On the scent

With the lovely weather decided to give the Clearwing pheromone lures ago in the garden yesterday.







Was rewarded almost instantly with four Orange-tailed Clearwings to the VES lure.  Have placed it again today and there has been a maximum of eight individuals at any one time.

Very pleased with this addition to the garden list.

Dave

Four Footmen and more

Another great night at the garden trap on 23rd July; a few left to confirm but currently 386 moths of 78 species.  Crambids and Footmen posting the big numbers and four species of the latter group:

Rosy Footman


Scarce Footman


Dingy Footman


Common Footman


A few more images from recent nights:

Yellow-tail


Brown-tail


Dusky Sallow


There were two very obvious highlights but need to wait for it to cool down before I can get any images so they will have to wait to a subsequent post...

Dave

On the crest of a Wave(d)

Very pleased to find this beautiful moth clinging to the inside of the trap last week: Waved Black.

Given the colouration I almost missed it against the black of the Robinson but pleased I didn't as this is another new one for the garden, representing species number 665, wonder what species will be lumbered with the number of the beast...

Dave

Look at the palps on that!

Had a short walk in Covert Wood on Sunday morning with the dog and net.

Lots of Crambids about and loads of leafmines to be found too.

The highlight was another new species for me in the shape of the 'fuzzy faced' Gelechid, Sophronia semicostella.



The following were new for the year in the garden over the weekend:

Large Twin-spot Carpet



Pyrausta despicata


Dave

One of 'The Big Five'

A slight improvement again in the garden trap last night with over 50 species that included a handful of new for years.

The highlight was the striking Leopard Moth:



New for year supporting cast included:

Oak Nycteoline


Small Rivulet


Scarce Footman


Blastobasis adustella

In the 70's

Not  a reference to the decade that fashion forgot but to a run of three consecutive nights with over 70 species to the garden trap.

What fascinates me too about this is that it is far from the same 70+ species each night, of course there's a core of about 50 or so 'usual suspects' - Heart and Dart, Dark Arches, Common Footman, Chrysoteuchia culmella etc etc - but there is great variation on top of this.

The beauty of MapMate is that I can readily tell what has been going on and quick analysis shows that for these three species-rich, Halcyon days there have been a total of 138 species in the garden which has of course helped to push the garden year list on very nicely to 264 species (all stages).

Highlights of late include:

Festoon
 

 Four-dotted Footman (new to the garden)

Sciota adelphella (also new to the garden)

 Ruddy Carpet


Ethmia terminella (a lifer)


Dave

Garden year list moves on nicely

Although nothing like the bumper haul at the beginning of last week I have still had a steady stream of additions to the 2012 garden year list over the last few days, including:

Nephopterix angustella


Pale Oak Beauty


Argyresthia brockeella


Orthopygia glaucinalis (I know it has a new name...)


Clay


July Highflyer - reared through from larva


These two not new for the year but any excuse to post images of Hawks:

Elephant Hawk-moth


Privet Hawk-moth (with Elly trying to muscle in on the shot, top left)


Dave