Scarce Marsh Pearl

 

Scarce Marsh Pearl - and true to its name, this moth actually is scarce with only five reports ever in West Sussex and not even mentioned in my Moths or Micro Moths of Great Britain and Ireland, Field Guides. It is probably a migrant species and I do live on the South Coast but  then who knows, it may just be in the process of establishing itself here.

I initially took it to be an Anania or Udea sp. and did not take much notice of it. Fortunately I did take a picture and when I looked at it later the leading edge of the wings looked to be too straight for those species. After some searching I messaged Sean Foote at UK Moth Identification who came back with the answer.

Scarce Marsh Pearl - Psammotis pulveralis

I also had four other moths new to the garden, Oblique Carpet, Buff Arches, Hollyhock Seed Moth and Fleabane Smudge.

Oblique Carpet - Orthonama vittata

Buff Arches - Habrosyne pyritoides

Hollyhock Seed Moth - Pexicopia malvella

Fleabane Smudge - Digitivalva pulicariae

My moth numbers, both of species and quantity are well down this year with the poor weather through July being the main cause. However there have still been a few good moths through the trap.

Early Thorn - Selenia dentaria

Lunar-spotted Pinion - Cosmia pyralina

Herald - Scoliopteryx libatrix

Nut-tree Tussock - Colocasia coryli

Scorched Carpet - Ligdia adustata

Tree-lichen Beauty - Cryphia algae

Diamond-back Marble - Eudemis profundana

Little Ermel - Swammerdamia pyrella

Marbled Piercer - Cydia splendana

Pine Marble - Piniphila bifasciana

Acer Sober - Anarsia innoxiella

Comfrey Ermel - Ethmia quadrillella

The variety in shape colour and patterns never ceases to amaze me but at least it is gradually becoming a bit easier to identify the different species.

Raspberry Clearwing

 

The Clearwing lures worked their magic again in the few hot days we had at the end of June.

I was looking forward to a record year but then July was windy, cold and wet and I didn't even bother taking the lures out of the freezer.

August arrives and with it a few warmer days around the tenth and eleventh of the month. I wasn't really hopeful, it wasn't that warm and I had missed the flight season for some of the Clearwings, such as the Large Red-belted. However, if you don't try you don't find so it was worth having a go. Raspberry, Red-tipped and Six-belted should still have been around until the mid/end of August.

Raspberry Clearwing - Pennisetia hylaeiformis

Some limited success with a single Raspberry in the trap on the 10th and then three more on the 11th but no sign of the Six-belted or Red-tipped.

Raspberry Clearwing - Pennisetia hylaeiformis

It wasn't the successful year I had hoped for but the Raspberry was a lifer for me and took my year list to six, if I include the Orange-tailed seen at Bromley. The garden list also sits at six with the Orange-tailed and Large Red-belted, in the garden, being the key targets for next year.

 

Small Ranunculus

After a poor spring, both for numbers and for variety of moths, June has offered some better nights with more interesting catches.

Where better to start than a Small Ranunculus. A species that was thought to have gone extinct in the UK in the early part of the 20th Century but now making a come back. However, numbers are still low and this is the first one I have seen. The shape of the wings look a bit odd, possibly a new emergence where the wings have not fully opened yet.

Small Ranunculus - Hecatera dysodea 

The next a Large Yellow Underwing, a common enough moth but one where I am used to seeing worn examples, meaning I had to check it against the book to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

Large Yellow Underwing - Noctua pronuba

A Lime Hawkmoth. These show variable marking and colouring but are easily recognised. A green background and markings is the most common with brown markings often seen in the females. This dark red/brown colour looks a little unusual.

Lime Hawkmoth - Mimas tiliae

 

Willow Beauty, another common moth. I see them most nights but this one was in pristine condition and really something to be seen. The picture does not do it justice.

Willow Beauty - Peribatodes rhomboidaria

Looking a bit tatty but still good to see in the trap, a Burnished Brass. I will be hoping for a better specimen somewhere amongst the future catches.

Burnished Brass - Diachrysia chrysitis

The Flame Carpet was a new species for me but unfortunately seen whilst staying up in Bromley. I would have liked it on the garden list.

Flame Carpet - Xanthorhoe designata

A more docile species, the Pale Prominent. A regular in the trap and quiet happy to pose sitting on your finger as in my last mothing blog.

Pale Prominent - Pterostoma palpina

Lackey, it's not rare but it's also one I don't see in the garden very often. I always think it looks like a child's toy that would be nice to stroke.

Lackey - Malacosoma neustria

A few Micro Moths. Nothing special but the Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix and Variegated Golden Tortrix were new for me although again caught up in Bromley rather than in the garden.

Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix - Pandemis cerasana

Common Rose Bell - Notocelia rosaecolana

Marbled Orchard Tortrix - Hedya nubiferana

Variegated Golden Tortrix - Archips xylosteana

Privet Twist - Clepsis consimilana

Four more from the Bromley catch. All but the Shears would have been additions for the garden list.

