Peppered Moth new for the year.

Monday 19th May 2025.

Yet another cold start again for the morning as I was out in the garden by 5am to check the Moth Box and surrounding area. The white sheet behind the Box was near empty, so thankfully, I had put out all the egg trays around the Moth Box and was rewarded with a fine new moth species for the year. It was still a relatively cool first thing in Pembroke Road, but it did warm up again in the afternoon and a good total of bird species today.

The Moth Box:

My first Peppered Moth of the year.

There were a lot less moths here than Saturday morning, with just 22 moths of 15 species. It was obviously quite cold overnight and at 5am this morning, it was only 8 degrees as I went about checking the surrounding area and the Moth Box itself. The only moth that was new for the year was the superb stunning Peppered Moth. I never got to see one last year, so I made the most of this beautiful moth and took several photos of the moth before letting it fly from the egg tray it was sitting on. Up to two Cabbage Moths were also present and a lot of the usual species present again.

The following moths were recorded this morning here in my garden:

Macro moths:

• Peppered Moth: x1
• Bright-line Brown-eye x2
• Pale Mottled Willow x4
• Cabbage Moth x2
• White Ermine x1
• Willow Beauty x1
• Heart & Dart x1
• Garden Carpet x1
• Brimstone Moth x1
• Double-striped Pug x1

Micro moths:

• Ruddy Dart x2
• Light Brown Apple Moth x1
• Rusty-dot Pearl x1
• Dark Moss-moth x1
• Triple-barred Tip Moth x1

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

Up to 17 species were recorded here in Old Portsmouth today, with 13 species seen in the morning that included a large flock of 10 Swifts low overhead and a further 4 more species in the afternoon that included an adult Mediterrean Gull, House Sparrow, Great Tit and the regular Pied Wagtail on the Bowling Green.

A Hampshire first. The Garden Tortrix. Photo by Dave Wallace.

In Hampshire today, the female Hudsonian Godwit was still on the South Scrape at Titchfield Haven and a Little Gull was in the same area also. Fellow birder and Moth enthusiast, Dave Wallace, had a first for Hampshire moth today; a Garden Tortrix (Clepsis peritana). Well done mate.

The Hudsonian Godwit on Titchfield Haven today. Photo by Andy Friend.