Brick: Barred Sallow: Lunar Underwing: Chestnut: Figure of Eight: Beaded Chestnut: Red-line
Quaker: Blair's Shoulder-knot: Epiphyas postvittana: November Moth: Vapourer: Pale November
BALLINGER COMMON – 26/10/04
Emmelina monodactyla; Blastobasis decolorella
BALLINGER COMMON – 29/10/04
Feathered Thorn: Red-green Carpet: Barred Sallow: Mottled Umber:
Chestnut: Spruce Carpet: Sprawler:
Yellow-line quaker: Brick: December Moth:
Large Yellow Underwing: Acleris hastiana
BALLINGER COMMON – 02/11/04
Mottled Umber
BALLINGER COMMON – 08/11/04
Yellow-line quaker: Red-line Quaker: Chestnut: Feathered Thorn:
Sprawler: Acleris hastiana: Mottled Umber
BALLINGER COMMON – 04/12/04
Winter
BALLINGER COMMON – 20/12/04
Mottled Umber
BALLINGER COMMON – 23/12/04
Mottled Umber; Winter
BALLINGER COMMON – 26/12/04
Mompha subbistrigella
30/12/04 – Alistair Driver set his Robinson trap in Sonning on the 30th Dec and caught a Hebrew Character in good condition. He says “I note that they're on the wing in March/April - is it unusual for adults to be out in December?”
06/12/04 - Ched George reports that he was surprised to record a very early Pale Brindled Beauty male at his garden MV in Radnage last night 5/12.
06/12/04 – Alastair Driver found a late-ish Feathered Thorn in his garden at Sonning today, but hasn’t done any trapping lately due to poor weather.
October
2004
30/10/04 – This interesting report received from Mark Calway:
I notice the absence of Convolvulus Hawk Moth on the UTB Species
List. I know this was recorded in Berkshire and that it successfully bred in
Berkshire in the wild.
19/10/04 - Peter Hall
recorded November moth in his
Ballinger garden on the 18th.
12/10/04 – Dave Maunder’s weekly moth list from
Aylesbury for 3rd-9th October as follows:-
Vapourer(1,
on 3rd), Large ranunculus(1), Lunar u/wings(3), Angle Shades(1), Lg. yellow
u/wing(1), Emmelina monodactyla(3), and Common marbled carpet(1).
12/10/04 – Records from Pete Hall’s Ballinger
garden last night:
Common Marbled Carpet; Large Yellow Underwing; Setaceous Hebrew
Character; Blair's Shoulder-knot; Brick;
Yellow-line quaker; Beaded Chestnut; Lunar Underwing; Barred Sallow; Sallow;
Pale Mottled Willow and one micro:
Emmelina monodactyla
08/10/04 – Moths seen around Aylesbury by Dave Maunder from
26th-2nd October:-
Vapourer(1),
Emmelina monodactyla(6), Lunar u/wings(7), Yellow shell(1), Small dusty wave(1),
Large ranunculus(7), Black rustic(1), and Lsr. yellow u/wing(1).
03/10/04 – Jan Haseler, Tilehurst, recorded these
new moths for her garden on 2/10:
Beaded Chestnut, Red-green Carpet, Yellow-line Quaker, Red-line Quaker, Pink-barred Sallow,
Brindled Green
And on 24/9: Blair's Shoulder knot
September
2004
29/09/05 – Keith Mitchell said he had another relatively poor
weekend for the Skinner Trap, 23rd & 24th Sept: However, one new one for
the UTB list:
Beaded Chestnut (8);
Black Rustic (2); Blair’s Shoulder-knot (2); Burnished Brass; Common Wainscot
(7); Copper Underwing; Large Yellow Underwing (2); Lesser Yellow Underwing (1);
Lunar Underwing (31); Rosy Rustic; Sallow; Setaceous Hebrew Character (13);
Silver ‘Y’; Square-spot Rustic
29/09/04
- Pat Morris sent this report in for SU874940
15/09/04 Small Dusty Wave
14/09/04 & 28/09/04 Lunar Underwing
29/09/04 Hummingbird Hawk moth
28/09/05 - Colleen & Tim Watts are still seeing Hummingbird Hawk moths in their garden in Whitchurch on 24th, 26th and 27th September. Also on 27/9/04 a Red Underwing seen at rest on a roadside post in Thame.
28/09/05 – Dave Maunder’s moth sightings from 19th - 25th in
Aylesbury were: Vapourer(1), Silver
y(1), Garden carpet(1), Red-green carpet(1), Small dusty wave(1),
Double-striped pug(1), Brimstone(1), Snout moth(1), Large ranunculus(4), Lunar
u/wings(3), Lsr. yellow u/wing(1), Angle shades(1), Common wainscot 1), a Puss
moth pupa (in cocoon on a wall in Fairford leys - near Sallow shrubs), and a
Broad-bordered yellow u/wing at Halton canal.
25/09/05 – Alastair Driver says he took the weatherman's suggestion of a dry night seriously last night and set the Robinson trap at Ali's Pond LNR, Sonning. No new species for the site, but 66 moths of 8 species altogether, namely: Lunar Underwing (40!), Large Yellow Underwing (12) Black Rustic (5), Setaceous Hebrew Character (4), Lesser Yellow Underwing (2) and singles of Common Marbled Carpet, Angle Shades and Orange Sallow.
23/09/05 – Peter Hall says he
found Cameraria ohridella leaf miners in
Horse Chestnut today in Maidenhead.
23/09/05 Keith Mitchell reports from Stoke
Goldington: “Autumn is well and truly under way with my first Blair's
Shoulder Knot of the season at the front door lights.
22/09/05
– Peter Hall recorded the following in his Ballinger garden moth trap: Dusky Thorn; Large Yellow Underwing; Setaceous Hebrew Character;
Common Wainscot; Deep-brown Dart; Black Rustic; Blair's
Shoulder-knot; Large Ranunculus; Lunar Underwing; Barred Sallow; Copper
Underwing; Silver Y; Snout. Micros:
Acleris variegana (Garden Rose Tortrix); Nomophila noctuella (Rush Veneer)
22/09/04 - Keith Mitchell says he didn’t have a brilliant night on Friday 17th: ”Only Black Rustic, Frosted Orange and Blood-vein of note, but a slightly small, very pale Orange Sallow has just flown through the open kitchen window (who needs expensive traps!). I believe this is a two-year first for UTB.”
22/09/04 – The following is Dave Maunder's list of moths from
12th-18th September: Lg. yellow u/wings(2), Small square-spot(1), Square-spot
rustic(1), Lunar u/wing(1), Silver y(1), Common wainscot(1), and Angle
shades(1). “Numbers of moths seen are diminishing now, obviously, with the
weather turning less favourable.”
19/09/04 Tim & Colleen Watts report a Hummingbird Hawk moth in their garden in Whitchurch most days this week including today. Mostly feeding on honeysuckle.
17/09/04 – David Redhead ran a moth trap again last night with a much reduced catch but two new species, Black Rustic & Lunar Underwing, for his 2004 list. Full macro-moth catch: Large Yellow Underwing (6), Vine's Rustic (6), Black Rustic (4), Setaceous Hebrew Character (3) and singletons of Centre-barred Sallow, Copper Underwing, Dusky Thorn, Frosted Orange, Lunar Underwing, Pine Carpet, Square-spot Rustic, Snout & Turnip moth which equals 13 species and 28 moths.