Shears - Hada plebeja

Common White Wave - Cabera pusaria

Maple Prominent - Ptilodon cucullina

Dog's Tooth - Lacanobia suasa

Finally, a few actually caught in the garden. The best being the Long-legged Tabby, the only one new for the garden list, although I had seen one a couple of years ago in Suffolk.

Dwarf Cream Wave - Idaea fuscovenosa

Elephant Hawk-moth - Deilephila elpenor

Privet Hawk-moth - Sphinx ligustri

Long-legged Tabby - Synaphe punctalis

So a couple of good nights but the winds on the coast have been too strong most nights to make it worth putting the trap out. July Forecasts don't look much better.

Clearwing Season

 

Last year, during a hot few days in July, I managed to see four different Clearwings in the garden attracted there by Pheromone lures. Seeing them was one of my highlights of the year and a target I had been pursuing for a long time. I had seen success with Emperor Moth lures but after trying many different locations around the county I had begun to think that I had been sold some dud Clearwing lures.

I put the lures in the freezer for the winter and had really forgotten about them until my friend e-mailed me to say he had caught Red-belted Clearwings in his garden only about a mile from where I live.

Red-belted Clearwing - Synanthedon myopaeformis

Unfortunately I was off to stay in Bromley in South East London house sitting for a few days but I was taking the moth trap so the lures and trap went along as well. Bromley is very green for a London suburb with lots of large mature gardens and big trees so the mothing was good.

Currant Clearwing - Synanthedon tipuliformis

Clearwings were also flying. I had in total 8 Currant, 2 Red-belted, 1 Orange-tailed and 4 Yellow-legged Clearwings to the trap in the Bromley garden. The Currant and Orange-tailed being new species for me.

Orange-tailed - Synanthedon andrenaeformis

Returning home a week later I was keen to get the Currant and Orange-tailed on the Garden list so was quick to get the lures out before the hot weather disappeared. Over the next couple of days I managed to pick up 5 Currant, 1 Orange-tailed and 4 Red-belted before the hot spell broke and the cooler weather returned.

Yellow-legged - Synanthedon vespiformis

I am now waiting for the next hot spell. As we approach July I should see the Six-belted and Red-tipped which were in the garden last year. I am also hopeful of the Large Red-belted and Raspberry Clearwings which should be in the local area. So a potential seven or eight species for the garden. Beyond that it is going to get a bit more challenging.

Mallow Groundling

 

I would like to be able to trap moths in the garden throughout the year but the period from mid November to the end of March has traditionally proved to be a waste of time. I have tried but other than the occasional Light Brown Apple Moth all I have managed to do is to waste a lot of electricity.

This year with a cold wet spring things have been even slower with the first signs of life being a Waved Umber and Ruddy Streak in the trap on the 29th April.

Waved Umber - menophra abruptaria

Ruddy Streak - Tachystola acroxantha

May has been slightly kinder but with the nights still being on the cold side, the catches have been small both in size and variety

The late start to the season also introduces further complication to the Quakers, Uncertain and Rustics where "date seen" becomes a less reliable indicator. The moth below has the strong cross band between the kidney marks, that I am looking for on the Uncertain but the longitudinal white lines on the outer half of the forewing would seem to indicate Common Quaker.

 

Common Quaker - Orthosia cerasi

Not so easy with the next one. I'm still looking for the Uncertain as it is early in the season but there is no kidney cross band and it looks more like a Rustic or maybe a Vines Rustic. I think I will have to go for the Vine's Rustic.

Vine's Rustic - Hoplodrina ambigua

Treble Lines - Charanyca trigrammica

Pale Prominent - Pterostoma palpina 

Knot Grass - Acronicta rumicis

Hebrew Character - Orthosia gothica

Freyer's Pug - Eupithecia intricata

Early Grey - Xylocampa areola

Yellow-faced Bell - Notocelia cynosbatella 

Narrow-winged Grey - Eudonia angustea

Least Black Arches - Nola confusalis

A couple of Mallow Groundling in the trap on the 24th May were my best find of the year so far. At about 8mm in length, they are not much to look at but they are classed as Nationally Scarce B, so worth recording. Unfortunately not a new species for me as I had them in the garden a couple of years ago.

Mallow Groundling - Platyedra subcinerea

I also attended a mothing session at Woods Mills, being present when they opened the trap in the morning. Again the numbers were a bit disappointing following another cold and windy night but there were at least a couple of moths that I hadn't seen before.

Common Swift - Korscheltellus lupulina

May Highflyer - Hydriomena impluviata

and always nice to see, a Poplar Hawkmoth, my first of the year.

Poplar Hawkmoth - Laothoe populi

Whilst early May was a start to my mothing season, the nights ever since have been cold, clear and windy, not good for moths. Give me a few overcast, still and humid evenings to get things going again.