A very late Dark Arches moth.

Wednesday 15th October  2025.

This very late Dark Arches moth took me by surprise this morning.

The high pressure over the UK continued this morning as I awoke to another cloudy overcast start and temperatures  again only just above single figures. The down side is that I have very little time to check the Moth Box and the surrounding  area thoroughly for Moths and so have to resort to checking them properly when I get back from my first shift in Pembroke Road.

Pembroke Road was busy again with the usual traffic and though it was overcast and cold, there was a reasonable number of bird species seen this morning. It did look very bright over in the east and maybe the cloud might be gone a bit later in the day?

My Moth Box:

Some of the Moths present in my Box this morning include Turnip Moths, Feathered Ranunculus, Black Rustic and a Shuttle-shaped Dart.

A total of 26 moths of 14 species were recorded this morning of which nine of those were Turnip Moths; which was probably the highest number I have ever recorded here in my Moth Box. The most unexpected Moth this morning was a Dark Arches. I honestly expected it to be a one of the Brocades, but when I checked on Obsidentify, it came up 100% Dark Arches. Even Obsidentify can be inaccurate occasionally, so I double-checked on a few other sites and had it confirmed as one.

Rush Veneer. Though a common immigrant moth, I have only had a handful of these this year. 

All the other expected moths were present and correct and I was glad I checked the outside egg trays again (I have ordered some more online as the Farm Shop I normally get them from do not use these type of trays anymore!) as out popped both a Double-striped Pug and an L-album Wainscot!

The Moths present this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Dark Arches x1	Rush Veneer x1
Vine’s Rustic x2	Rusty-dot Pearl x2
Turnip Moth x9	Light Brown Apple Moth x1
Shuttle-shaped Dart x1
Black Rustic x1
Lesser Yellow Underwing x2
Large Yellow Underwing x1
Feathered Ranunculus x2
Garden Carpet x1
L-album Wainscot x1
Double-striped Pug x1

Overhead, I heard both Song Thrush and a Redwing flying over, but there was no sighting of either. Again, a Chiffchaff was heard in the neighbouring gardens.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

A familiar sight for this time of year are the Crane Flies. Not only a good source of food for migrant birds, but the many Garden Spiders enjoy them too! This one was behind the Bushes, on the wall of the house.

Eighteen bird species were recorded on my first shift this morning at Pembroke Road. This included a nice flock of 16 Siskins flying east low over my head and then carrying on down the road. The male Sparrowhawk was seen circling high over Governor’s Green, putting up all the Wood Pigeons and then it carried on west over Old Portsmouth. Sadly, no migrant Thrushes to report here this morning and no Chiffchaffs heard either. But one of the Jays was making a right din over on the opposite side of the road by the Bowling Green.

This inquisitive Carrion Crow walked up to me from across the road.