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Garden Moths - Emsworth

I had taken my portable actinic suitcase type trap down to our daughters as she had said I could run it in her garden and early indications were that Monday (6th) looked to be a reasonably good night.
Wouldn’t you just know it, by 5.00pm the earlier clouds had completely disappeared leaving clear skies, although it was forecast to cloud over again sometime in the early hours with a band of rain coming in.

Nevertheless, I went ahead and ran the trap and ended up with 20 moths of 11 species. The best of these for me was a Grey Arches, a species that I have never seen at home. These do occur in Warwickshire where it is locally common but is considered to be a woodland species and not one that I would expect in my urban garden.
I was also pleased to see a couple of White Ermine, a species that I have had at home before but that has been absent for the past couple of years.
A nice Scorched Carpet and Clouded Border both flew off before I could get photos but other than that the rest consisted of half a dozen Willow Beauties, four Heart & Darts, and singles of Light Emerald, Pale Mottled Willow and Green Pug.
There were just two micros, a White Plume and Celypha striana.

The clouds persisted all day for Tuesday (7th), often with light rain or a persistent drizzle and so I didn’t see any more butterflies. I did think about going out, but to be honest I didn’t fancy getting wet and in all likelihood would only see the same butterflies that I saw the day before, and given the conditions, fewer of them. Instead, after the kids had gone to school, we went out for breakfast at a local Pub and then just chilled out for the rest of the day.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Cracking set of reports from Chapel and OWH Neil Great work with the Badger shot as well -one blundered out of a hedge at Martin Down once and was so shocked I didn't even get to raise my camera before it had vamoosed!

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. The badgers I see usually take me by surprise as they leg it out of the undergrowth at my approach. Like you, I don't usually get time to point the camera at them before they are gone.

Friday 10th June.

A Friday morning visit to my Mom’s during which I went for my usual quick circuit of her local park.
The first butterflies to appear, as is often the case here were Speckled Wood with half a dozen seen around their usual spots.
These were mostly males apart from one nice female that I watched for a while as she alternated between basking and fluttering amongst the long grass where she stopped a few times and appeared to be egg laying. Unfortunately for me, this was always well down in the grass which made it impossible to get a half decent photo of this activity.
Up until now I had still not seen a Large skipper this year and with this being one of the places that I often see my first of these, I was on the lookout for one. About halfway round my circuit a small orange shape buzzed past me and settled to bask on some nearby brambles.

Eventually I counted four, all fresh looking males so it looks like they have just started here.
I was on my back when I cast my eyes over a patch of nettles and spotted what looks to be a first instar Small Tortoiseshell larval web. Summer brood adults are only just beginning to appear around here so I can only assume that these are from a late batch of eggs laid by a spring female.
It had been nice and sunny first thing but as often happens clouds had been gradually building up until it was a blanket grey overcast by the time I headed back around 11.00am.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Garden Clearwings.

I have been putting various pheromone lures for Clearwing Moths out in my garden recently but it seems they are slow to get going here this year, something which is backed up by other members of the Warwickshire Moth group on Facebook. This is no doubt due to the amount of cloud cover we have had here recently along with the sometimes quite blustery wind, these small moths being mostly creatures of warm sunny days.

I have had three species so far, the first being the Red-tipped Clearwing on 25th May as reported in this PD at the time.
Since then, I have had a couple of Red-belted Clearwings to the CUL lure on Saturday (11th June) and a single Currant Clearwing to the TIP lure on Sunday (12th). These were both days with a lot of cloud about and quite breezy but with enough sunny spells to make it feel pleasantly warm at times.
After taking a few photos I released the Currant Clearwing later in the afternoon down the bottom of the garden where it settled on a bramble leaf and stayed there. I just left it there to fly off in its own time but noticed a bit later that it was still in the same position, no doubt due to the fact that the sun was hidden behind clouds again and by the time the sky had cleared it was early evening and the temperature had dropped a bit.
Yesterday morning (13th) I went down the garden to see if it had gone and found it still there. The photo below was taken at 09.15am of it in this same position.
I was keen to see at what time and under what conditions it would fly off so kept an eye on it. There had been some early sun but this had obviously not raised the temperature enough to warm him up and it had then clouded over again for the next couple of hours. Around 11.00am a large gap in the clouds allowed the sun to warm things up a bit and 15 minutes later, with the temperature up to 16 degrees and with much less of a breeze than previous days, it flew off. Not long afterwards, the clouds once again filled in the gaps and we ended up with yet another mostly overcast day.

I have also tried the VES lure a couple of times for Orange-tailed and Yellow-legged Clearwings but no sign of either of these yet, although I have seen both species reported from elsewhere around the midlands.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Tuesday 14th June.

