Lepidoptera [ not Butterflies ]

[Dave McCormick]

I was taking a guess at the 6-spot because I have seen them around here in the past, but without a positive ID it could equally be a 5 spot. I suppose I will just have to wait and see what turns up.

I have had that mistake before. i saw 6 spot burnets in one area before and then thought I saw them again but it was narrow borderd 5 spot burnet I was seeing, beside the six spots. I have yet to fiond a caterpillar of them.

[bugmadmark]

Well it's the national garden moth count this week (20-28th June) so I borrowed a friends Skinner Trap and in the weeks leading upto this count had a few goes. Everynight the jewel in the trap was the elephant Hawkmoths - 1 each night (no not the same one as I leave a couple days between counts).

Then last night had an amazing night - and ended up with 3 species of Hawkwmoths - namely Privet, Elephant and Eyed. Their was a realy 'cracker' in terms of beauty when it came to the smaller moths and this is a Burnished Brass. Anyway, thought Id share afew of my favourites on here. I apologise for poor photography - my main objective was to snap images quickly for ID purposes. Most of these came in between 12 midnight and 1am so no time to mess with the cameras in difficult lighting.

Barred Straw

Buff Ermine (male)

Bird-cherry Ermine

Clouded Border

Barred Yellow

Green Carpet

Grey Dagger

Elephant Hawkmoth

Elephant Hawkmoth

Tortrix Archips podana???

Green Silver-lines

Common Swift (male)

Bird Cherry Ermine

Heart and Dart

Common Emerald

Large Yellow Underwing

Eyed Hawkmoth

Peppered Moth

Burnished Brass - A moth with added Wow factor!

[bugmadmark]

No butterflies today but got these little fellows.

Cheers

Sezar

Hi all

Don't forget to record all of your sightings of ladybirds here...

http://www.ladybird-survey.org/recording.aspx

and if you have chance to snap a picture of it you can send it in for verification purposes as they arent always that straight forward! This survey is recording all ladybird sightings across the UK and has been monitoring the rapid spread of the Harlequin ladybird which is quite a beast in itself compared to our native species and it is also incredibly varied in its colour and patterns!

Mark

[bugmadmark]

Arghhh, harlequin! Squash it!

I'm afriad it looks like you've got a lot of squishing - they are everywhere! Strumpshaw was full of the blighters when I visited a few weeks ago

[Dave McCormick]

Hi Mark, I like the first moth a lot, never seen one like it, do you know what it is?

I remember the first time I saw eyed hawk moth, pretty cool moth, when it flicked its wings, it did startle me a little but yeah, hawk moths are my favourite.

At your Tortrix, I think it might be Dark Fruit-tree tortrix: http://www.ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=972 but I can't be 100%

I turned up lots of little micro moths today, I'll post a few when I get my computer 100% fixed, 3 seperate grass moths and one metellic blue (around a few mm in length) and some nettle tap moths. I really want a moth trap, maybe soon I can get a bulb and battry and make one, If I can get bulb and battery, I can make one easy eniugh, anyone know what is a good light to use?

[bugmadmark]

Hi Mark, I like the first moth a lot, never seen one like it, do you know what it is?

At your Tortrix, I think it might be Dark Fruit-tree tortrix: http://www.ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=972 but I can't be 100%

I really want a moth trap, maybe soon I can get a bulb and battry and make one, If I can get bulb and battery, I can make one easy eniugh, anyone know what is a good light to use?

Hi Dave - It's is a 'Barred Straw' - a very strange looking moth given its reduced hindwings and peculiar posture.

Check this link out - http://www.angleps.com/guides.php. It has a number of really useful guides on moth trapping, sugaring etc. Includes plans for making your own and the company of course supplies the electrical bits too, but be careful if you intend to do your own electrics.

Another good guide can be found here: http://www.bioquip.net/which_moth.pdf

I used a proper skinner trap (E7591 from here http://www.watdon.co.uk/the-naturalists ... Traps.html ) that I borrowed from a colleague that helps to run the Northamptonshire moth group. It us mains powered with 125w mercury vapour light. Place this on a large white sheet to maximise catch. MV lamps emit (obviously) very bright light. This can be a nuisance to neigbours unless they are understanding - but if you want good catch rates then the brighter the better. Make sure you wear protective UV dark sunglasses or else you could risk hurting your eyes with this bulb! Obviously the bulb gets hot and the bulb must be connected via a choke unit to the mains. The trap I am using has no rain guard so avoid using in wet/rainy condition unless you want the bulb to explode - these do contain mercury which you won't want to inhale or get on your hands in the event of the bulb breaking - so broken bulbs should be handled carefully. Use an RCD device with any mains electrical device.

