Field Trip - Hexton Chalk Pit - 25/07/17

Below are the moths Trevor and myself recorded at Hexton Chalk Pit last Tuesday night.

74 Macros and 69 Micros (143 species in total) was a pleasing haul of species packing up at around 1am when the wind got up a bit, I presume that if we stayed later we would have added more.

The night was warm and relatively muggy with increasing cloud cover as the lights were switched on. At leaving time at 2am it was still 15 degrees.

Stand-out species were of course a fresh Annulet, only the second modern record, and also at least 8 examples of Teleiodes sequax, a Rock-rose feeding species and probably to be expected, again a rare moth for the County and probably confined to Chalk Grassland.

A single slightly worn Delplanqueia was kept for checking for either dilutella or inscriptella.

Acleris aspersana were absolutely everywhere and easily numbered 30+

Sitochroa palealis was also a first for me, and another Pyralid that seems to be confined to Hexton Chalk Pit in the County Paratalanta hyalinalis was recorded once again with 4 individuals.

All in all a pleasing effort and 4 new moths for me.

List below

Macro Moths

 

Annulet

Barred Hook-tip

Barred Rivulet

Black Arches

Brimstone

Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Brown-line Bright-eye

Buff Footman

Burnet Companion

Clay

Cloaked Minor

Clouded Silver

Common Carpet

Common Emerald

Common Rustic

Copper Underwing

Dark Arches

Dark Umber

Dingy Footman

Double Square-spot

Dun-bar

Dusky Sallow

Dusky Thorn

Dwarf Cream Wave

Engrailed

Fern

Flame Shoulder

Ghost Moth

Grey Dagger

Haworth's Pug

July Highflyer

Large Yellow Underwing

Least Carpet

Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Lesser Yellow Underwing

Light Arches

Lime-speck Pug

Maple Pug

Mottled Beauty

Mouse Moth

Nut-tree Tussock

Oak Eggar

Oak Hook-tip

Pale Prominent

Pebble Prominent

Poplar Grey

Pretty Chalk Carpet

Purple Bar

Red Twin-spot Carpet

Riband Wave

Rosy Minor

Royal Mantle

Ruby Tiger

Rustic

Scarce Footman

Setaceous Hebrew Character

Shaded Broad-bar

Shuttle-shaped Dart

Silver Y

Slender Brindle

Small Fan-footed Wave

Small Phoenix

Small Purple-barred

Small Scallop

Small Waved Umber

Smoky Wainscot

Spectacle

Straw Dot

Treble Brown Spot

White Satin

White-spotted Pug

Willow Beauty

Wood Carpet

Yellow shell

 

Micro Moths

 

Acentria ephemerella     

Acleris aspersana            

Acleris forsskaleana       

Acompsia schmidtiellus 

Acrobasis advenella        

Aethes cnicana 

Agapeta hamana             

Agapeta zoegana            

Agonopterix arenella     

Agonopterix kaekeritziana           

Agonopterix pallorella   

Agonopterix purpurea    

Agriphila straminella      

Agriphila tristella             

Anania hortulata             

Archips podana

Argyresthia albistria       

Argyresthia goedartella 

Aspilapteryx tringipennella          

Batia lunaris       

Blastobasis adustella      

Blastobasis lacticolella   

Bryotropha terrella         

Calamotropha paludella

Carcina quercana            

Catoptria pinella              

Celypha lacunana            

Chrysoteuchia culmella 

Cnephasia sp     

Cochylimorpha straminea            

Cochylis hybridella          

Crassa unitella   

Cydia fagiglandana         

Cydia pomonella             

Cydia splendana              

Delplanqueia dilutella inscriptella             

Emmelina monodactlya

Endothenia sp   

Endotricha flammealis   

Eucosma cana   

Eucosma conterminana 

Eucosma hohenwartiana              

Eudonia lacustrata          

Eulamprotes atrella        

Euzophera pinguis           

Hypsopygia costalis        

Mompha raschkiella       

Monopis weaverella       

Oncocera semirubella    

Pammene aurita             

Pandemis corylana         

Pandemis heparana

Paratalanta hyalinalis        

Paraswammerdamia albicapitella             

Phycita roborella             

Phycitodes binaevella    

Pleuroptya ruralis           

Plutella xylostella            

Prays fraxinella 

Pyrausta aurata

Pyrausta nigrata              

Pyrausta purpuralis         

Rhopobota naevana       

Scrobipalpa costella       

Scrobipalpa sp (to check)             

Sitochroa palealis            

Stenoptilia pterodactyla

Stenoptilia pterodactyla

Syncopacma sp 

Teleiodes sequax

 

Paratalanta hyalinalis

Annulet

Teleiodes sequax

Sitochroa palealis

Agonopterix kaekeritziana

Acompsia schmidtiellus

Acleris aspersana pair

Oncocera semirubella

Phycita roborella

Cochylimorpha sp

Delplanqueia dilutella inscriptella

 

4 days of mothing and a change of weather

I've been pretty lazy lately updating my blog and so here is a combined list of moths including all of the new for year species since the 22nd of July until the 30th.