A pleasant morning with a 50/50 mix of blue sky and fluffy white summer clouds so I decided to have a wander down to my local spot by Wagon Lane.
In the past, the first meadow here has been cut, just as the first meadow Browns and Large Skippers are emerging and last year I emailed Solihull Council expressing my concern about this and eventually received a pretty standard reply saying that their cutting schedules are under annual review. Well, if they were reviewed, it hadn’t made any difference, as on arrival I was again greeted with a scene of dead cut grass lying everywhere. If anything, they had cut further into the edges and destroyed a number of nettle beds that had played host to Small Tortoiseshell larval webs a few week ago. It was hardly surprising that I only saw two butterflies in this area, a single Meadow Brown and Speckled Wood.
This spot lies right on the border between Solihull and Birmingham and thankfully Solihull Council do not manage all of it. The meadow areas at the far end are (I believe) managed by Birmingham Council and here they just cut a couple of paths through the grass and around the outside of the area. Here I managed to see a few more butterflies although numbers were still low with us still being in the June Gap here. These consisted of a handful of Large Skippers and a couple each of Speckled Wood and Small Tortoiseshell.
When I got back home later in the morning I sent another email to Solihull Council expressing my disappointment in what I had found.

Later in the afternoon, I put the VES lure out in the garden and between 2.00 and 3.00pm had two Orange-tailed Clearwings to it, this being the fourth species of these fascinating little moths so far this year.
Bye for now,

Neil.

Great Clearwing shots Neil Is still don't get this need to mow that the councils have? Surely its more sustainable to leave and just mow a few paths (increase biodiversity, store carbon, use less fuel etc) - I don't get why they need to make it "tidy"?

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. I suspect it has a lot to do with no-one taking responsibility for changing existing contracts plus simple minded thinking about protecting contractors jobs. From what I see on social media more and more people are complaining about this behaviour by councils and their contractors but there is still a long way to go in changing this mindset about controlling and tidying nature.

Wednesday 15th June.

With a free afternoon and temperatures on the up, I decided to have a walk to Sheldon Country Park. It only takes me about 10 minutes to walk to this site but the first part is all close cropped grass and it takes a further 10 minutes or so to get through this (boring) part and reach some nice meadow areas.
The early clear blue skies had given over to a mix of cloud and sun and although the cloud was increasing, it was mostly high level stuff which made it feel rather warm and humid.

As is the case at my local sites at this time of year, butterflies were once again outnumbered by day flying moths. These included the usual Burnet Companions in good numbers, most of which were now looking worn and faded although I did find a few fresher looking examples.
Lots of Latticed Heath were also about, this species seems to be having a very good year around here with large numbers also being seen during my recent visits to Blythe Valley and Castle Hills.
Just one Mother Shipton was spotted although these can be a bit difficult to separate in flight from Latticed Heath, both appearing to have a similar silvery look in flight and can be of a similar size, so it is quite possible that I missed one or two.
Two of my targets for today were Grass Rivulet and Chimney Sweeper, both local species around my patch, although they can sometimes be found in large numbers where they do occur. I found both species today but only in small numbers, about half a dozen of each. These moths are very flighty and can be difficult to get close to but today I did manage to get reasonable shots of a couple of Grass Rivulets.
The Chimney Sweepers were their usual uncooperative selves and the only one that I managed to get close to was a bit worn and I only managed a couple of record shots.
A couple of Yellow Shell were also disturbed as I wandered about. I often see these during the day at my local spots and I also get them regularly in my garden light trap through the summer.
I also spotted a Marbled White Spot, a species that is not really considered a day flyer but like many other species can be easily disturbed during the daytime.
Meadow Brown numbers are now on the increase with approx. 25-30 seen around the various meadow areas here, all males so far.
Half a dozen Large Skippers were seen, again all males, and I was a bit surprised to see my first Small Skipper of the year given that I had only seen my first Large Skipper a few days ago. I only had chance to get the one shot of this before he was chased off by one of the Large Skippers and that was the last I saw of him.
A couple of male Common Blues were also flying about, again no females seen yet.
With all the distractions and zig-zagging through the meadows, it took me a good hour or so to wander down to the far end where I circled round and started slowly making my way back.

Also seen but not photographed due to being very active or simply not coming close enough were a few Speckled Wood, half a dozen Small Tortoiseshells and a flypast by a Red Admiral.

A cracking afternoon which went a long way to lift my spirits again after seeing what a mess had been made of the meadow at Wagon Lane the day before.

Bye for now,

Neil.

