Six more moths added to year list.

Thursday 25th July 2024.

Mother of Pearl moth. This is an annual moth in my garden and tend to get quite a few throughout summer and early Autumn.

Despite watering the garden last night, I knew it was going to rain in the early hours of the morning and so I was quite prepared for a soggy start at dawn. More rain is forecast for the morning, but I knew I had a good load of moths to sift through. Micro moths easily outnumbered macro moths this morning and among them were this morning with a total of 55 moths of 31 species. There were SIX new moths for the year that included the Macro moths Marbled Green, Langmaids Yellow Underwing and an early Square-spot Rustic (though this individual looked a bit worn). New Micro moths for the year included a pristine Mother of Pearl, Tree-mallow Tortrix and a Dingy Concealer. I have noticed that a lot of vernacular names have changed on many of the Micro moths from last year. Why? Who knows!

Above, three more 'Macro' moths were added to my year list this morning which included from top to bottom: Langmaid's Yellow Underwing, Square-spot Rustic and Marbled Green.

The most numerous species was in fact the Black-banded Masoner, with 7 recorded; which last year, I believe, was called the Sussex Dowd! A Box-tree Moth of the dark form, was on the white sheet and it seems numbers of this particular species is a lot less than previous years. It was good to see my second Long-legged Tabby of the year too as they have been near absent from my garden over the past 5 years.

Above, Dingy Concealer and below, Tree-mallow Tortrix.

The moths present this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS:

• Common Emerald 3
• Lackey
• Dark Arches
• Langmaid's Yellow Underwing (New for Year)
• Marbled Green (NFY)
• Marbled Beauty 
• Garden Carpet
• Least Carpet
• Riband Wave 2 
• Brimstone Moth 4
• Lime-speck Pug 2
• Square-spot Rustic (NFY)
• Common Rustic
• Willow Beauty
• Dusky Sallow

MICRO MOTHS:

• Mother of Pearl (NFY)
• Barred Marble
• Tree-mallow Tortrix (NFY)
• Meal Moth
• Box-tree Moth
• Rosy Tabby
• Black-banded Masoner 7
• Carnation Tortrix 2
• Dingy Concealer (NFY)
• Beautiful Plume
• Rufous Tortrix
• Common Masoner
• Diamond-back Moth 3
• Light Brown Apple Moth 4
• Long-legged Tabby
• Common Plume 7

Birding pals Matt and Emma Parkes are spending a few days in Wales to catch up on a few Welsh specialities, which included a boat trip to both Skokholm and Grassholm. On their way, they dropped off by the River Clydach to see their first Dipper of the year and also a trip along the coastal footpath to see the Choughs.

 

Above, a Puffin off Skokholm and below, a Dipper on the River Clydach.

Above, a Chough on the coastal path. All three photos by Emma Parkes.