September Mothing 02/09/18 to 08/09/18

My first posting of moth highlights from September, and there were a few to be very pleased with indeed, including two completely new species for my records and great additions to the garden list.

Highlights below of moths recorded in my back garden


Garden species count for 2018 now upto 493.

Here are the new for year species.

Catch Report - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Scrobipalpa obsoletella - 02/09/18 - Dissected by Graeme Smith and initial thoughts were that it was Tuta absoluta, an extremely scarce moth in these parts... it turned out not to be this species, but an equally amazing record and a 2nd record for the County! A saltmarsh species turning up 60 miles from the nearest coastline! [NEW!]

Ypsolopha sylvella - 02/09/18 - A fairly regular species here, but was missing last year and I got alpella instead (Which I didn't record this year) They seem to oddly turn up on alternate years.

Duponchelia fovealis - 03/09/18 - A day later and after the great Scrobipalpa record from the previous night, I really didn't expect another new moth for me and my garden again. This is an adventive species which seems to have colonised certain parts of the UK, originally from the Med and North Africa extending to the Middle-East and even the USA. [NEW!]

Dichrorampha acuminatana - 03/09/18 - This is a scarce moth from me, with just one other record from 2014, always a late flying species of Dichrorampha, usually seen mid-August to mid-September. 

Ypsolopha vittella - 04/09/18 - This is a rare moth in Herts and maybe on the increase? As previous to this year my 2 garden records were only part of a handful of records in Hertfordshire. Not a very attractive moth, and care must be made to not confuse it with a worn sequella.

Satellite - 04/09/18 - A season first Satellite is always nice to see as they are particularly fresh after recently hatching, the spring ones are always (as should be expected, enduring our harsh winter) a little worn.

Sallow - 08/09/18 - A common moth for me and most people, I recorded a fair few during September, my very first for the year was a really striking example with the bigget dark dots on the forewings that I have ever seen. I also got the paler form f.flavescens a day later.

Lunar Underwing - 08/09/18 - Another common Macro moth and one that sports various hues and variations of ground colouring.

Dichrorampha acuminatana

Duponchelia fovealis

Lunar Underwing

Sallow

Satellite

Scrobipalpa obsoletella

Ypsolopha sylvella

Ypsolopha vittella

The rest of August wrapped up

Here are the rest of my August highlights from the 8th to month end in my garden here in Stevenage.

Highlights were..

Red Underwing, only my second garden record and last (first) seen in 2016, unfortunately the damn thing escaped my massive food container that I tried to pot it in, it was mint as well :/ 
Fortunately on the same night I managed to succesfully pot my 3rd garden record of Stenolechia gemmella, not a common moth for me over the years and nice to see.

Apotomis betuletana was only a 4th garden record, a common moth on field trips in Birch woodland, but alas the garden does not have much Birch in the vicinity so it is an uncommon Tortrix here. 

Bedellia somnulentella was a good record on the 10th of August and only my second ever in 12 years (both from my garden here in Stevenage). A hedge bindweed feeder, of which the plant is abundant on our back fence and along the adjacent bridleway. 

A late Broad-barred White was found in the trap on the 21st, an annual visitor here but only as singletons. I usually encounter it in June and July.

Cacoecimorpha pronubana was found during a rare spot of gardening this year and not a regular here, a male...I have still yet to record a female in my garden of this sexually dimorphic species.

Best until last, 4 new for garden species were recorded during August, Peacock Moth, Feathered Gothic, Pyrausta despicata and Cryptoblabes bistriga.

What a month! And to think that the last 10 years i've always holidayed during this period, missing at least two weeks of mothing in August...maybe the good records were showing what I was missing!

Garden species count for 2018 now upto 486.

Here are the new for year species for August.

Catch Report - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Acleris schalleriana - 14/07/18 (Missed from previous posts!) I have over 40 records now from 2018

Yponomeuta sedella - 14/07/18 (Again, missed from previous posts!) Second garden record

Red Underwing - 08/08/18

Stenolechia gemmella - 08/08/18

Agriphila geniculea - 09/08/18

Bedellia somnulentella - 10/08/18

Ypsolopha parenthesella - 16/08/18

Flame Carpet - 17/08/18

Pyrausta purpuralis - 17/08/18

Pyrausta despicata - 18/08/18 [NFG]

Centre-barred Sallow - 19/08/18 (2)

Six-striped Rustic - 19/08/18

Cryptoblabes bistriga - 19/08/18 [NFG]

Peacock Moth - 20/08/18 [NFG]

Apotomis betuletana - 20/08/18

Broad-barred White - 21/08/18

Eudemis profundana - 21/08/18

Epinotia ramella - 24/08/18

Cypress Pug - 27/08/18

Flounced Rustic - 27/08/18

Cacoecimorpha pronubana - 28/08/18

Feathered Gothic - 28/08/18 [NFG]