Other bulbs used for traping include the so called 15/30w actinic style - which emit mainly in the UV spectrum and are popular in portable units that you can take out with a 12v car battery into the field - but they wont be as bright and the catch will be lower. They run much cooler than MV bulbs.

I left this one on between 10pm and 1am and not all night. Every hawkmoth i have caught over the past week (5 in total - 3 elephant, 1 eyed and 1 privet) were caught after midnight.

[bugmadmark]

And here are a sample of the moths collected in the trap last night between 10pm and 2am...

Elephant Hawkmoth

Buff Ermine

4 Privet Hawkmoth, 1 Eyed Hawkmoth and 3 Elephant Hawkmoth arrived in the garden trap between midnight and 2am

Phlyctaenia coronata

[NickB]

OK - I'm not really a moff man (in the same way I am not a cat man, but seem to find myself adopted by one )
but this was a BIG guy, not one of your micro-jobbies.....

Am I right to think Goat Moth - Cossus cossus?

[Dave McCormick]

OK - I'm not really a moff man (in the same way I am not a cat man, but seem to find myself adopted by one )
but this was a BIG guy, not one of your micro-jobbies.....

Moth_DD_23_June_2009.jpg

Am I right to think Goat Moth - Cossus cossus?

I'd agree with Goat Moth, never seen one, but I have seen photos so I know what it looks like

[bugmadmark]

I think you are right also ... http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=2097

Amazing - this moths larva can take upto 5 years to pupate because it burrows into wood of deciduous trees and it takes a long time for the larva to digest the wood, thereby apparently slowing its development!

[Shirley Roulston]

To-day I spotted this Ladybird to-day whilst looking for the Painted Lady caterpillars.

Shirley

[bugmadmark]

We could do with a few more of these in my garden - it's infested with aphids and everything is sticky as a treacle pudding!

Remember to report your sightings of any ladybird here - this is the traditional 7 spot

http://www.ladybird-survey.org/recording.aspx

[eccles]

Pretty shot, Shirley. Did you use the onboard flash?

[Shirley Roulston]

No I didn't use the flash Eccles, I have enough trouble with the exposure and the monopod getting stuck in the grass, but I got a nice sunset and put it in the weather thread, I didn't use the flash with the sunset either. I'll use it one day.
I have downloaded the survey form for the Ladybirds, thats three in a field this week.
Shirley

Got only one photo, sorry its blurred.

[Paul]

This beautiful Lime Hawk graced my MV light last evening...

[Dave McCormick]

Shirley, I see your two ladybirds and raise you a while family on two plants beside eachother (got them at Strangford Lough a few days ago) must have seen hundreds of ladybirds, all stages, many pupae of them too:



I found loads of these there as well (anyone know what type of moth it is?) I know its one of the grass micros



Mottled Beauty Alcis repandata (I found yesterday, must have came through window):


Here is a few shots of Strangford Lough, where I was and saw the small whites, painted ladies and grass moths:





Here is Buff Ermine, loads in our garden:


This buff ermine must have flown in through open window. I did not notice it, I put my headset on to listen to music on my computer, felt something crawl off and down my neck, put my hand back there and this crawled onto it, so I set it on my computer desk to get a photo before releasing it:

[eccles]

They really like you Dave! A super little moth.

[Dave McCormick]

They really like you Dave! A super little moth.

Hehe, suppose. Seen less White Ermines this year. I remember one year I found 100+ white earmine caterpillars and later around 80 ermine adults.

I was out 2 hours ago and came up with a bunch of moths. 1 Silver Ground Carpet, 1 Straw Dot and a few unidentified. Anyone have ideas on what these are?

Tortrix moth:





Moth on thistle (found a few on thistle heads, sorry for not great photo, but I used flash as it was dark and it appeard bright, this was the best I could do):



Another small moth I thought to be a tortrix, but I don't think it is:

[Dave McCormick]

Been moth trapping last night and ended up with these 9used a light and put hot water+treacle spread on paper):

Mottled Beauty Alcis repandata think these are both males (I found about 7 of these):



Small Magpie:


I attracted some moths with treacle+water and got 1 Buff ermine and 2 mottled beauty:

3 moths

[Eris]

Well the question got answered as to what was going to emerge from that chrysalis I found

pic taken on the 18th... I should have told the sussex moth lot, it was 3 days earlier than their first listed sighting...sigh, missed me chance of fame