Peter Hall’s Ballinger garden - 16/09/04 - Garden Carpet;
Common Marbled Carpet; Brimstone Moth; Dusky Thorn; Turnip; Large Yellow
Underwing; Lesser Yellow Underwing; Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing; Setaceous
Hebrew Character; Square-spot Rustic; Smoky Wainscot; Deep-brown Dart; Black
Rustic; Chestnut; Brown-spot Pinion; Lunar Underwing; Copper Underwing; Svensson's Copper
Underwing; Angle Shades; Vine's Rustic; Pale Mottled Willow; Silver Y
micros: Acleris
variegana
Eddie Napper sent this report on 16/09/04: “Using an
actinic lamp last night, the only thing of any note was a Barred Sallow.
However, I think this is an addition to the list - Beaded
Chestnut on 14/09/04. Also a Herald trapped in Wokingham on
10/09/04. This was a first for my garden. This is the first year that I have
used a trap and I find that combined with a digital camera anything I can’t
identify immediately can usually be solved within a week. It’s like having a
digital fridge!”
15th
September 2004
Dave Maunder’s list of moths seen in Aylesbury from 5th
-11th September: Red underwing(1), Lg. yellow u/wing(1), Lsr. yellow
u/wing(1), Dusky thorns(2), blood-vein(1), Double-striped pug(1), Garden
carpets(2), Silver y moths(2), Dot moth larva(1), Sycamore moth larva(1),
Chinese character(1), Marbled beauties(3), Vapourer(1), Angle shades(1), Orange
swift(1), and Common wainscot(1).
Keith Mitchell reports on Friday 10th: “A blustery night on Friday (10th) produced only 11 spp, including Burnished Brass, Frosted Orange, Snout, Black Rustic (2) and Large Wainscot. At the front door lights on Sunday morning, 12th, was a Lunar Underwing.”
Jan Haseler reports the following new moths for
her garden in Tilehurst on 11/09/04: Barred
sallow, black rustic, large ranunculus, lunar underwing. “We have a
lot of flowering ivy in the garden at the moment, which seems to be good for
moths.”
Peter Hall’s overnight moth trap in his garden in
Ballinger Common on 09/09/04 produced this list, including 6 new species for
the UTB 2004 list:
Angle Shades; Black Rustic;
Bloodvein; Brimstone Moth; Brindled Green; Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing; Burnished
Brass; Centre-barred Sallow; Common Marbled Carpet; Copper Underwing; Dusky
Thorn; Flame; Flame Carpet; Flame Shoulder; Frosted Orange; Green Carpet; Grey
Pine Carpet; Hedge Rustic; Large Ranunculus; Large Yellow Underwing;
Lesser Yellow Underwing; Lunar Underwing;
Mouse; Pale Mottled Willow; Red-green Carpet; Rosy Rustic; Setaceous Hebrew
Character; Silver Y; Small Square-spot; Smoky Wainscot; Snout; Square-spot
Rustic; Straw Dot; Turnip; Vine's Rustic; and
these micros: Acleris variegana (Garden Rose Tortrix);
Agonopterix arenella; Blastobasis lignea; Epinotia
nisella; Epiphyas postvittana (Light
Brown Apple); Galleria mellonella (Wax); Hypsopygia costalis (Gold
Triangle); Ypsolopha dentella (Honeysuckle); Ypsolopha parenthesella
10th
September 2004
David Redhead ran another garden moth trap last
night, 10th, with 92 macro moths of 22 species, two
of which are new for the UTB 2004 list
Large Yellow Underwing (36), Centre-barred Sallow (9), Lesser Yellow Underwing
(9), Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (6), Setaceous Hebrew Character (5),
Square-spot Rustic (4), Rosy Rustic (3), 2 each of Copper Underwing, Smoky
Wainscot, Snout, Turnip Moth & Vine's Rustic, and singletons of
Canary-shouldered Thorn, Common Wainscot, Dusky Thorn, Frosted Orange, Large Wainscot, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow
Underwing, Mouse moth, Red Underwing, The Sallow
and Willow Beauty.
Derek Brown saw a
Hummingbird Hawk Moth this evening (10th/ Sept): “It was trying to
get into our conservatory after the Petunias. I didn't realise they were still
around at this time of year.”
Eddie Napper trapped this moth overnight on
08/09/04, which could be the Common Marbled Carpet or Dark Marbled Carpet.
These 2 moths are distinguished from their underside markings. Click
photo for a larger image:
On 8th September John Taft spotted a Hummingbird Hawk Moth feeding on a white phlox at 18.30hrs in Cookham Dean, Berks.
On 6th September Chris Harris, who lives in Horsham,
West Sussex found 2 caterpillars in the garden: “Having done some research on them
on the web this evening, I think they must be the caterpillar of the Elephant
Hawk Moth... would you agree? Needless to say, I have not disturbed them too
much, and so they are safe and well. Sorry to email you with this, but your
web-site was one of the first I came across.”
[Yes, definitely an Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillar – click on Chris’s photo
below for a larger image.]
6th September . Report from David Redhead. “Overnight moth trap in my garden
produced 125 macro-moths from 25 species as follows : Large Yellow Underwing
(52), Square-spot Rustic (15), Setaceous Hebrew Character (12), Centre-barred
Sallow (8), Snout (5), Lesser Yellow Underwing (3) and two each of Burnished
Brass, Common Wainscot, Copper Underwing, Dusky Thorn, Green Carpet, Lesser
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Silver-Y, Turnip & Vine's Rustic, and one
each of Angle Shades, Common Marbled Carpet, Flounced Rustic, Old Lady, Pale
Mottled Willow, Pine Carpet, Red Underwing,
Rosy Rustic, Smoky Wainscot & Willow Beauty. The Pine Carpet is new for my
2004 list and the UTB list.”
On a short walk around Grangelands on Sunday 5th, Dave Maunder
noted the following moths: Vapourer moths(2), Treble-bar moths(2),
Pyrausta purpuralis(1), and Pyrausta aurata(1).
New for Jan Haseler’s Tilehurst garden last
night, 4/9, were: Centre-barred Sallow, Chinese Character, Old Lady
and Toadflax Pug
On Friday night 3rd September, Keith Mitchell’s trap numbers
were down on recent times, but garden firsts: Red Underwing, Dusky Thorn and
Brindled Green provided some entertainment. The Brindled Green is also a UTB
2004 first. Full list as follows: Brindled
Green; Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (2); Centre-barred Sallow
(2); Common Wainscot (15); Dusky Thorn; Flounced Rustic (9); Large Yellow
Underwing (15); Lesser Yellow Underwing (6); Red Underwing; Rosy Rustic;
Setaceous Hebrew Character (9); Small Square-spot; Smoky Wainscot; Square-spot
Rustic (20); Uncertain (2)
David Redhead’s overnight trap in his garden on 3rd/4th September produced the following - Large Yellow Underwing (23), Square-spot Rustic (14), Common Wainscot (6), Setaceous Hebrew Character (5), Mother of Pearl (3), Snout (3), Burnished Brass (2), Centre-barred Sallow (2), Lesser Yellow Underwing (2), Rosy Rustic (2), Turnip (2) and singletons of Bloodvein, Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Copper Underwing, Least Yellow Underwing, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Red-green Carpet, Silver Y, Svensson's Copper Underwing, Vine's Rustic and Willow Beauty = 21 species, 74 moths. The Bloodvein was pristine - 3rd generation? The Centre-barred Sallow and Red-green Carpet were new for my trap this year but no additions for the UTB list.