WoW Neil, I didn't think the Small Skipper was out yet That's given me another to search for Love your Moth shots, they can be more colourful than Butterflies Goldie

Thanks Goldie. It looks like the last few days of warm weather have brought a few more Small Skippers out, I have seen a number of reports now from all over the country.

Garden Moths.

So far this year, it had not been a good season for running the moth trap here in my Solihull garden. Too many nights either with clear skies leading to chilly overnight temperatures or with blustery winds had led me to running it less often than I normally would have, this in turn leading to fewer moths being seen.

With a warm day on Thursday (16th June) and cloud cover forecast to come in overnight, it finally looked to be a promising night so out the trap went. For once, the forecast was accurate and with a night that stayed warm with just a light breeze, I was rewarded with my best night so far this year. A total of 152 moths of 43 species were recorded made up of 95 of 28 macros and 57 of 15 micros. These included no less than 19 species that were NFY (New for Year) and a NFG (New For Garden) of Beautiful Golden Y, a close relative of the familiar Silver Y Moth.
A few other favourites below…
Bye for now,

Neil.

Fabulous selection of moths Neil - I just love that Beautiful Golden Y

Thanks Pauline. The Beautiful Golden Y is supposedly common and widespread according to the literature but that was the first one I have ever seen in the flesh.

Friday 17th June.

Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Mon Jun 13, 2022 7:44 am I was on my back when I cast my eyes over a patch of nettles and spotted what looks to be a first instar Small Tortoiseshell larval web. Summer brood adults are only just beginning to appear around here so I can only assume that these are from a late batch of eggs laid by a spring female.

Well, I got that wrong .

During a brief wander around the local park by my Mom’s on Friday morning I had another look at the larval web to see how they were getting on. Since I had seen them week ago they had come on somewhat and are now easily identified as being Peacock and not Small Tortoiseshell larvae.
This would explain why they seemed to be so far behind all the other Small Tortoiseshell larvae I had seen locally.
Other butterflies seen during an increasingly warm morning (25c by 10.00am) were Speckled Wood (5), Large Skipper (4) and Meadow Brown (6). These were already in hyper mode in the warm sun so I didn’t bother trying to get any photos.
No Ringlets here yet although they are out elsewhere in Warwickshire.

Bye for now,

Neil.

I'm normally quite good at seeing things that aren't there and things that are but I can't make out an '80' on that Moff Neil I'm either losing my touch or it's so obvious I see right past it Still its nice to look at although not as nice as the Beautiful Golden Y

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. I have added a pointer to the '80' marking on it's forewing. It is not that clear on this example, it is much easier to see on other individuals https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/tethea-ocularis/.
More Garden Moths.

First off, I forgot to post this photo of a Light Emerald from Thursday night. I was going to take a photo of it on one of the pieces of wood that I usually use when it took off (Geometers often do this) and landed a short distance away on a fallen laurel leaf on the lawn. I got a couple of shots in this position before it took off again and actually like them much better than those I would have taken on the wood.
Anyway, as mentioned in my previous post, Friday (17th June) was an absolute scorcher and although the first part of the night was forecast to remain clear, it looked to be clouding over in the early hours and it would be another warm night. I don’t usually run the trap on consecutive nights but with these conditions I was tempted to go for it again, especially as the weather was forecast to collapse the following day. They were right too as Saturday was a miserable day here with almost non-stop rain and drizzle. Today (Sunday) is overcast and feels quite cool, especially after the heat at the end of last week, but at least it has given me a chance to catch up on my moth records.

Friday nights result was even better than the previous one with 177 moths of 49 species, these consisting of 101 of 32 macros and 76 of 17 micros that I managed to count and identify. As is often the case in these conditions, I missed quite a few micros as they flew off as I was checking the trap.

Up until now I had been a bit disappointed not to get any Hawk Moths so far this year so was pleased to see the first one, even better, it was an Eyed Hawk Moth that is one that I have not had here before, a nice chunky female at that who has left me with a load of eggs which I will look forward to rearing. Like Poplar Hawk Moths, she was pretty docile and allowed me to move her to a couple of different spots for photos before I released her. A slight tickle with a small soft paintbrush induced her to open her wings to get a view of the hind wing eye-spots. Like in Peacock butterflies, Eyed Hawks flash these eye-spots as a defence against predators.
Another NFG was a Scarlet Tiger Moth. This species has been expanding it's range across the midlands in recent years and my son Chris has had them breeding in his garden near Stratford-upon-Avon for the past couple of years. I had been hoping that they would turn up here in solihull before long so was pretty chuffed to see this one in the trap. It is easy to see why this species is often mistaken for a butterfly by the uninititiated as it really looks like one in flight, even having an almost tropical look about it.
Everything else was the usual selection of species to be expected at this time of year including 37 Heart & Darts which is one of the normal summer trap fillers until the Large Yellow Underwings start showing up in numbers. These included an aberrant form in which the markings run together. I have seen a few of these posted online in the past but this is the first one I have seen myself.
After a pretty dismal weekend, it looks to be bucking up a bit again next week…fingers crossed.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Your Eyed Hawk-Moth looks amazing Neil. I have never seen one and now feel inspired to get the moth trap out. We have had Elephant and Poplar Hawk Moths in the trap and usually get Hummingbird Hawk-Moths in the garden every year.

