Four more micros new for life list.

Tuesday 9th August 2022.

My first Canary-shouldered Thorn of the year. I wondered if I was ever going to get one this year

After yesterday's excitement with the superb Striped Hawk-moth, surely this morning couldn't be as good? Well, maybe not as exciting, but a good variety of moths including FOUR ‘lifer’ micro moths! Migrant moths keep pouring in with a Bordered Straw (my second of the year), Silver Y, Rusty-dot Pearl and a Rush Veneer among the moths.

Coleophora salicorniae

Agriphila tristella.

Bryotropha basaltinella.

Cosmopterix zieglerella.

There were at least 108 moths of  46 species present today, which also included my first Canary-shouldered Thorn and the micro moths Ypsolopha nemorella and Agriphila tristella of the year. However, to get four more micro moths added to my life list that included Bryotropha basaltinella, Cosmopterix zieglerella, Gypsonoma minutana and a Coleophora salicorniae is quite exceptional. There was also a Phycitodes species present as well, a family of moths that had to be dissected to get an accurate species. These additional micros take my micro list up to 101 species for the year. 

Gypsonoma minutana.

Other insects within the moth box this morning included a Common Wasp (which I quickly got out!), a few Lacewing, a Ladybird and a strange little creature called Neolygus contaminatus, that ended up on my white sheet behind the box.  Fellow Moth-er James Cutting had 62 moths of 24 species in his Cosham garden including Straw Underwing, Dusky Thorn and Small Square-spot.

Bordered Straw.

The following moths were present this morning:

• 15 Garden Tiger
• 1 Yellow Shell
• 1 Bordered Straw
• 3 Willow Beauty
• 1 Canary-shouldered Thorn (NFY)
• 5 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 1 Garden Carpet
• 4 Lime-speck Pug
• 10 Double-striped Pug
• 5 Pale Mottled Willow
• 1 Vines Rustic
• 3 Turnip Moth
• 1 Common Emerald
• 4 Brimstone Moth
• 1 Silver Y  
• 1 Cabbage Moth
• 1 Dark Spectacle
• 1 Cloaked Minor
• 2 Marbled Beauty
• 3 Common Rustic
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart
• 2 Small Dusty Wave
• 1 Bryotropha basaltinella (NFY + LIFER)
• 1 Cosmopterix zieglerella (NFY + LIFER)
• 1 Gypsonoma minutana (NFY + LIFER)
• 1 Coleophora salicorniae (NFY + LIFER)
• 1 Gypsonoma dealbana 
• 1 Ypsolopha nemorella (NFY)
• 1 Agriphila tristella (NFY)
• 1 Codling Moth
• 11 Common Plume
• 4 Blastobasis adustella
• 1 Broom Shoot Moth
• 1 Rusty-dot Pearl
• 1 Clepsis consimilana
• 3 White-shouldered House Moth
• 1 Rush Veneer
• 1 Monopsis crocicapitella
• 1 Bryotropha affinis
• 1 Pyrausta aurata
• 1 Box Tree Moth
• 1 Bird-cherry Ermine
• 1 Beautiful Plume
• 2 Brown House Moth
• 1 Blastobasis rebeli
• 1 Cochylis molliculana