6th
September 2004
Dave Maunder reports seeing his first Bucks Hummingbird hawk moth
in Aylesbury on 4th September - it was flying around a building,
settling in window frames as though possibly looking for hibernation quarters.
Other moths seen since last Tuesday are Blood-vein(1), Square-spot rustics(4),
Flounced rustics(2), Brimstone moths(3), Yellow shell(1), Garden
carpet(1), Gold triangle(1), Common wainscots(2), Marbled beauty(1), and Angle
shades(1).
Alastair Driver sent in this report on 4th September: “I rekindled the moth trap at Ali's
Pond LNR last night and had a good night with over 200 macro-moths of 22
species. Nothing new for the UTBC year list unless a Pine Carpet/Grey Pine
Carpet turns out to be the former - if I can get it to open its wings for
more than a millisecond I'll send Peter a photo for id! New for the parish
though was Feathered Gothic, which I find surprising because when I was
a kid treacling in the Cotswolds in the 60s it was very common.”
[The Pine Carpet/Grey Pine Carpet has been identified as the latter.]
3rd September - Tim and Colleen Watts saw a Hummingbird Hawk moth feeding on honeysuckle for the last 3 days in their garden in Whitchurch and a Red Underwing at the Calvert reserve last week and another seen at Grendon Underwood churchyard.
Keith Mitchell’s wine ropes produced a garden first on 2nd September: Old
Lady, at 21:30.
A few more moth sightings from Dave Maunder in Aylesbury during the
last week of August, with the Small Mottled Willow bringing the UTB
Species Count to 450 for the year:- Smoky wainscot(1), Small dusty
waves(3), Square-spot rustics(3), Silver y(1), Many plume(1), Brimstone
moths(4), Common wainscots(4), Orange swifts(6), Flounced rustics(5), Red
underwing(1), Yellow shells(3), Lg. yellow u/wing(1), Marbled beauties(3),
Willow beauty(1), Vapourers(2), Feathered gothic(1), Garden carpet(1), Small mottled willow(1).
31st
August 2004
Keith Mitchell says: “Not
a brilliant weekend, but here are the records from Fri (27th) and
Sat (28th) night. Only the Feathered Gothic is new for UTB this
year:”
Angle Shades; Common Wainscot (34); Centre-barred Sallow
(3); Emmelina monodactyla; Feathered Gothic (2);
Flounced Rustic (32); Garden Pebble; Large Yellow Underwing (38); Lesser Yellow
Underwing (4); Pale Eggar; Pale Mottled Willow; Orange Swift; Setaceous Hebrew
Character(41); Silver ‘Y’; Shuttle-shaped Dart; Six-striped Rustic; Small
Square-spot; Smoky Wainscot; Square-spot Rustic (64); Straw Dot (4); Svensson's
Copper Underwing; Vine's Rustic (2)
The following 3 reports were received from David Redhead:
28th August – “A fairly low number of moths last night presumably due to low overnight temperatures. Only 45 macro-moths from 17 species but another new one for my 2004 list & the UTB list - Frosted Orange.”
David’s overnight (Thu 26th/Fri 27th) garden moth trap was again blighted by rain and produced a relatively poor total of 90 moths. But the Crescent was a new moth for his 2004 list and the UTB list.
David ran an overnight moth trap in his garden Sunday 22nd/Monday
23rd:
“In spite of turning the trap on late and the overnight rain it still
produced 161 macro-moths as follows: Large Yellow Underwing (71), Vine's Rustic
(14), Setaceous Hebrew Character (10), Common Wainscot (6), Least Yellow
Underwing (5), Swallow Prominent (5), Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (4),
Common/Lesser Common Rustic (4), Rosy Rustic (4), Silver Y (4), Six-striped
Rustic (4), Angle Shades (3), Burnished Brass (3), Dusky Thorn (3), Lesser
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (3), Uncertain/Rustic (3), Flounced Rustic (2),
Olive (2), Svensson's Copper Underwing (2) and singletons
of Bright-line Brown-eye, Bulrush Wainscot female (they are quite
different from male which rarely comes to light), Copper Underwing, Green
Carpet, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Snout, Spectacle, Square-spot Rustic &
Straw Dot. Five of these were new for my 2004 list, but no new additions to the
UTB list.”
24th
August 2004
Moths recorded by Dave Maunder since 18th August were:- Yellow shells(2), Small
dusty wave, Marbled beauties(3), Bulrush wainscot, Smoky wainscot, Common
wainscot, Lg. yellow u/wings(6), Orange swifts(11), Garden carpets(2), Flounced
rustic, Vapourer, Brimstone moth, Straw u/wing, Emmelina monodactyla, and a single
Buff-tip larva.
Keith Mitchell’s Skinner Trap at the weekend (20th and 21st)
produced the following results:-
Angle Shades; Brimstone; Burnished Brass; Canary-shouldered
Thorn; Centre-barred Sallow; Common
Carpet; Common Rustic (5); Common Wainscot (20); Flame Shoulder; Flounced
Rustic (53); Garden Pebble (2); Green Carpet; Large Yellow Underwing (27);
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (6); Lesser Yellow Underwing (3);
Lime-speck Pug; Orange Swift; Mother of Pearl; Purple Bar; Pyrausta aurata; Setaceous
Hebrew Character (45); Shuttle-shaped Dart (2); Silver 'Y' (2); Six-striped
Rustic (6); Small Waved Umber; Snout; The Spectacle; Square-spot Rustic (23);
Turnip; Vine's Rustic (9). Also the front door
lights did their thing again on Sunday night, pulling in an
obliging Pale Eggar, which
stayed throughout Monday. Photos below are of the Centre-barred Sallow
(left) and Pale Eggar:
Peter Hall’s overnight moth trap from his garden in
Ballinger Common on 22/08/04:-
Oak Hook-tip; Flame Carpet; Yellow Shell; Small Phoenix;
Lime-speck Pug; Tawny Speckled Pug; Brimstone Moth; Dusky Thorn; Willow Beauty;
Flame Shoulder; Large Yellow Underwing; Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing; Lesser
Broad-border; Setaceous Hebrew Character; Six-striped Rustic; Square-spot Rustic;
Common Wainscot; Copper Underwing; Svensson's Copper Underwing; Angle Shades;
Common Rustic; Flounced Rustic; Vine's Rustic; Burnished Brass; Silver Y; Straw
Dot. Micros:- Acleris variegana
(Garden Rose Tortrix); Agriphila straminella; Agriphila tristella; Agriphila
geniculea; Acentria ephemerella (Water Veneer); Pleuroptya ruralis (Mother of
Pearl); Hofmannophila pseudospretella (Brown House); Blastobasis lignea;
Pandemis corylana (Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix)
Jan Haseler reports the following for 14th
August, which are new for her garden in Tilehurst:
Garden Pebble, Square-spot Rustic, Straw Dot, Swallow Prominent, Tawny Speckled Pug and Turnip Moth.
