Birds, Leps, Observations & Generalities - the images and ramblings of Mark Skevington. Sometimes.

Tuesday 27 June 2017

Flaming June - 200 Up

Well I picked a good year and season to refind my enthusiasm for garden moth-trapping. After a couple of very slack years, and a slow start this year, I'm now back in the mindset of trying to get the trap out a few nights in the week as well as weekends, provided it's not really duff weather. I've never really been one for running every night regardless, and with work committments and a need to catch up on some sleep every now and then I try and leave the traps off for a couple of nights.

So far in June, I've run traps on 16 nights. The 22W/20W Synergetic/Actinic combo has been out on every one of those nights, and the 125W MV has gone out on five nights. And it's been a very productive month so far indeed:
  • 199 species recorded to the traps, plus one recorded in the garden by day = 200sp.
  • four species pending (2x 'Acleris schalleriana', 2x 'Acleris laterana/comariana', Exotelia dodecella and Hoary Footman, of which the last two would be garden firsts
  • five species confirmed new to the garden: Luquetia lobella, Cydalima perspectalis, Chimney Sweeper, Grass Rivulet and Red-necked Footman
  • max. total 465 of 104sp. on 21/06 (both traps run)
  • max. single trap total 316 of 93sp. on 19/06 (22W/20W Synergetic/Actinic trap)
  • 2691 individual moths recorded in the traps (excluding the pending species)
  • no attempt to separate aggegated Oligia spp. and Daggers
  • no attempt to collect Cnephasia spp. or Coleophora spp. for det.
 
Here's a couple that were NFY last night:

Large Twin-spot Carpet

 Marbled Beauty

And here's one that only a few days ago I mentioned rarely turns up in anything but knackered condition - well it's not perfect but a damned sight better than the last!

Dark Umber

Here's a really common one, but in an uncommon guise ...

A dark Dark Arches

And here's one in both a typical white-ish form and a darker greyer form .....

Ypsolopha sequella

2 comments:

Broom Birder said...

Hi Mark,
Just looked at Blogger for the first time in ages and see you are once again a prolific blogger! Great stuff.
Your recent post re E. dodecella really helped me out. I caught it for the first time on 25/06, having thought it was a Mompha sp. to begin with. It was only the 11th record for VC30!
Your Hoary Footman looks interesting!
Here's one I caught last year and confirmed via det.
http://trappingsofsuccess.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Hoary%20Footman

Other than the washed out colour and off white hind wings, It seemed to be a little shorter in the wing and 'washed out' looking towards the costa.
Cheers,
Matt

Skev said...

Thanks Matt. Yes, refinding some enthusiasm after a couple of years or more spending too much time on work and other things. I've used my camera more in the last six weeks of so than I did in the previous two years.

I'm confident on the E. dodecella but will get it checked, and I'm hoping the Footman is Hoary - it's moved into the county in the last three years or so and now seems to be spreading quickly like Orange Footman did.

Cheers.