Grey Dagger Caterpillar

My sharp-eyed youngest son spotted this colourful caterpillar in the corkscrew willow tree. It is the caterpillar of the Grey Dagger moth (Acronicta psi, #611). I’ve caught adults in the moth trap, which are virtually indistinguishable from the rarer Dark Dagger moth, but the caterpillars of the two species are quite different. Grey Dagger caterpillars are found on a variety of deciduous trees, such as Oak, Birch, Hawthorn, Elm and seemingly Willow too.

#611 Grey Dagger (Acronicta psi) caterpillar

September Moths

After a bit of a break during the holidays, it was good to get my moth trap back out and see what was about. Among the Large Yellow Underwings there were a few new species. This Black Rustic and a couple of prettily veined Lunar Underwings were my favourites. I nearly missed the Small Dusty Wave altogether as it is more or less perfectly camouflaged against egg box grey.

#683 Black Rustic - Aporophyla nigra

#682 Square-spot Rustic - Xestia xanthographa

#685 Lunar Underwing - Omphaloscelis lunosa

#688 Pale Mottled Willow - Caradrina clavipalpis

#684 Garden Rose - Tortrix Acleris variegana

#92 Small Dusty Wave - Idaea seriata

Moth Bonanza

It’s taken me a few days to identify all the moths I caught on Friday night, with 15 new species added to the list. There were many moths in the trap and even more all around on the house wall and surrounding plants. Some of the highlights below. Without the moth trap you only see a fraction of what is out there.

#666 Magpie moth - Abraxas grossulariata

#236 Garden Carpet - Xanthorhoe fluctuata

#667 Lesser Swallow Prominent - Pheosia gnoma

#674 Carcina quercana

#245 Yellow-tail - Euproctis similis

#675 Water Veneer - Acentria ephemerella

#546 Ruby Tiger Moth - Phragmatobia fuliginosa

#673 Iron Prominent - Notodonta dromedarius

#671 Nutmeg - Anarta trifolii

#664 Lesser BB Yellow Underwing - Noctua janthe

#672 Straw Underwing - Thalpophila matura

#676 The Coronet - Craniophora ligustri

Moth Trapping in Winchcombe

For a change last night I was trapping in my Dad’s garden in Winchcombe. He’s always reminiscing about how many more insects there were back in the old days, and he’s for sure correct. Even so it was great to catch a pretty decent selection of moths, several that i didn’t yet catch at my place. I took some photos of a few of the more colourful ones and ones I didn’t recognise, including a Marbled Green (Nyctobrya muralis) which seems pretty unusual this far from the coast. A rather impressive Sexton Beetle had dropped into the trap; this is a carrion beetle that searches out dead small animals and raises its larvae in a burrow under the corpse.

Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta)

Gold Spot (Plusia festucae)

Maiden's Blush (Cyclophora punctaria)

Marbled Green (Cryphia muralis)

Sallow Kitten (Furcula furcula)

Common Sexton Beetle (Nicrophorus vespilloides)

Poplar Hawk-moth - Laothoe populi (#663)

Among a whole bunch of moths, which are going to take me a while to sort out, this amazing Poplar Hawk-moth (Laothoe populi). The main flying season is May-July, so this one is a little late, or maybe it’s from a second generation. This hawk-moth is one of the commonest in UK, but very spectacular.

Poplar Hawk-moth (Laothoe populi, #663)

Five New Moths

Monday night was my best night’s trapping for quite some time, including five new species. The Brimstone Moth was not new, but the light drew in several of these and I didn’t get a photo the previous time I recorded them. Scalloped Oak, Single-dotted Wave, Shuttle-shaped Dart, Straw Underwing and Turnip Moth were all new, reflecting a shift in the season and new generations of these moths appearing. I caught several Shuttle-shape Darts, Straw Underwings and also Riband Waves, plus individuals of several other species.

#657 Scalloped Oak (Crocallis elinguaria)

#606 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata)

#658 Single-dotted Wave (Idaea dimidiata)

#659 Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis puta)

#660 Straw Underwing (Thalpophila matura)

#661 Turnip Moth (Agrotis segetum)

A Pair of Beauties

Here’s a nice pair of “beautiful” micro moths. On the left a Marbled Beauty (Bryophila domestica, #652), caught last week in the moth trap. This species is camouflaged to hide up on a lichen covered wall;its caterpillars are lichenivores, feeding on lichens, usually on rocks. On the right a Beautiful Plume Moth (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla, #222) that appeared from some garden waste I was clearing out.

#652 Marbled Beauty (Bryophila domestica)

#222 Beautiful Plume Moth (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla)

Lesser Waterboatman (Sigara lateralis, #646)

Another first, this time my first Waterboatmen, with a dozen or more caught in the moth trap. Looking like something from Roswell, these bugs (not beetles) are strong fliers and often attracted to light at night. There are several similar species, but based on pattern and leg/foot colour, I believe this one is Sigara lateralis. I released them in my small pond - may they be happy there!