22nd
August 2004
Keith Mitchell sent this report in on 19th August: “Wine ropes seem to do best at this time of year. In the hour after dusk tonight despite far from ideal conditions I had - Copper Underwing (garden first), Angle Shades (2), Square-spot Rustic (4), Common Wainscot (5).”
19th
August 2004
Martin Albertini and Peter Hall were very excited to record Eublemma purpurina on 17th August at Ellesboro'. Peter says: “This is a very rare migrant and we think it is about the 5th UK record.” Click here to see a photo of this stunning moth ..
A Skinner Trap in Keith Mitchell’s Stoke
Goldington garden on 13-14 August produced 92 larger moths of 26 spp. including a UTB year first, Square-spot Rustic, plus garden firsts:
Lychnis, Rosy Rustic, Six-striped Rustic(8), and Vine's Rustic. The front door
lights continue to pull good moths, however, with Purple Bar (2004 UTB first)
on 15th and Bordered Beauty (UTB first 2003/04) on 17th. (photo below).
The following is a
list of moth species that Dave Maunder has recorded in and around Aylesbury
during 11th –17th August: Angle shades; Brimstone; Cloaked Minor; Common Rustic;
Double-Striped Pug; Dusky Sallow; Dusky Thorn; Flounced Rustic; Garden Carpet;
Gold Triangle; Marbled Beauty; Orange Swift; Riband Wave; Ruby Tiger; Silver Y;
Square-spot Rustic (seen on 13th);
Straw Dot; Straw Underwing; Vapourer; Willow Beauty.
18th
August 2004
David Redhead reports as follows: “My moth trap last night, 15th August, was inundated with Yellow Underwings - 53 Large, 33 Lesser Broad-bordered and 23 Least but no Lesser or Broad-bordered. Among the other 29 species of macro-moth there were 4 new species for my 2004 list and 2 for the UTB - Canary-shouldered Thorn and Flounced Rustic."
On 14th August David Redhead went to NT's Boarstall Duck Decoy and found a Red Underwing on the information hut wall.
14th
August 2004
This report was sent in by David Redhead yesterday, 13th August: “Last night's moth trap in my garden produced 91 macro-moths from 29 species. However, by far the most numerous was the large micro-moth, Mother of Pearl with an estimated 65 (they are extremely volatile). I had nine new species to add to my 2004 list and four new to the UTB list - Copper Underwing (underwings carefully examined to ensure it was not a Svensson's Copper Underwing), Rosy Rustic, Six-striped Rustic and September Thorn. Interestingly the September Thorn is on the wing before the August Thorn - which illogical person named these things? Again I had a Poplar Hawkmoth - since the first appeared on May 10th I have had at least one in all my 19 moth traps bar two. The total for this species is now 38 with a maximum of five.”
Paul Bowyer found a single Double Striped Pug in his kitchen in
Flackwell Heath yesterday, 13th.
An out-of-area report received from Colin Farmer, Scunthorpe, N Lincs. He spotted a Hummingbird Hawk Moth in his daughter’s garden feeding off Bizzy Lizzys Tuesday 10th August, early evening. “I haven’t seen one before, so thought I would like to tell someone who should know.”
11th
August 2004
Dave Wilton saw a Hummingbird
Hawk Moth feeding from Phlox in his garden near Wotton on Monday 9th
August.
On a warm evening, Saturday 7th August, the
Wycombe Wildlife Group met for a moth trapping evening in the Deeds Grove area
of Wycombe, led by Paul Bowyer. Two traps were run in neighbouring
gardens. The species identified in the first were as follows:
Phlyctaenia coronata, Pyrausta purpuralis, Mother of Pearl, Small Magpie,
Orange Swift, Yellow Shell, Lime Speck Pug, Red Twin Spot Carpet, Common
Carpet, Flame Shoulder, Pine Hawk Moth, Brimstone, Willow Beauty, Pebble Hook
Tip, Marbled Beauty, Scalloped Oak, Small Waved Umber, The Dot, Dunbar, Nut
Tree Tussock, Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Large
Yellow Underwing, Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing, Dusky Sallow and Silver Y. The second trap recorded 12 species, 5 of which were
different from its neighbouring moth trap: Black Arches; Riband Wave; Straw Dot; Chinese Character; Lesser
Swallow Prominent
Here is Peter Hall’s list of moths, recorded in the
overnight trap in his Ballinger garden on 31/07/04:
Barred Hook-tip; Black Arches; Brimstone Moth; Broad-bordered
Yellow Underwing; Brown-line Bright-eye; Buff Footman; Buff-tip; Clay; Cloaked
Minor; Clouded Border; Common Carpet; Common Footman; Common Rustic; Common
Wave; Dark Arches; Dingy Footman; Double Square-spot; Double-striped Pug;
Dun-bar; Early Thorn; Elephant Hawk; Fan-foot; Flame Shoulder; July Highflyer;
Large Yellow Underwing; Least Yellow Underwing; Lesser Broad-border; Lesser
Yellow Underwing; Lime-speck Pug; Marbled Beauty; Mouse; Nut-tree Tussock; Oak
Hook-tip; Peppered; Phoenix; Red Twin-spot Carpet; Riband Wave; Ruby Tiger;
Rustic; Scalloped Oak; Scarce Footman; Scarce Silver-lines; Shaded Broad-bar;
Single-dotted Wave; Small Fan-footed Wave; Small Phoenix; Small Rivulet; Small
Scallop; Smoky Wainscot; Snout; Spectacle; Straw Dot; Straw Underwing; Svensson's
Copper Underwing; Tawny-barred Angle; V-Pug; Waved Black; Willow Beauty; Yellow
Shell; Yellow-barred Brindle; Yellow-tail
and these Micros
Acentria ephemerella; Acleris forsskaleana; Acleris laterana;
Acleris variegana; Agapeta zoegana; Agriphila geniculea; Agriphila straminella;
Agriphila tristella; Alucita hexadactyla; Ancylis
badiana; Archips podana; Blastobasis lignea; Carcina
quercana; Catoptria falsella; Celypha lacunana; Conobathra repandana; Crambus
perlella; Cydia pomonella; Endotricha flammealis; Epiblema uddmanniana;
Eurrhypara hortulata; Euzophera pinguis;
Gypsonoma dealbana; Hypsopygia costalis; Morophaga choragella; Pandemis
corylana; Pandemis heparana; Phlyctaenia coronata; Pleuroptya ruralis;
Pseudargyrotoza conwagana; Ptycholomoides aeriferanus; Pyrausta aurata;
Rhopobota naevana; Spilonota ocellana; Tinea
trinotella; Trachycera advenella; Udea prunalis; Yponomeuta
evonymella
Peter also recorded the following at The Lee – Home
Farm:
Dingy Footman; Lime-speck Pug; Riband Wave; Shaded Broad-bar and these micros: Agapeta hamana; Agriphila
straminella
10th
August 2004
David Redhead reports a Double Kidney caught in his last overnight moth trap on 30/31 July along with another 45 species. He had his highest number of moths to date at 230 although 85 of them were Mother of Pearl.