Pale Mottled Willow - 28/08/18

Pale Mottled Willow

Acleris schalleriana

Agriphila geniculea

Apotomis betuletana

Bedellia somnulentella

Broad-barred White

Cacoecimorpha pronubana

Flame Carpet

Feathered Gothic

Epinotia ramella

Cypress Pug

Cryptoblabes bistriga

Centre-barred Sallow

Flounced Rustic

Peacock Moth

Pyrausta despicata

Pyrausta purpuralis

Six-striped Rustic

Stenolechia gemmella

Yponomeuta sedella

Ypsolopha parenthesella

Radwell Ramblings - 03/08/18

I had a wander with work at Radwell Meadows in early August, which is at the very far North-West of the County of Herts, the other side of the reserve is Bedfordshire.

I racked up quite a list just tapping trees and vegetation, it was a very warm day hitting 26 degrees and Butterflies were in profusion.

Best moth for me was a new species to my records, a Caloptilia falconipennella which was kindly dissected by Graeme Smith to confirm.

Also another new moth was also encountered, a single Phyllocnistis unipunctella beaten from Poplar
which i'm surprised I saw against my white net it was so small!

Here is the list.

Maple Pug
Silver-Y (Everywhere, 50+)
Straw Dot 5
Yellow Shell 2
Agriphila straminella 10+
Agriphila tristella 20+
Argyresthia bonnetella 10+
Argyresthia goedartella 5
Batia unitella 1
Caloptilia falconipennella 1 [NEW!]
Caloptilia semifascia 2
Carcina quercana 2
Dichrorampha petiverella 1
Ectoedemia louisella (Mine) 3
Epinotia tenerana 2
Pammene aurita 1
Phyllocnistis unipunctella 1 [NEW!]
Plutella xylostella 1
Yponomeuta sp 1

Ectoedemia louisella

Caloptilia falconipennella

Caloptilia semifascia

Argyresthia bonnetella

Dichrorampha petiverella

Phyllocnistis unipunctella

Nematopogon swammerdamella

Found on the 07/05/18 whilst netting on my parents farm.

That is all :)

Nematopogon swammerdamella

Daytime netting 03/05/18

Way back in early May, I had a brief 20 minute walk around my parents garden in Braughing Friars and tapped lots of vegetation in the hope of disturbing and netting any moths that took flight.
A few Green Carpets and Agonopterix arenella later and I netted two moths in succession from a large Spruce tree at the back of the garden.

The moths were good ones for me, and both only seen once before.

Cydia strobilella, is associated with Spruce, so maybe there is a local population associated with this tree, a rare moth in Herts and one that I first picked up at Bovingdon Brickworks in the far West of the County in 2016, during an influx of this moth which we presumed were either wanderer's or migrants!

The other moth was Nemapogon koenigi, a fairly distinictive dark Tineadae species that I first saw at Scales Park in 2017 and again more recently in June this year at Balls Wood near Hertford. 

Below are the pics.

Cydia strobilella

Nemapogon koenigi

Tieing up loose ends and new for year species for the beginning of August

With the new for year species dropping dramatically after the long, almost never-ending Summer that we've had this year, it felt fitting to limit my posts and include the new for year species from multiple evenings.
So here are the latest batch of new additions to the year list from the end of July to the first week of August.

Some really good moths in this time period, that i'm normally away on holiday.

4 new for garden species were the highlight, and all micro's. Two were even completely new moths for me, the pine feeding Ocnerostoma sp, which needs dissection to take it to species level and
Bucculatrix albedinella, a really cruddy shot of it in a pot was the best I  managed before squashing it by accident getting it out of the pot :/

Garden species count for 2018 now upto 463.

Here are the new for year species.

Catch Report - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Common Rustic - 03/07/18 (Missed from my reports)

Phyllonorycter corylifoliella - 23/07/18 [NFG]

Ptycholomoides aeriferana - 27/07/18 [NFG]

Bucculatrix albedinella - 28/07/18 (Confirmed now by dissection) [NEW!]

Enarmonia formosana - 28/07/18

Eucosma cana - 28/07/18

Ocnerostoma piniariella/friesei - 28/07/18 [NEW!] (To be dissected)

Pandemis corylana - 28/07/18

Tinea semifulvella - 29/07/18

Dark Sword-grass - 03/08/18

Small Square-spot - 05/08/18

Epinotia nisella - 05/08/18

Mompha propinquella - 05/08/18

Catoptria falsella - 07/08/18

Toadflax Pug - 07/08/18

Ocnerostoma piniariella/friesei

Pandemis corylana

Ptycholomoides aeriferana

Small Square-spot

Enarmonia formosana

Dark Sword-grass - really dark!

Common Rustic

Mompha propinquella

Catoptria falsella

Bucculatrix albedinella

Epinotia nisella

Toadflax Pug

Phyllonorycter corylifoliella

Tinea semifulvella - knackered