The moth is a rather faded Double Square Spot, the first of these I’ve caught. Apart from a coupe of Large Yellow Underwings and an unidentified brown Caddisfly there wasn’t much else in the trap.

#646 Lesser Waterboatman (Sigara lateralis)

#645 Double Square-spot (Xestia triangulum)

Moths in the Garden

After a bit of a break from putting out the moth trap due to recent windy and wet weather, it went out at the weekend. This Common Rustic (Mesapamea secalis, #642) was the only new species, but the catch included a splendid pair of Buff Ermine moths (Spilosoma lutea). Another new moth is this leaf mine from the apple tree, which is from the tiny Apple Leaf Miner moth ( Lyonetia clerkella, #643).

#642 Common Rustic (Mesapamea secalis)

#643 Apple Leaf Miner (Lyonetia clerkella)

#593 Buff Ermine (Spilosoma lutea)

#593 Buff Ermine (Spilosoma lutea)

Scarlet Tigers

There are many Scarlet Tiger moths (Callimorpha dominula) around at the moment, flying around in the late afternoon and evening, or resting up during the day. They are so numerous here, that it’s surprising to see that their distribution in UK is rather restricted to the south and west of the country. The caterpillars like Comfrey, but I also find them on the Green Alkanet in the garden.

There were 8 or so Scarlet Tigers around the moth trap the other morning, plus a few other species like this Clouded Silver (Lomographa temerata) and a bunch of “micro” moths, including an Ermine (Yponomeuta sp. several species are too similar to ID in the field), Grey Tortrix (Cnephasia sp. ditto), Bramble Shoot Moth (Notocelia uddmanniana) and Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella). Codling Moth is a nuisance in orchards, as its larvae tunnel into the core of the apple, leaving a “maggoty apple” with a dirty brown tunnel through the fruit.

#81 Scarlet Tiger (Callimorpha dominula)

#632 Clouded Silver (Lomographa temerata)

From top left, clockwise: Ermine sp (#635), Grey Tortrix (#634), , Bramble Shoot Moth (#609), Codling Moth (#633)

Moth Trap Update

Caught a few new moths earlier in the week. The Buff Tip (Phalera bucephala) is not new, but I like them a lot, so I thought I’d include this photo of one trying hard to be a birch twig in the morning sun. The Common Footman (Eilema lurideola) with its yellow edges was new, as was my third type of wainscot moth, the Smoky Wainscot (Mythimna impura). Finally, all the Riband Waves (Idaea aversata) I have seen or caught so until now have been mostly pale, so it was nice to catch this one that actually had a dark “riband” across the wings.

#612 Buff Tip (Phalera bucephala)

#625 Smoky Wainscot (Mythimna impura)

#629 Common Footman (Eilema lurideola)

#132 Riband Wave (Idaea aversata)

Trio of New Moths

No rain last night, so the moth trap was out and catching a fair number of moths, the Heart & Dart being the most numerous, with a couple each of Vine’s Rustic and Uncertain moths. With these there were three new species: a Bright-line Brown-eye (Lacanobia oleracea), a twig-like Flame moth ( Axylia putris) and a Barred Straw (Gandaritis pyraliata). The Barred Straw is an unusual looking moth as it rests with its fore-wings completely covering its hind-wings, and in this case fluttered off before (unfortunately) I could get a better photo.

#619 Bright-line Brown-eye - Lacanobia oleracea

#620 Flame - Axylia putris

#621 Barred Straw - Gandaritis pyraliata

Weekend Finds

This weekend there were a few new bugs about. This rather fine leaf mine on a Nasturtium leaf is from the larva of a fly, probably Pea Leaf-miner, Chromatomyia horticola (#616), though there is another species with an identical mine. Chromatomyia horticola mines leaves of different plants, which include Sow Thistle and Garden Peas, both of which I find in the garden with similar narrow white mines.

The smart-looking black & grey fly appears to be Anthomyia procellaris (#617), due to the placement of the block spots. It is not an uncommon fly, often found sunbathing - in this case on my potato plants. Its larval life-cycle is not really known.

The moth trap was fairly quiet on Sunday morning, with this rather burgundy-tinted Middle-barred Minor (Oligia fasciuncula, #615) the only new species caught. On Saturday night I noted several insects flying around the light turned which I thought were stripey micro moths, but it turns out hey were my fist species of caddisfly, the aptly named Long-horned Caddisfly (Mystacides longicornis, #618). Caddisflies are usually associated with water, where their larvae live in a case made from bits of sand and gravel. My garden is quite far from any stream, so either these insects roam further than you might expect, or maybe they are from one of my small garden ponds.