5th
August 2004
New for Jan Haseler’s Tilehurst garden last
night, 4th August, were:
Broad-bordered yellow underwing, cloaked minor, common carpet, common rustic, dark-barred twin-spot carpet, dusky thorn, knot grass, lesser broad-bordered
yellow underwing, lesser swallow prominent, marbled
beauty, orange swift, treble bar.
Dave Maunder sent
in the following list of moths seen in the Aylesbury area over the last 2 weeks:
Bee Moth ; Brimstone Moth ;
Cabbage Moth ; Chinese Character ; Common Carpet; Common Rustics; Common
Wainscot; Dingy Footman ; Dun-Bar ; Flame Shoulder ; Garden Carpet ; Garden
Pebble ; Ghost Swift ; Gold Spot ; Large
Yellow U/Wing ; Leopard Moth ; Lesser Yellow U/Wings; Magpie Moth ; Many Plume
Moth ; Marbled Beauties(4) ; Meal Moth ; Mother Of Pearl(20+); Old Lady Moth;;
Orange Swift ; Pale Prominent ; Perinephela
Lancealis ; Pyrausta Purpuralis; Riband Wave; Scalloped Oak;;
Scorched Carpet ; Single-Dotted Wave; Six-Spot Burnets; Small Fan-Footed Wave;
Willow Beauty ; Small Magpie ; Small Scallop ; Smoky Wainscot; Swallow
Prominent ; Sycamore Moth; Vapourer ; White Plume; Willow Beauty ; Yellow
Shell; Yellow Tail Moth.
3rd
August 2004
Peter Hall recorded this huge list of moths in his
Ballinger garden on 26/07/04. 19 species are new to the UTB Species list this
year:
Barred Hook-tip; Black Arches; Bloodvein; Bright-line Brown-eye;
Brimstone Moth; Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing; Brown-line Bright-eye; Buff
Arches; Buff Footman; Buff-tip; Cabbage;
Campion; Chinese Character; Clay; Clay Triple-lines; Cloaked Minor; Clouded
Border; Common Footman; Common Rustic; Common White Wave; Coxcomb Prominent;
Dark Arches; Dark Umber; Dingy Footman; Dot; Double Square-spot; Double-striped
Pug; Drinker; Dun-bar; Early Thorn; Elephant Hawk; Fern; Flame; Flame Carpet;
Flame Shoulder; Garden Carpet; Green Pug; Grey Dagger; Heart & Dart; July
Highflyer; Large Yellow Underwing; Least Yellow Underwing; Leopard; Lesser
Broad-border; Lesser Swallow Prominent; Lesser Yellow Underwing; Light Arches;
Light Emerald; Lime-speck Pug; Lunar-spotted Pinion; Magpie; Mottled Beauty;
Nut-tree Tussock; Oak Hook-tip; Pale Mottled Willow; Pale Prominent; Pebble
Hook-tip; Pebble Prominent; Peppered; Phoenix; Poplar Hawk; Red Twin-spot
Carpet; Riband Wave; Ruby Tiger; Rustic; Satin
Beauty; Scalloped Oak; Scarce Footman; Scarce
Silver-lines; Shaded Broad-bar; Shuttle-shaped Dart; Single-dotted
Wave; Slender Brindle; Small Emerald; Small Fan-footed Wave; Small Phoenix;
Small Rivulet; Smoky Wainscot; Snout; Spectacle; Straw Dot; Straw Underwing;
Svensson's Copper Underwing; Swallow-tailed; Sycamore; Turnip; Uncertain;
V-Pug; Waved Black; Willow Beauty;
Yellow Shell; Yellow-tail; Fan-foot (Zanclognatha tarsipennalis);
Micros:
Acentria ephemerella (Water Veneer); Acleris forsskaleana; Acleris
holmiana; Acleris laterana; Acleris variegana
(Garden Rose Tortrix); Agapeta hamana; Agapeta zoegana; Agonopterix
heracliana; Agriphila straminella; Agriphila tristella; Alucita hexadactyla
(Twenty-plume); Apotomis turbidana;
Archips podana (Large Fruit-tree Tortrix); Batia lunaris; Batia unitella; Blastobasis decolorella; Blastobasis lignea; Caloptilia
alchimiella; Caloptilia stigmatella;
Carcina quercana; Catoptria falsella;
Celypha lacunana; Conobathra repandana; Crambus pascuella; Cydia pomonella
(Codling); Cydia splendana; Ditula
angustiorana (Red-barred Tortrix); Eana incanana; Endotricha flammealis; Epiblema roborana; Euzophera
pinguis; Galleria mellonella (Wax); Hedya nubiferana; Hypsopygia
costalis (Gold Triangle); Lyonetia clerkella
(Apple Leaf Miner); Nomophila noctuella (Rush Veneer); Orthopygia
glaucinalis; Pandemis corylana (Chequered
Fruit-tree Tortrix); Pandemis heparana (Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix);
Parapoynx stratiotata (Ringed China-mark); Phlyctaenia coronata; Phycita
roborella; Phyllonorycter acerifoliella;
Pleuroptya ruralis (Mother of Pearl); Pseudargyrotoza conwagana; Pterophorus
pentadactyla (White Plume); Rhopobota naevana (Holly Tortrix); Spilonota
ocellana (Bud); Udea prunalis; Yponomeuta
padella (Orchard Ermine); Ypsolopha parenthesella
1st
August 2004
Derek & Cathy Brown saw 2 more Hummingbird Hawk Moths in the garden - one last night, 31st July, and one this morning.
Alastair Driver set the trap again in his Sonning garden last night and caught 72 macros of 31 species, including a veritable riband wave of Riband Waves (14)! No new parish records, but new for the garden were Ruby Tiger and Sallow Kitten and new for the UTBC year list were Lesser-spotted Pinion and Mouse Moth.
30th
July 2004
Dave Maunder sent in this list of moths seen around
Aylesbury during the last few weeks, showing what can be recorded without using
a moth trap: Ghost
moth(1), Yellow shell(1), Yellow tails(3), Bright-line brown-eye(1), Nut-tree
tussock(1), Small dusty waves(3), Riband waves(2), Brimstone moths(2),
Small bloodvein (1), Large tabby(1), Bee moths(2), Gold triangle(1), Small
magpies(3), Mother of pearls(30+), Chinese characters(2), Scalloped oak(1),
Dark arches(1), Vapourers(4), Light
arches(1), Common rustic(1), Lg. yellow u/wing(1), elephant hawk, Six-spot burnets(6), Burnished brass(1), Silver
y(1), Smoky wainscots(20+), Dot moth(1), Grey dagger(1), Svensson's copper u/wing(1), Old lady moth(1),
Common carpet(1). - not bad as I still have no m.v. lamp!
27th
July 2004
Alastair Driver set the Robinson trap in his Sonning garden on Friday night, 23rd and caught 61 moths of 27 species. Apart from two which remain to be identified, the only species new for the UTBC year list was Least Carpet, of which he caught a couple.
