Three more moths added to year list.

Thursday 2nd June 2022.

The first Riband Wave moth for the year in my garden this morning.

And now the start of a long weekend with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee kicking in, I was up to yet another early start to check on my good old moth box. Thankfully, the House Sparrows had not got near the moth box yet, but by the time I had recorded what was present, they came and landed close to me, eager for their insect breakfast! Yes, I have been moaned at before by the ‘nanny brigade’ of moth lovers that I should leave the moths in the box all day etc., but I carefully place most deep within vegetation or they simply fly away and find some place else to hide.

Bramble Shoot Moth was also new for the year.

Another very still morning with a bit of cloud, but relatively bright with a lot of blue sky first thing with a temperature of around 9 degrees. There were 41 moths of 20 species this morning with three being new for the year that included a Riband Wave and the micro moths, Bramble Shoot Moth and the tiny Swammerdarmia pyrella. This morning, there was the following moths:

• 1 Green Pug
• 7 Lime-speck Pug
• 3 Common Pug
• 3 Pale Mottled Willow
• 2 White Ermine
• 1 Freyer’s Pug
• 5 Willow Beauty
• 2 Vines Rustic
• 1 Bright-line brown-eye
• 1 Riband Wave (NFY)
• 1 Setaceous Hebrew Character
• 1 Eudonia angustea
• 2 Common Plume
• 3 Brown House Moth
• 2 Ephestia woodiella
• 1 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 3 Tachystola acroxantha
• 1 White-shouldered House Moth
• 1 Bramble Shoot Moth (NFY)
• 1 Swammerdarmia pyrella (NFY)

The local Swifts were quite active over the house this morning with at least four doing low fly-passes, calling in doing so. I am sure one is certainly going into one of my nest boxes currently, which I shall monitor regularly now and hopefully, the boxes put up last year on nearby St Margaret's nearby are being looked at too. 

Another Green Pug was present this morning.