In the time I trapped 4 times and each time the catch has got slightly lower each time.

This slow down I usually expect to see at the end of August, but with species such as Square-spot Rustic, Rosy Rustic and Straw Underwing it kind of feels like that time of year already.

Some great new moths for the year last week including the rarely seen Nutmeg (with just 3 records now for the garden and last seen in 2014).

Nutmeg is a strange one for me. It seems to have poor years for about 5 or 6 consecutive years then an explosion happens like in 2012 where I trapped no less than 220 over two traps on the farm at Braughing Friars. 

Also Ypsolopha scabrella, which was a garden first in 2013 returned after a four year absence and not just one but 4 over the week and all different specimens as they were potted up.

Udea ferrugalis was recorded as well, a migrant that has turned up for the last 5 years running and my earliest garden record by 29 days, I actually caught two of them on different nights which was pleasing.

Last week saw a spurt of migrants with a year first Nomophila noctuella also recorded and no less than 35 Silver-Y's over the week.

Unbelievably I missed out on Copper Underwing last year, a common moth and which was a year first on the 28th of July.

But saving the best until last was a new Macro Moth for the garden and a truly un-welcome visitor if you work for DEFRA, the Oak Processionary Moth. Really pleased to trap this presumed wanderer from it's stronghold population in the Thames Valley and in many districts of London.

Unfortunately, it was in a pretty dire state but it still counts and I believe only the second record for Hertfordshire.

The year list now sits on 414 species with the year totals so far being 

2016 - [372] 2015 - [401] 2014 - [423] 2013 - [385] 

So I need 9 species to level with the best year in 2014, that should be easily attainable with about 20 common species 'expected' to turn up before the year ends.

That is all for now... back to trapping for me.

Catch Report - 22/07/17 to 30/07/17 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

 

Macro Moths

1x Oak Processionary [NEW!] 

3x Copper Underwing [NFY]

1x Least Yellow Underwing [NFY] 

1x Nutmeg [NFY]

1x Straw Underwing [NFY]

1x White-spotted Pug [NFY]

1x Blood-vein

1x Bright-line Brown-eye

4x Brimstone Moth

2x Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

76x Common Rustic

2x Common Wainscot

2x Dark Arches

1x Dingy Footman

1x Dot Moth

5x Double-striped Pug

3x Dun-bar

1x July Highflyer

1x Knot Grass

5x Large Yellow Underwing

5x Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

1x Lesser Yellow Underwing

1x Lychnis 

1x Maiden's Blush 

5x Maple Pug

5x Mottled Beauty

8x Nut-tree Tussock

1x Pale Mottled Willow

1x Pale Prominent 

1x Peppered Moth

1x Poplar Hawk-moth

1x Red Twin-spot Carpet

10x Riband Wave

2x Ruby Tiger

5x Rustic

1x Scalloped Oak

5x Shuttle-shaped Dart

35x Silver-Y

1x Small Waved Umber 

1x Smoky Wainscot 

4x Straw Dot

1x Tree-lichen Beauty

3x Turnip Moth

3x Uncertain

2x Willow Beauty

1x Yellow-tail

Micro Moths

1x Catoptria pinella [NFY]

1x Epinotia tenerana [ NFY]

1x Hypatima rhomboidella [NFY] 

1x Nomophila noctuella [NFY] 

1x Phyllonorycter geniculella [NFY]

1x Phyllonorycter messaniella [NFY]

2x Udea ferrugalis [NFY]

4x Ypsolopha scabrella [NFY]

1x Acleris forsskaleana 

2x Acrobasis advenella 

5x Acrobasis suavella

3x Agriphila tristella

45x Agriphila straminella

1x Aleimma loeflingiana

2x Amblyptilia acanthdactyla

4x Argyresthia albistria 

45x Blastobasis adustella

1x Bucculatrix ulmella

10x Chrysoteuchia culmella

1x Cnephasia sp

1x Coleophora sp

2x Cydia fagiglandana 

2x Cydia pomonella

2x Cydia splendana

1x Endrosis sarcitrella 

4x Emmelina monodactyla

5x Endotricha flammealis

1x Epiphyas postvittana

35x Eudonia lacustrata

30x Eudonia mercurella

2x Evergestis forficalis  

1x Lyonetia clerkella

4x Pammene aurita

1x Pammene fasciana 

1x Pandemis corylana 

1x Phyllonorycter harrisella

45x Pleuroptya ruralis

15x Spilonota ocellana

4x Yponomeuta evonymella

1x Ypsolopha sequella 

Cydia fagiglandana

 

Epinotia tenerana

Hypatima rhomboidella

July Highflyer

Nomophila noctuella

Nutmeg

Oak Processionary

Peppered Moth

Turnip Moth

Udea ferrugalis

Ypsolopha scabrella