100+ moths this morning.

Saturday 9th July 2022.

The Festoon moth. I think this is only the second one of this species I have had in my garden. A smart little moth that I used to get regularly over The Oaks Crematorium, Havant. 

Up at silly o’clock this morning due to very warm overnight temperatures (18 degrees Fahrenheit!) and so had to get up at 4am and make a cup of coffee and a quick check of the moth box I had on overnight. The good news is that the white sheet behind the box looked laden with moths as I grabbed some of my moth pots to pot a few before they flew off. One moth in particular on closer inspection was my first Brown-tailed Moth of the year, so that's a good start and possibly another is in a different pot. I grabbed at least four more moths and shall study them later.

Above, the tiny micro moth Caloptilia betulicola and not easy to photograph as well! Below, this micro moth kept still for me, the beautiful tiny Argyresthia brockeella.

After a lengthy spell checking the moth box and the surrounding area, a large total of at least 105 moths of 43 species (still one pot to check) was not unexpected. It was very warm last night and again, with this forthcoming heat wave, I can only imagine what triple number figures other people studying moths will get up to! Among the many moths this morning, there were some excellent moths that were new for the year including Brown-tailed Moth, Festoon, Dwarf Cream Wave and the micro moths, Blastobasis rebeli, Caloptilia betulicola and the stunning little Argyresthia brockeella. 

This delicate little Dwarf Cream Wave was hiding underneath the lid of my moth box.

With the very warm temperature, the moth experts are telling us that this should bring over some interesting immigrant moths over from the Continent. This morning, the migrant moths present included my second Pearly Underwing of the year plus Silver Y and two Diamond-back Moths. So I am looking forward to the following week when it really is going to get hot.

The following moths were present this morning:

• 2 Brown-tailed Moth (NFY)
• 1 Common Emerald
• 1 Yellow Shell
• 9 Riband Wave
• 3 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 2 White Ermine
• 4 Lime-speck Pug
• 4 Common Pug
• 7 Double-striped Pug
• 1 Small Ranunculus
• 3 Common Rustic
• 1 Vines Rustic
• 1 Festoon (NFY)
• 3 Pale Mottled Willow
• 1 Pearly Underwing
• 2 Willow Beauty
• 3 Heart & Dart
• 1 Dwarf Cream Wave (NFY)
• 1 Silver Y
• 2 Endotrisis flammealis
• 3 Oegoconia quadripuncta
• 4 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 1 White-shouldered House Moth
• 4 Bird-cherry Ermine
• 5 Chrysoteuchia culmella
• 2 Blastobasis adustella
• 1 Bryotropha terrella
• 2 Blastobasis rebeli (NFY)
• 1 Eudonia mercurella
• 4 Common Plume
• 3 Anania coronata
• 1 Brown House Moth
• 1 Blastobasis lacticolella
• 3 Udea fulvalis
• 6 Apple Leaf Miner 
• 4 Tachystola acroxantha
• 2 Celypha striana
• 2 Diamond-back Moth
• 1 Caloptilia betulicola (NFY)
• 1 Argyresthia brockeella (NFY)
• 1 Swammerdamia pyrella

One of two Brown-tailed Moths this morning.