May Moths (8 Viewers)

[JWN Andrewes]

A wander round Panorama Walk early afternoon, a few Common Heaths and a micro tick - Green Longhorn.

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Streamer at work yesterday

 

[JWN Andrewes]

A tick this morning, Ochreous Pug. Swallow & Lesser Swallow Prominents, Orange Footman & Small Phoenix al NFY, not a whole lot else, but a rather late and worn out looking Clouded Drabs.

 

[Farnboro John]

Gripped off yet again by James's Streamer....

Yesterday I went to the New Forest and had a Common Heath sit up in front of my chair where I was scanning for raptors (which didn't really deliver though Cuckoo and a churring Nightjar for the year were nice - whereas getting back to my car and finding I'd left it open and had my hat nicked wasn't: on the bright side that was the only thing taken and the car wasn't stolen or trashed.)

Anyway, I ran the trap overnight hoping for a decent catch but actually got just two moths, a Great Prominent and another Tachystola acroxantha. They happened to be sitting adjacently on a wall of the trap. On the rim of the trap was something that looked and crumbled suspiciously like a bat dropping.

John

 

[Farnboro John]

Quick look through the perspex covers of the back garden moth trap reveals the first Lime Hawk-moth of the year.... woo hoo!

Hope its still there in the morning as I'm just back from the pub after a full session at home dragging out all the furniture again, hoovering and spraying MothStop killer all round the lounge then a flight with my brother that had to be curtailed due to rising mist, a haze layer and congealing low cloud by the time we reached Thorney island....

Looks like lots of other stuff in the trap hence my reluctance to open it just to get a familiar hawk-moth into the fridge.

John

 

[Farnboro John]

Not as many moths as I hoped but some decent quality including NFY the aforementioned Lime Hawk-moth, Buff-tip and a Seraphim that as usual took me ages to identify. Oak Tree Pug, two Brindled Beauties and a Shuttle-shaped Dart made up the rest of the moths, augmented by four May Bugs.

Some pictures below. I've put in two of the same Seraphim, first one with the dubious lighting from the trap's LepiLED and second with it having flown to be the first moth sitting on my newly replaced fence.

Cheers

John

 

[Richard D]

Not as many moths as I hoped but some decent quality including NFY the aforementioned Lime Hawk-moth, Buff-tip and a Seraphim that as usual took me ages to identify. Oak Tree Pug, two Brindled Beauties and a Shuttle-shaped Dart made up the rest of the moths, augmented by four May Bugs.

Some pictures below. I've put in two of the same Seraphim, first one with the dubious lighting from the trap's LepiLED and second with it having flown to be the first moth sitting on my newly replaced fence.

Cheers

John


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Nice selection - definitely more interesting than my two Brimstones. two Pale Mottled Willows and single Turnip last night!

 

[KenM]

Just one Geom sp that flew out the parasol, nothing in the trap or on the wall.😩

 

[Steve Lister]

20 of 8 for me including
My highest ever catch of Tachystola acroxantha - 7, compared to just 6 all last year
My earliest ever 'Diamond-backed' by 24 days
My third ever and earliest by 2.5 months Small Phoenix

My mate Tony down the road ran his brand new Robinson double actinic for the first time and got 44 moths including Poplar Hawk, Waved Umber, Seraphim, Least Black Arches and Waved Umber.

 

[Farnboro John]

20 of 8 for me including
My highest ever catch of Tachystola acroxantha - 7, compared to just 6 all last year
My earliest ever 'Diamond-backed' by 24 days
My third ever and earliest by 2.5 months Small Phoenix

My mate Tony down the road ran his brand new Robinson double actinic for the first time and got 44 moths including Poplar Hawk, Waved Umber, Seraphim, Least Black Arches and Waved Umber.

I'm fairly new to micros but I too am surprised by the prevalence of Tachystola acroxantha this year.

John

 

[KenM]

Certainly one of my favourites on the wall tonight!…..the green light for running the UV with current temps at c15 degrees.

As of this am, the Mocha is still on the wall and the trap was empty!😮

 

[Farnboro John]

With another warm night forecast I trapped again and was rewarded with new for the garden Yellow-barred Brindle on the window, NFY Common Marbled Carpet and a Pale Mottled Willow so fresh I initially didn't recognise the familiar species. Three more Tachystola acroxantha, an Esperia sulphurella, two Oak-tree Pugs, a dark Shuttle-shaped Dart and a Brindled Beauty made up numbers.

John

 

[Allen]

2 Great Prominents was all I got last night. And my brother only caught 1 Chocolate-tip so still very low numbers.

 

[KenM]

One Pug sp on the wall and nowt in trap!😮

 

[Richard D]

A Shuttle Shaped Dart, a Treble Lines and something (carpet?) that escaped were all I had, although a Minotaur Beetle was also present for interest.

 

[KenM]

Just one Green Carpet (NFY) on the wall tonight.

Now shot in daylight, Halogen off at 10.30pm on with the overnight UV.
The Green Carpet had moved to the pot lip this am and a 2nd (different) Mocha had arrived on the stack pipe….2 Geoms!!!! Things are looking up….

 

[Farnboro John]

15/13 spp this morning which is better! Five NFY: the best being Sharp-angled Peacock, with accompanying Willow Beauty, Heart and Dart, Treble Lines and Small Magpie. Two Knot Grass and two Seraphim were the only multiples with the rest being Oak-tree Pug, Pale Mottled Willow, Flame Shoulder, Buff-tip, Shuttle-shaped Dart and a Light Brown Apple Moth.

John

 

[Allen]

Finally some numbers last night. 2 photos for help one is a pug, the other is a Marbled Brown I think but the dark above the pale band seems solid to the head.

Red-Green Carpet
Spruce Carpet
Scalloped Hazel
White Ermine
Hebrew Character
Treble lines x 2
Great Prominent
Coxcomb Prominent
Bufftip
Marbled Brown x 3
Barred Hooktip
Pug sp - very small and seemed to favour holding wings in a V (see photo).

 

[Steve Lister]

Just 7 of 5 for me this morning but one was my earliest ever Poplar Hawk, by eight days, and another was my first ever Alder Moth anywhere: according to the local recording scheme Naturespot it is the first in the county since July 2022 !

 

[Farnboro John]

Finally some numbers last night. 2 photos for help one is a pug, the other is a Marbled Brown I think but the dark above the pale band seems solid to the head.

Red-Green Carpet
Spruce Carpet
Scalloped Hazel
White Ermine
Hebrew Character
Treble lines x 2
Great Prominent
Coxcomb Prominent
Bufftip
Marbled Brown x 3
Barred Hooktip
Pug sp - very small and seemed to favour holding wings in a V (see photo).

Pattern is there on the Marbled Brown - maybe a funny angle on the scales or more variability than usually illustrated.

John