Peter Hall recorded 61 species in his Ballinger Common
garden moth trap on 23/07/04. Four of these were new to the UTB Species List
for this year:
Black Arches; Bright-line Brown-eye; Broad-bordered Yellow
Underwing; Brown-line Bright-eye; Buff Arches; Buff
Footman; Chinese Character; Common Footman;
Common Rustic; Dark Arches; Double Square-spot; Double-striped Pug; Early
Thorn; Engrailed; Flame; Flame Shoulder; Grey Dagger; Heart & Dart; Large
Yellow Underwing; Leopard; Lesser Yellow Underwing; Lobster; Nut-tree Tussock; Pebble Hook-tip; Peppered; Riband Wave; Scalloped
Oak; Scarce Footman; Shaded Broad-bar; Single-dotted Wave; Small Fan-footed
Wave; Small Phoenix; Snout; Swallow-tailed; Turnip; Willow Beauty; Yellow Shell
and these micros:
Acentria ephemerella (Water Veneer); Acleris
forsskaleana; Acleris holmiana;
Acleris laterana; Agriphila straminella; Agriphila tristella; Alucita
hexadactyla (Twenty-plume); Carcina quercana; Celypha lacunana; Celypha
striana; Crambus pascuella; Cydia pomonella (Codling); Dioryctria abietella; Endotricha
flammealis; Hypsopygia costalis (Gold Triangle); Lozotaeniodes formosanus;
Orthopygia glaucinalis; Pandemis heparana (Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix); Pleuroptya
ruralis (Mother of Pearl); Plutella xylostella (Diamond-back); Pseudargyrotoza
conwagana; Rhopobota naevana (Holly Tortrix); Udea prunalis; Yponomeuta evonymella (Bird-cherry Ermine)
Derek and Cathy Brown were
visited by 2 Hummingbird Hawk Moths last week in their garden in
Beenham.
Keith Mitchell managed to squeeze in a trapping
session on Thurs night (22nd-23rd) but not before a Gothic flew in through the
bathroom window! 193 Moths of 49spp. Including the Gothic, 4 moths are new to
UTB this year:
Agapeta hamana; Bright-line Brown-eye; Brimstone Moth;
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing ; Burnished Brass (2); Chinese Character;
Clay(2); Cloaked Minor; Clouded
Border; Common Footman (7); Common Rustic (8); Common Wainscot (9); Dark Arches
(20); Dot Moth (2); Double Lobed; Double Square-spot (5); Dwarf Cream Wave (2);
Elephant Hawk-moth (3); Engrailed; Flame Shoulder; Gothic;
Heart and Dart (7); Herald; July Highflyer; Large Yellow Underwing (9);
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (2); Lesser Yellow Underwing (2); Light
Arches (2); Mother of Pearl (8); Mottled Rustic; Nutmeg;
Orthopygia glaucinalis; Pale Mottled Willow (2); Pebble Prominent; Phlyctaenia
coronata; Poplar Hawk-moth (2); Red Twin-spot Carpet; Riband Wave (15); Ruby
Tiger (3); Rustic (12); Rustic/Uncertain (15); Silver ‘Y’ (3); Single-dotted
Wave (2); Small Scallop; Small
Wainscot; Smoky Wainscot (21); Spectacle (2); Straw Underwing (4); Uncertain
(22); White Satin
23rd
July 2004
Welcome to Eddie Napper who is a new contributor
to the website: “In my Wokingham garden on 12/06/04 I'm sure that this
is a male Yellow legged Clearwing (see
photo at top of page). I also had a Rosy
Footman on 11/07/04 (photo below).”
21st
July 2004
Keith Mitchell, Stoke Goldington, trapped 277
moths of 44 spp on Friday and Saturday nights, 16th & 17th
July, 5 of which are new to UTB:
Agapeta hamana; Beautiful Hook-tip; Bright-line Brown-eye
(3); Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing; Brown-line Bright-eye; The Clay; Common
Footman (12); Common Rustic 2; Common Wainscot (10); Dark Arches (17); Dingy Footman; Dot Moth (7); Double
Square-spot; Early Thorn; Elephant Hawk-moth (2); Flame (3); Garden Carpet;
Gold Triangle; Heart and Dart (7);
Large-yellow Underwing; Lesser Broad-bordered
Yellow Underwing; Lesser Yellow Underwing; Light Arches (5); The Magpie; Mother of Pearl (11); Mottled
Beauty; Mottled Rustic; Peppered Moth; Poplar Hawk-moth (3); Privet Hawk-moth;
Riband Wave (4); Ruby Tiger; Rustic/Uncertain (112); Scalloped Oak (6);
Short-cloaked Moth; Small Dotted Buff (4); Small Emerald (2); Small Magpie (1);
Small Wainscot (2); Small Waved
Umber; Smoky Wainscot (33); Straw Underwing;
White Satin (2); Yellow-tail (2)
19th
July 2004
The Wycombe Wildlife Group held a moth trapping
evening, led by Paul Bowyer, at a delightful garden in Cadmore End on 17th
July. The following species were identified:-
The Coronet, The Snout, Yellow Shell, Large Yellow Underwing, July Highflyer,
Brimstone, Common Footman, Lesser Yellow Underwing, Shaded Broad Bar, Small
Magpie, Double Square Spot, Swallow-tailed, Mother of Pearl, Elephant
Hawk, Willow Beauty, Riband Wave, Peppered Moth, Dot moth, Buff Arches, Black
Arches, Dark Arches, Small Emerald, Smoky Wainscot, Clouded Border and
Scalloped Oak.
18th
July 2004
On a
visit to Heythrop Park near Enstone, Oxon today, Dave Maunder saw his first Hummingbird hawk moth of the year feeding on Buddleia.
Also a few yards away resting on reeds in a pond he discovered 3 Scarlet
tiger moths - a nice find!
