Thursday 25th May 2023.
One of four Willow Beauty moths this morning.
Up again at 4.45am this morning, a hot coffee on the go and the mealworms put out for the House Sparrows. Now to check the moths. A total of 40 moths of 19 species were recorded this morning and included four new species for the year. One of those, Willow Beauty, has returned at last with four found and another common moth, Heart & Dart, was also present too. Another Silver Y, an immigrant moth, was found just outside the moth box and my first Least Black Arches in my garden this year was among the many micro moths. Also new for the year included the micro moths Pyrausta aurata, also known as Mint Moth; and 3 Mompha subbistrigella.
Above, a Heart & Dart moth and below, Pyrausta aurata were both new for the year.
Yesterday, I found a fresh looking small egg on my garden patio and it was most likely a predated Swift egg that either was stolen from the nest or disposed of by the parent birds. Unusual nonetheless, for if it was dropped, surely it would have smashed on the patio? Yet there was only a small hole in the egg.
Above, the micro moth Mompha subbistrigella was also in good numbers and new for the year and below, a smart Buff Ermine moth.
Moths present this morning included the following:
- 2 Vine’s Rustic
- 1 Heart & Dart (NFY)
- 4 Brimstone Moth
- 2 Double-striped Pug
- 1 Lime-speck Pug
- 2 Garden Carpet
- 1 Buff Ermine
- 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart
- 4 Willow Beauty (NFY)
- 1 Silver Y
- 1 Least Black Arches
- 1 Small Dusty Wave
- 9 Light Brown Apple Moth
- 2 Tachystola acroxantha
- 1 Bryotropha affinis
- 1 Platyedra subcinerea
- 1 Brown House Moth
- 3 Mompha subbistrigella (NFY)
- 2 Eudonia angustea
- 1 White-shouldered House Moth
- 1 Pyrausta aurata (NFY)
This Swift egg was found on my back garden patio yesterday.
I took a drive up to Andy’s house in Cowplain after my first shift this morning, to pick up his moth box and egg trays. My family and I are off to Center Parcs, in Warminster, tomorrow afternoon for a long weekend there and seeing that Andy’s moth box can ‘flat pack’, I am going to make the most of a glorious weekend. He kindly put the moth box on overnight and I was lucky to have an additional three new moths to add to my ever growing year list. My friends are looking after our house over the weekend and most likely going to put my moth box on.
Above, a deceased Poplar Hawk-moth. Below, my first Codling Moth of the year.
A Currant Pug and a Codling Moth were both new for the year among a nice variety of moths and also my first Hawk moth of the year too. However, I am afraid it was a deceased Poplar Hawk-moth, but for how long it had passed, who knows? My first Common Plume of the month was present on one of the egg trays and my 3rd Blair’s Mocha was resting on the back door.
Above, my first Common Plume moth this month and below, my first Currant Pug of the year.
A couple of Speckled Wood butterflies were flying about in the back garden, with one settling quite close to where I was sorting the moths out. Well, I am set for serious ‘moth-ing’ on Saturday morning and if it is like the last time I took my moth box within the Forest of Center Parcs, then it could be really good. Fingers crossed. Earlier today on my first shift, another Carnation Tortrix moth was present again and nearby, good numbers of young Starlings were on the wing around the Old Portsmouth area along with at least a half a dozen Swifts hawking insects just above the trees.
Moths present in Andy’s moth box and garden this morning included the following:
- 1 Poplar Hawk-moth (NFY)
- 1 Currant Pug (NFY)
- 2 Freyer’s Pug
- 1 Double-striped Pug
- 1 Vine’s Rustic
- 1 Common Marbled Carpet
- 1 Blair’s Mocha
- 2 Garden Carpet
- 4 Eudonia angustea
- 1 Codling Moth (NFY)
- 3 Light Brown Apple Moth
- 1 Common Plume
- 1 Notocelia cynosbatella
This stunning Osprey was photographed by Emma Parkes today at Horn Mill Trout Farm, Rutland Water, Leicestershire.
No comments:
Post a Comment