Hawk Moths and More

More moths caught at the weekend, including Small and Large elephant Hawk Moths and Cloaked Minor, another new species.

Small & Elephant Hawk Moth

#219 Small Magpie Moth (Anania hortulata)

#676 Coronet (Craniophora ligustri)

#778 Cloaked Minor (Mesoligia furuncula)

Small Ranunculus (Hecatera dysodea, #777)

This nicely marked moth is a bit of a rarity as well. Small Ranunculus (Hecatera dysodea) was believed extinct in UK between 1914 and 1997, when it was found to be re-established in South-East England. This moth has been spreading North and West since, but there are still only a few records per year in Gloucestershire. This moth’s caterpillars are found on Prickly Lettuce, which itself found as a not-very-common weed on roadsides and disturbed ground.

New Moths - 23 June 2021

It was dry and still, but a bit cold overnight, so there weren’t too many moths in the trap this morning, but nonetheless three new species; a pug and two micros - all quite small and not very colourful.

The pug is a Currant Pug (Eupithecia assimilata), whose larval food-plant is (unsurprisingly) currant bushes. The large dark spots at the front of the wings and pale spots towards the trailing edge identify this species, which has 2 generations during the summer. Garden Pebble (Evergestis forficalis) is also double-brooded, favouring gardens and allotments where its caterpillars can be a pest on cruciferous plants (eg. cabbages). Finally the False Cacao Moth (Ephestia woodiella) has several similar relatives, but most of them are more likely to be found in food warehouses or your kitchen cupboards in the dried fruit, nuts or flour, than in the wild. Flying mostly in May-July, it seems to be becoming more common.

#776 Currant Pug (Eupithecia assimilata)

#774 Garden Pebble (Evergestis forficalis)

#775 False Cacao Moth (Ephestia woodiella)

New Moths this Weekend

Apart from the pugs, carpets and some others I covered separately, there was a great selection of moths in and around the moth trap this weekend. There were plenty that I also caught last year, but I can’t show them all, so here are the new species that I didn’t already mention in other posts. Even with all the great materials around on the web, especially the “Flying tonight” sites for Norfolk and Hampshire it still takes quite a time to go through and identify everything, and I’ve still got a few caddis flies and other non-moths I need to look at.

#752 Marbled Minor (Oligia strigilis agg)

#755 Brown Silver-line (Petrophora chlorosata)

#756 Scorched Wing (Plagodis dolabraria)

#759 Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix (Pandemis cerasana)

#760 Crescent Bell (Epinotia bilunana)

#761 Small Square-spot (Diarsia rubi)

#768 Common Grey (Scoparia ambigualis)

#769 Dusky Brocade (Apamea remissa)

Four Pugs

Here are for of the pug moths I’ve caught over the last week or so. There are quite a bewildering number of often rather similar-looking pug moths to choose from, but these are some of the commoner ones at this time of the year.

#479 Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata)

#749 Mottled Pug (Eupithecia exiguata)

#757 Foxglove Pug (Eupithecia pulchellata)

#762 Freyer's Pug (Eupithecia intricata)

New Carpets for the Garden

Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata) and Common Marbled Carpet (Dysstroma truncata) are both very variable in colour, and have been present in decent numbers while I’ve been trapping this spring (they are present right through to the Autumn as well). Among these I also caught some new species from the large family of colourful carpet moths: Green Carpet (Colostygia pectinataria), Cypress Carpet (Thera cupressata), the rather striking Flame Carpet (Xanthorhoe designata) and Barred Yellow (Cidaria fulvata). Cypress Carpet is a newly arrived species in UK, first found in 1984 but now spread to Leylandii hedges all over the South of Britain. None of the species mentioned cause damage to carpets, by the way.

Common Swift Moth (Korscheltellus lupulina, #766)

Both these moths are Common Swifts. I caught the all-dark one the other day and wondered what it was, but there is a melanistic form which is about the same colour as a Common Swift, the bird. The females apparently also tend to be duller than the males, which I suppose is what you see on the right. These moths fly in May-June, their caterpillars living the rest of the year underground nibbling the roots of grasses.