Jan Haseler sent the following sightings from
yesterday / last night:
Udea lutealis – seen at
Walbury Hill
Grass emerald – seen at Inkpen Common
and new for her Tilehurst garden last night:
Ruby tiger, single-dotted wave, black arches, small emerald,
double lobed, mother of pearl, oak
hook-tip, clay and chrysoteuchia culmella
A
remarkable list of moths from Peter Hall’s Ballinger garden, 16/07/04. Included is a day sighting of a Hummingbird
Hawk. 25 species are new to the UTB list for this year:
Leopard; Buff Arches; Common Emerald; Small Emerald; Clay
Triple-lines ; Small Fan-footed Wave;
Single-dotted Wave; Riband Wave; Shaded Broad-bar; July Highflyer; Fern; V-Pug;
Green Pug; Double-striped Pug; Small Yellow
Wave; Beautiful Hook-tip; Black
Arches; Bright-line Brown-eye; Broad-bordered
Yellow Underwing; Brown-line Bright-eye; Clouded Silver; Common Footman;
Common Rustic; Common White Wave; Coxcomb Prominent; Dark Arches; Dot; Double
Square-spot; Dun-bar; Early Thorn; Elephant Hawk; Engrailed; Flame; Grey Dagger; Heart & Club; Heart &
Dart; Hummingbird Hawk; Iron Prominent; Large Yellow Underwing; Brimstone
Moth; Light Arches; Light Emerald; Mottled Beauty; Mottled Rustic; Nut-tree
Tussock; Pale Mottled Willow; Peppered; Poplar Grey; Purple Clay; Rustic; Scalloped Oak; Scarce Footman;
Short-cloaked; Slender Brindle; Small
Angle Shades; Small Dotted Buff; Smoky Wainscot; Snout; Spectacle;
Swallow-tailed; Turnip; Uncertain; Willow Beauty; Yellow-tail
and the following Micros:
Acentria ephemerella (Water Veneer); Acleris holmiana; Acleris laterana; Agapeta
hamana; Agapeta zoegana; Agriphila geniculea;
Agriphila straminella; Agriphila tristella; Alucita hexadactyla (Twenty-plume);
Anthophila fabriciana; Archips podana
(Large Fruit-tree Tortrix); Archips xylosteana (Variegated Golden Tortrix); Batia lunaris; Batia unitella; Catoptria pinella;
Celypha striana; Chrysoteuchia culmella; Conobathra
repandana; Crambus pascuella; Crambus perlella; Cydia pomonella
(Codling); Eana incanana; Endotricha
flammealis; Endrosis sarcitrella (White-shouldered House); Epiblema uddmanniana (Bramble Shoot); Epinotia
brunnichana; Eucosma cana; Eurrhypara hortulata (Small Magpie);
Fan-foot (Zanclognatha tarsipennalis); Galleria
mellonella (Wax); Hofmannophila pseudospretella (Brown House);
Hypsopygia costalis (Gold Triangle); Pandemis cerasana (Barred Fruit-tree
Tortrix); Pandemis heparana (Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix); Parapoynx stratiotata
(Ringed China-mark); Phycitodes binaevella;
Pleuroptya ruralis (Mother of Pearl); Rhopobota
naevana (Holly Tortrix); Spilonota ocellana (Bud); Udea olivalis;
Udea prunalis; Ypsolopha dentella (Honeysuckle)
17th
July 2004
Paul Bowyer and David Fuller led the successful and enjoyable moth
trap event at the Holtspur LNR Reserve last night, 16th
July. 34 species of moth were identified, 4 of them new to the UTB species list
for this season and two Hawk Moths paying a visit:
Agapeta
Hamana; Brimstone; Clouded Silver; Common Carpet; Common Footman; Dark Arches; Dark Umber; Dot Moth; Double Square-spot; Ear Moth; Elephant Hawk Moth; Flame Shoulder;
Garden Carpet; Gold Triangle; Green Carpet; July Highflyer; Large Yellow
Underwing; Lesser Yellow Underwing; Lunar
Spotted Pinion; Mother of Pearl; Peppered Moth; Phlyctaenia
Coronata; Pine Hawk Moth; Riband
Wave; Ruby Tiger; Scorched Carpet; Small Blood-vein; Small Magpie; Smoky Wainscot;
Snout; Spectacle; Swallow-tailed; The Flame; White Plume.
David
Fuller also reported seeing
a Hummingbird Hawk moth in his Maidenhead garden on 14th, 16th and again
today.
Lots of moths in Keith Mitchell’s Stoke
Goldington garden trap on 13th in ideal conditions. A few garden firsts with Broom and
Least Yellow Underwing new to UTB this year, 238 larger moths (including
some micros) of 37 spp.
Bright-line Brown-eye (3); Brimstone Moth; Broom Moth (2); Buff Arches (2); Buff-tip (3);
Burnished Brass (2); The Clay; Common Footman (2); Common Wainscot (8); Dagger
sp; Dark Arches (14); Dot Moth (5); Double Square-spot; Elephant Hawk-moth (2);
Flame (9); Flame Shoulder; Heart and Dart (10); Iron Prominent; Large Yellow
Underwing (4); Least Yellow Underwing;
Light Arches (22); Marbled Minor; Mother of Pearl (18); Mottled Rustic;
Peppered Moth; Poplar Hawk-moth; Riband Wave (2); Rustic/Uncertain (68);
Scalloped Oak (3); The Shark; Shuttle-shaped Dart; Smoky Wainscot (38); The
Spectacle; Swallow-tailed Moth; Thistle Ermine; Varied Coronet.
For
the last four nights (11th – 14th July) a Humingbird Hawk moth has been
visiting the Buddleia in Allen Beechey’s front garden in
Didcot.
16th
July 2004
Mike and Rose Collard had a Hummingbird Hawk Moth feeding on Lanai
Verbena Blue (P) in a hanging basket in their Prestwood Garden on July 15th.
14th
July 2004
Alastair Driver sent this report in tonight: I set the Robinson trap in my Sonning garden last night, in readiness to show the moths to the kids at Sonning Primary School today as part of an outdoor nature study exercise at Ali's Pond LNR to celebrate national LNR week. Unfortunately I had to rescue the trap from the pouring rain at 6.30 a.m. and had to cancel the school event due to the weather. Nevertheless I caught 75 macro-moths of 23 species. One of them - Shaded broad-bar was new for my parish records and new to the UTBC year list.
Peter Hall ran a moth trap in his garden in Ballinger
Common on 11/07/04, adding 20 new species to the UTB list for this year:
Ghost; Buff Arches; Common Emerald; Small Emerald; Clay
Triple-lines; Small Fan-footed Wave; Riband Wave; Common Carpet; Small Rivulet; Foxglove Pug; Grey Pug; V-Pug; Green Pug; Double-striped Pug; Latticed
Heath; Brimstone Moth; Scalloped Oak; Swallow-tailed; Peppered; Willow Beauty;
Mottled Beauty; Engrailed; Common White Wave; Common Wave; Clouded Silver;
Light Emerald; Elephant Hawk; Buff-tip; Lobster; Iron Prominent; Yellow-tail; Scarce Footman; Common Footman; Short-cloaked;
Turnip; Heart & Club; Heart & Dart; Flame; Large Yellow Underwing;
Green Arches; Dot; Bright-line Brown-eye; Brown-line
Bright-eye; Clay; Smoky Wainscot; Coronet; Dark Arches; Common
Rustic; Uncertain; Rustic; Spectacle; Beautiful Hook-tip; Snout; Fan-foot
and the following micros
Lozotaeniodes formosanus; Ditula angustiorana (Red-barred Tortrix);
Pseudargyrotoza conwagana; Celypha striana;
Celypha lacunana; Hedya nubiferana; Pammene fasciana; Alucita hexadactyla (Twenty
plume); Chrysoteuchia culmella; Crambus pascuella; Crambus perlella; Agriphila straminella; Phlyctaenia coronata; Udea prunalis; Udea olivalis; Hypsopygia costalis (Gold Triangle);
Orthopygia glaucinalis; Endotricha flammealis;
Phycita roborella; Prays fraxinella (Ash Bud); Carcina quercana; Agapeta hamana; Pandemis
cerasana (Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix); Pandemis
heparana (Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix); Archips podana (Large Fruit-tree
Tortrix); Archips xylosteana (Variegated Golden
Tortrix); Ptycholomoides aeriferanus
13th
July 2004
Dave
Wilton went to Rushbeds BBOWT Reserve this morning, 13th July: there was a veritable plague of Six-Spot
Burnet Moths in the Lapland Farm meadows. Standing still in the middle of one
patch of thistles, I was able to count 100 of them! Seen within the wood was a
single Silver-Y Moth and what I believe may have been a Muslin Moth
caterpillar (picture below). At Finemere Wood this
afternoon a Hummingbird Hawk Moth put in an appearance along the track,
the second one I've seen in the area this month.