#616 Pea Leaf-miner (Chromatomyia horticola)

#617 Anthomyia procellaris

#615 Middle-barred Minor (Oligia fasciuncula)

#618 Long-horned Caddisfly (Mystacides longicornis)

More Marvelous Moths

After a couple of fruitful trapping evenings I had a bit of a backlog of photos and a few identification challenges I was still working on. I’m impressed how many moths I’ve caught, and the variety of species - I had no idea there were so many around. I particularly love the birch twig imitating Bull Tip and the pattern on the Grey Dagger, neither of which I’ve ever seen before. As the weather has turned a little wet and it looks like it will be windier too I’ll give it a rest until the weekend and see if there’s anything else around I should take notice of.

#612 Buff Tip (Phalera bucephala)

#603 Treble Lines (Charanyca trigrammica)

#611 Grey Dagger (Acronicta psi)

#607 Common Wainscot (Mythimna pallens)

#605 Mottled Rustic (Caradrina morpheus)

#602 Heart & Dart (Agrotis exclamationis)

#604 Vine's Rustic (Hoplodrina ambigua)

#601 Treble Brown Spot (Idaea trigeminata)

#219 Small Magpie Moth (Anania hortulata)

600 Species - Small Elephant Hawk Moth

Moth trapping is getting quite addictive, and I’m very happy to reach 600 species in style with this gorgeous Small Elephant Hawk-moth, found in the trap this morning. I’m still working on identifying some other of last night’s moths - but this ID was pretty straightforward. Nice!

#

#600 Small Elephant Hawk-moth - Deilephila porcellus

Mothing for the Weekend

My moth trap arrived, and even though the weather was not great - cold and quite windy - what the Hell, I had to give it a go. Not many species caught, but at least on the plus side I have to spend the whole day identifying moths! A single Heart & Club (Agrotis clavis) was the sole catch on Friday night, but it was a new species - one that is apparently very readily attracted to light. Saturday night was still and a little warmer after some rain, so I woke up to a moth trap with a dozen or so moths in it, including White and Buff Ermines, Setaceous Hebrew Character, an Uncertain, Willow Beauty, Riband Wave, Spectacle, Shoulder-striped Wainscot, Olive Pearl (Udea olivalis), Barred Marble (Celypha striana) and three more Heart & Club moths. Several of those caught were new species for my garden list, and I’m very happy with my new purchase.

#592 White Ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda)

#593 Buff Ermine (Spilosoma lutea)

#596 Spectacle (Abrostola tripartita)

#594 Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum)

#597 Shoulder-striped Wainscot (Leucania comma)

#591 Heart & Club Moth (Agrotis clavis)

#622 Uncertain (Hoplodrina octogenaria)

#132 Riband Wave (Idaea aversata)

#595 Willow Beauty (Peribatodes rhomboidaria)

Shredded Hawk-moth

Presumably I have the cat to thank for my finding this Eyed Hawk-moth (Smerinthus ocellata, #590) by the back door, and unfortunately also for the state it was left in. The brown stripe on its head, and pink on the wings and even a small bit of remaining blue eye identify the remains as this species. The Herald Moth (Scoliopteryx libatrix) on the other hand was caught in the garden shed in a spider’s web.

I took the plunge and invested in a moth trap, which should arrive in a week or so. It looks like I’ll have to lock up the cat on trapping nights.

Cinnabar Moth - Tyria jacobaeae (#587)

This strikingly-coloured Cinnabar Moth, with its amazing vivid red on the wings, was resting up on the leaves of the Pyracantha. This moth is usually associated with Ragwort, which is the food-plant for its yellow & black striped caterpillars. It’s a pretty widespread moth in Britain, but mostly seen in more open habitats than my garden.

#587 Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae)

Privet Hawk-moth (Sphinx ligustri)

Sadly not in my garden, I found this superb creature on the gatepost at my allotment, where it remained the whole day. The moth is a Privet Hawk-moth (Sphinx ligustri), Britain’s largest resident moth, and the first of these I’ve ever seen.

Privet Hawk-moth - Sphinx ligustri

Trifurcula headleyella (#578)

Not a great photo, but this small moth, also called the Self-heal Pygmy, from the Nepticulinae family appears to be relatively unusual, so worth a post. Looking at UK Moths (https://ukmoths.org.uk/) and other web sites, this species is one of many similar looking small black & white moths, but with a broken white bar, black head with a white eye and black patch towards its rear, of the species pictured, it seems identifiable. This individual was hiding up in a rowan sapling in the garden, but normally the species is associated with chalk meadows in the South of England, where its larvae are leaf miners of Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris). On one hand the habitat may not be right, but the species is found in Gloucestershire, and (as my veg patch will attest) Self-heal quickly covers any bare patch of ground around here, so the moth’s food-plant is present in quantities.