Moth Eggs on the Wall

These moth eggs appeared on the wall of the house overnight. I’ve no idea what kind of moth laid them, but it does not seem a great place for their caterpillars to hatch, as it’s quite a long crawl to the nearest greenery of any kind.

Update: A couple of weeks later the eggs have hatched and there are a cluster of tiny and very hairy caterpillars.

Elephant Hawk Moth

Very happy to catch one of these beauties in the moth trap last night. They fly from May-July, with willowherb and bedstraws being their larval plants. The Elephant Hawk Moth is not really that rare in southern England, but except for its caterpillars which look like an elephant’s trunk, it’s not something you will easily see without access to a moth trap.

#767 Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor)

More May Moths

The Buff Tip moth is one of my favourites, looking just like a snapped off birch twig, though it also frequents other species of deciduous tree. The Treble Lines moth is also one that I caught in June last year. It flies from May to July, its caterpillars eating plantain.

The two new species are the Marbled Minor, actually one of a trio of closely related species that feed on grasses, and the Rush Veneer, that also feeds on clover and grasses. The latter species is an immigrant from the continent that occurs in UK in large numbers sometimes, but usually later in the summer - this is quite an early record.

#603 Treble Lines (Charanyca trigrammica)

#612 Buff Tip (Phalera bucephala)

#752 Marbled Minor (Oligia strigilis agg)

#753 Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella)

750 Species

Four new moths the other night brought my species tally up to 750. I’ve now seen 158 moths, 103 of which were added since I bought my moth trap around a year ago. We’re still waiting for some warmer evenings, but it does look like the weather is finally changing for the better.

#606 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata)

#747 Pebble Prominent (Notodonta ziczac)

#748 Poplar Grey (Subacronicta megacephala)

#749 Mottled Pug (Eupithecia exiguata)

#750 Oak Hook-tip (Watsonalla binaria)

#236 Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoe fluctuata)

Finally a Still, Dry Night

It wasn’t warm, but at least there was no rain and it wasn’t blowing a gale, so I was able to put out the moth trap for the first time in a few weeks. This year it seems you have to take your chances when they arrive. It was not a great haul of moths, but a couple of new species. Muslin moth (Diaphora mendica) is a May flier, there were four of these grey/brown males in the trap, but none of the white coloured females. The Puss Moth (Cerura vinula) also flies in one generation from May-July - I have found it’s impressive-looking caterpillars around the village, but not in the garden. Other trapped species were the Spectacle (Abrostola tripartita) caught in the moth trap, and a Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae), caught in a nearby spider’s web.

#745 Muslin Moth (Diaphora mendica)

#596 Spectacle (Abrostola tripartita)

#746 Puss Moth (Cerura vinula)

April Moths

Despite the cold night-time temperatures there were a few moths about last night, not many in numbers but a few species including a few new ones. Pale Tussock was the most striking, also this is a quite early record for a species normally out in May-June. The Knot Grass moth is also more common later in the season, while the others are more typically spring species.

#740 Pale Tussock (Calliteara pudibunda)

#741 Brindled Beauty (Lycia hirtaria)

#743 Knot Grass (Acronicta rumicis)

#742 Waved Umber (Menophra abruptaria)

#479 Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata)

#744 Brindled Pug (Eupithecia abbreviata)

March "Heatwave" Moths

As it was such a warm, still evening and I’d seen several butterflies during the daytime I had to put out the moth trap. As well as several Early Grey, Common Quaker and other moths I caught earlier in the month, I captured these two new species. The Early Thorn has two generations, the first in Feb-May and a second in July-Sept; it is found on blackthorn and hawthorn bushes. The Double-striped Pug also has two generations in Mar-May and Jul-Aug and is a common species with a variety of food-plants,

#731 Early Thorn (Selenia dentaria)

#732 Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)

First Moths of 2021

Having caught precisely nothing up until now in the moth trap, I was delighted with my haul this morning - I obviously chose the right night for it. Seven different species came to the light; all of them new for my garden list as they are all species that have one generation during the year, flying early in the year.