The following report was
received from Keith Mitchell, Stoke Goldington: On Saturday (10th) I had a brief
visit from a Hummingbird Hawk-moth in the garden, which brightened up my
weeding session. This brings my Hawk-moth tally to seven so far this year.
Overnight on 11th, in better conditions I trapped the following, of which I
think Small Emerald and Common Rustic are new for the UTB year:
Agapeta hamana; Bright-line
Brown-eye; Brimstone Moth; Buff-tip; The Clay (2); Clouded Border; Common Footman (14);
Common Rustic (3); Common Swift; Common Wainscot
(5); Dark Arches (5); Double Square-spot; Flame (4); Flame Shoulder; Heart and
Dart (7); The Lackey; Large Yellow Underwing (2); Mother of
Moths seen by Dave Maunder in Aylesbury since
July 4th were:-
Silver
y(1), Grey dagger(1), Bee moths(3), Small bloodvein(1), Heart and dart(1),
Marbled minor(1), Pyrausta purpuralis(1), Swallowtail(1), Thistle ermine(1),
Dwarf cream waves(2), Riband waves(2), Dark arches(2), Light arches(1),
Scalloped oak(1), and a single Six-spot burnet along the Fairford Leys stream -
each year I see a few specimens here on Knapweed - an isolated population, I
think.
11th
July 2004
New moth species for Jan Haseler’s Tilehurst
garden from last night, 10th July are as follows, including 3 new
species for this year’s UTB list:
Scalloped Oak; Light
Emerald; Common Footman; Lesser Yellow Underwing;
Bird's Wing; Dun-bar; Silver-y.
10th
July 2004
Tim Watts reports seeing a Hummingbird hawk moth (see photo at top of page) in his Whitchurch garden feeding on petunias at 2 p.m. today. He also read a report on the internet of 3 other sightings so far in the local area, 1 at Ringshall and 2 at Halelmere,
8th
July 2004
An additional moth overlooked by Keith Mitchell last weekend (2/3 July): Short-cloaked Moth - one trapped on each day.
5th
July 2004
The following records were received from David Redhead: An overnight moth trap in far from ideal
conditions (7C) produced a low haul of the usual suspects - Uncertain (15),
Double Square-spot (8), Bright-line Brown-eye (3), Heart & Dart (3), Large
Yellow Underwing (3), Sourthern Wainscot (3), Clouded Border (2), Dark Arches
(2), Dun-bar (2), Mottled Rustic (2), White Satin Moth (2), Barred Straw, Buff
Arches, Heart and Club, Mottled Beauty, Peppered, Poplar Hawkmoth, Riband
Wave, Smoky Wainscot & Snout.
The only possible addition to the UTB list is a Dagger but is it Dark or Grey? Being a very light specimen my money would be on the latter but I will have to wait for Martin T to inspect it! The three Heart & Darts (99) still mean it has not overtaken Treble Lines (107) as the most numerous overall, but as the last Treble Lines was seen on 18th June this is only a matter of time. Poplar Hawkmoth (36) seems to be having the longest flight period with the first seen on 10th May.
Alex Mitchell sent in the following report from Milton Keynes
today: “On
30th June a Meal Moth (Pyralis farinalis) was attracted to the front door
lights. The
following moths were trapped (or seen) in my garden over the weekend; the Small
Elephant Hawk-moth makes 6 species of Hawks so far this year, and is a good
moth for Milton Keynes:”
Barred Straw; Barred Yellow; Bright-line Brown-eye;
Brimstone Moth; Brown Rustic; Buff Ermine; Burnished Brass (see photo
below & click on it for a larger image); The Clay; Common Emerald;
Common Footman; Common Swift; Common Wainscot; Dark Arches; Dingy Shears; Dot
Moth; Fan-foot; Flame; Heart and Dart; Ingrailed Clay; The Lackey; Large
Nutmeg; Large Yellow Underwing; Light Arches; Light Emerald; Maple Prominent; Meal Moth (Pyralis farinalis) [Keith’s garden is about 200m from farm
buildings which contain grain from time to time]; Middle-barred
Minor; Minor spp; Mottled Rustic; Privet Hawk Moth; Rustic/Uncertain; Scorched
Carpet; Setaceous Hebrew Character; Shoulder-striped Wainscot; Shuttle-shaped
Dart; Small Dotted Buff; Small
Elephant Hawk-moth; Small Magpie; Smoky Wainscot; Swallow-tailed Moth; The
Spectacle; Thistle Ermine; Yellow Shell; Yellow-tail.
4th
July 2004
Jan Haseler recorded the following new moths
for her garden in Tilehurst last night: snout,
bee moth, common emerald and 2 white plumes disturbed from vegetation this morning.
3rd
July 2004
Jim Ryder recorded a species he had never seen before on Friday 2nd
July about 11:00am - a Red-belted Clearwing (see
photo at top of page). It was on a privet hedge near his house in Old Amersham,
Bucks.
A belated moth trap report from David Redhead for
an overnight trap in his garden in Oxon for Tuesday 29th/ Wednesday 30th June.
My best catch to date with 194 macro-moths from at least 54
species (two Pugs are currently undergoing closer examination by Martin
Townsend). Included were 11 new species for my list this year taking
the total number of macro-moth species caught in my garden in 2004 past
the 150 mark. 8 of the 11 are new to the UTB 2004 list - Clay, Dun-bar, July Highflyer, Large Twin-spot Carpet,
Olive (early), Sallow Kitten, White
Satin Moth & Yellow-tail. Also 3 new micros - Gold Triangle, Donacaula forficella & Tinea
semifulvella (the last again identified by Martin Townsend).
David also
had a Brown House Moth in the house
last weekend.
1st
July 2004
Martin Albertini reports seeing an Old Lady moth in Maidenhead on 28 June, which
is a bit earlier than would normally be expected.
30th
June 2004
A number of people have asked how to
tell the Five-spot Burnet from the Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet as they
look so similar. Here are some key points:
Many people aren’t aware that there
are two “5-spot” species and just talk about 5-spot:
► 5-spot Burnets are a problem and identification in the field is almost
impossible.
► Flight periods overlap in late June, but as flight periods seem to be
changing for many species the overlap might now be greater.
►Habitat and plants present can also give an indication. Five spot is
most likely to be on chalk grassland and Birdsfoot trefoil must be
present. Narrow-bordered will be in any
rough grassland (inc. chalk grassland).
► So, if caught in May on chalk grassland most likely to be 5-spot.
► If seen in July on any sort of grassland most likely to be
Narrow-bordered.
► There is also a West country sub-species of 5-spot which can add to the confusion - it flies in July and August and frequents ma