Good luck rearing the eggs.

Sarah

Thanks Sarah. I get Poplar, Lime and Elephant Hawk moths here most years, although only in small numbers and some years one or more of these are missing. I have also had a couple of Small Elephant Hawks and a single Pine Hawk a couple of years ago. I don't get Hummingbird Hawk Moths very often but have had a couple visit the garden in the past.
It is all part of the enjoyment of running the moth trap, even in an urban garden like mine on the border of Solihull and south Birmingham, you never know what might turn up.

Cheers,

Neil.

Cracking Moffs again Neil
"I have added a pointer to the '80' marking on it's forewing." cheers for that, I can see it now, for a moment there I thought I was losing my touch

Have a goodun

Wurzel

I can't believe you will ever lose your touch Wurzel...misplace it for a while occasionally but never lose it

Monday 20th June.

If I had still been at work, today (Monday 20th) would have been one of those days that would have had me swearing at being stuck back in the office after a lousy weekend. After a slightly chilly start, it gradually warmed up though the morning and turned into a nice warm afternoon with just some wispy high level cloud slowly drifting over.

I took Jane to one of her regular check-ups at our local doctors this morning but before we left around 09.45 I put the LUN lure out in the garden to hopefully attract my first Lunar Hornet Moth for this year. We arrived back just before 10.30 and upon checking the trap I was pleased to find a LHM in it.
I potted it up so as not to count it again and after taking a couple of photos put it in the shade in the garage to keep it calm. I checked the trap occasionally through the rest of the morning and a second LHM arrived about 11.30.

After having a sandwich just after midday, I decided to go for a wander down to my local spot by Wagon Lane. On leaving the house, I checked over the buddleia we have in the front garden which is just coming into flower and saw my first summer Comma of the season.
Carrying on down to Wagon Lane I stepped it out through the first Meadow which the council contractors had made a mess of last week as mentioned previously in this PD. I have still not had a response to my email expressing my disappointment in this.

I made my way through to the far side of the site and started seeing butterflies, still not large numbers but they are slowly increasing here. Most numerous were Meadow Browns and Small Tortoiseshells with around a dozen or so of each, followed by Large Skippers (7-9) including my first female this year.
Most of these were very active in the warm afternoon sun apart from a couple of Speckled Wood that were sticking to areas of dappled shade. I watched a nice female Speckled Wood for a little while as she fluttered about low down in the shade until she eventually disappeared into the undergrowth.
Having not seen any Ringlets yet, I was on the lookout and eventually found my first one this year. Just the one but no doubt they will be increasing in number over the next week or so.
As I was making my way down one of the paths, I put up a largish pale looking butterfly that flew a short way along the path a settled again, a slightly faded Painted Lady with some hind wing damage. I have never seen one of these at this site before, in fact it is only in their better years that I see any around here at all.
I know that there was a bit of an influx of these earlier in the year but was still surprised to see a second one shortly afterwards, easily identified as a different individual by being much fresher looking and with more extensive black markings than usual.
After spending about an hour here I walked back home and found a third Lunar Hornet Moth in the pheromone trap. Later in the afternoon, as I released them, I took a photo of all three revving up for take off. I think I have said before how effective their mimicry of Hornets/Wasps is and this works on an emotional level as well. Even though my brain knows that they are moths, they can still make you feel a bit wary of getting close to them.
The LUN lure is now back in the freezer to allow these males to go about their normal business of looking for natural females.

Bye for now,

Neil.

Hi! Neil, that Specked Wood looks fantastic, the green shimmers on it's wings Goldie

Thanks Goldie. The sunlight caught that Specklie nicely as she fluttered about in the shade

Cheers,

Neil.

Those Lunar Hornet Moths are cracking Neil - I might need to invest in some of those lures Really nice swarthy looking Painted Lady as well, I saw one like that a few years back after a very warm summer so could it be down to the heat? Interesting to see anyroad

Have a goodun

Wurzel