#728 Oak Beauty (Biston strataria)

#723 Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta)

#724 March Tubic (Diurnea fagella)

#725 Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica)

#726 Small Quaker (Orthosia cruda)

#727 Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi)

#729 Early Grey (Xylocampa areola)

Winter Moths

As it was a calm and dry night I was able to put out the moth trap for the first time in a while, and was happy to attract several moths, mostly around rather than in the trap. A couple of December Moths (Poecilocampa populi) and a Mottled Umber (Erannis defoliaria) were new ones for the garden, plus also there were a handful of Winter Moths (Operophtera brumata) and Light Brown Apple Moths (Epiphyas postvittana). In both the Winter Moth and the Mottled Umber the females are flightless, using pheromones to attract the winged males.

#715 December Moth (Poecilocampa populi)

#401 Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)

#716 Mottled Umber (Erannis defoliaria)

#317 Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana)

November Moth

Okay, it’s not quite November, but moth trapping this week, after a small gap, we had some new autumnal species.

First of the new species is the November Moth itself (Epirrita dilutata agg.), actually one of 3 very similar & closely-related species flying at this time of year, the others being the Pale November and Autumnal Moths, which in most cases require dissection to definitively identify. These moths fly now, laying eggs in the leaf buds of various deciduous trees, which duly hatch the next summer. The Beaded Chestnut (Agrochola lychnidis) also flies a single generation at this time of the year. The larvae live in rough grass, with the adults attracted to Ivy blossom. The second generation of the Grey Pine Carpet (Thera obeliscata) is another September-October moth.

The other moths caught included Turnip Moth (Agrotis segetum), a Silver Y Moth (Autographa gamma) and a couple of Light Brown Apple Moths (Epiphyas postvittana). The latter species is an accidental introduction all the way from Australia, which since arriving in Cornwall in 1930’s has expanded its range to become a common species in much of UK.

#705 November Moth (Epirrita dilutata)

#706 Grey Pine Carpet (Thera obeliscata)

#707 Beaded Chestnut (Agrochola lychnidis)

#661 Turnip Moth (Agrotis segetum)

#317 Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana)

#111 Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

700 Species

Getting a moth trap has been a game-changer in terms of adding new species to my list this summer - also a lot of fun. I brought up my 700th species in some style with a bevy of beautiful moths this morning after a perfect warm & still September night.

#696 Dusky Thorn (Ennomos fuscantaria)

#697 Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis)

#698 Large Ranunculus (Polymixis flavicincta)

#699 The Mallow (Larentia clavaria)

#700 Light Emerald (Campaea margaritata)

Swallow Tail and Gold Triangle

There are some more moths from earlier in the week, pushing my garden list closer to 700 species. The Swallow-tailed Moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria) was a particularly beautiful one; also quite a late record for this species, which is commoner in July.

The Gold Triangle moth (Hypsopygia costalis) has two postures, this one with its wings splayed out and tail in the air and a more normal moth-like v-shape. It’s larvae live in dried vegetation, like hay stacks or my neighbour’s thatched roof. The other two moths are also typical for the season; the Pale Mottled Willow’s (Paradrina clavipalpis) larvae live in cereal grain, while those of the Rosy Rustic’s (Hydraecia micacea) live underground mostly in the roots of plants of the dock family.

#690 Swallow-tailed Moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria)

#691 Gold Triangle (Hypsopygia costalis)

#688 Pale Mottled Willow (Caradrina clavipalpis)

#693 Rosy Rustic (Hydraecia micacea) with Large Yellow Underwing

Clifden Nonpareil

This super-impressive Clifden Nonpareil or Blue Underwing moth was attracted to my moth trap last night. These moths were extinct in UK and only reported as migrants, but the last few years have been turning up more often and it appears may well have re-established themselves. The warmer climate may have contributed to their return. They typically fly in September, their larvae preferring aspen and poplar trees. With a wing-span of 75-95 mm it’s a pretty big moth, the blue underwing (just visible on this photo) is believed to play a role in surprising predators so it can get away. Once the “Holy Grail” for moth enthusiasts, they may be getting commoner, but this is still a rather special creature to find in my own garden!

#689 Clifden Nonpareil - Catocala fraxini