Diamond-back Moth new for the year.

Monday 8th May 2023.

My first Diamond-back Moth of the year.

My moth box was on overnight and even though I had a new moth for the year, a Diamond-back Moth, I was a bit disappointed that there were hardly no ‘macro’ moths present this morning. There really does seem like a dearth of the larger moths around at present and a lot of local ‘moth-ers’ are feeling the pinch too. Conditions seemed to be OK overnight, with a bit of cloud cover and temperatures not too cold either.

A White-shouldered House Moth was the first one for this month.

The Diamond-back Moth, a true immigrant moth from the Continent, was a nice surprise; seen perched up on the white sheet behind the box. Moths present this morning included the following: 

• 1 Double-striped Pug
• 1 Beautiful Plume
• 1 Diamond-back Moth
• 17 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 6 Tachystola acroxantha
• 1 White-shouldered House Moth

Above, this Beautiful Plume moth was also the first this month and below, a Common Heath moth that was photographed by Emma Parkes yesterday at Pig Bush, in the New Forest.

Back to the birds and a few Swifts were circling high over the house while I was checking the moth box and male Hairy-footed Flower Bees were still collecting pollen from nearby plants in my garden. Both the Hooded Crow in Gosport and the Long-billed Dowitcher at Pennington Marshes are still present early this morning, but the female Kentish Plover seems to have departed from the Stilt Pools at Medmerry RSPB Reserve in West Sussex. A few Spotted Flycatchers have been found in Hampshire, so I hope to add this species to my year list shortly. 

These lovely photos of a Cuckoo was also taken by Emma Parkes at Pig Bush.