Much fewer Moths this morning in cooler conditions.

Tuesday 30th June 2026.

One of two Plumed Fan-foot moths this morning.

I was up early to check the Moth Box this morning and it was somewhat overcast first thing this morning (5.15am), which later on my first shift at Pembroke Road, brought in the rain. It didn't last too long, around a few hours at the most here in Southsea and then bright sunshine from about 10 am onwards with a light south-westerly wind coming in off the Solent.

I knew I wasn't going to see the large Moth numbers I got last week during that heatwave, but still a reasonable total. Another heatwave is expected next week if you believe what you read on Social Media. We shall see. Fairly quiet in Pembroke Road and the wet weather brought out the Snails around my feet by the Hibiscus Bushes

 

My Moth Box:

The Small Ranunculus moth. This was my 3rd of this species this year.

My first Moth trap for this week produced much lower numbers than last week, which was expected, but 62 moths of 28 species was reasonable given the weather conditions. Though there was nothing new for the year, there was an interesting variety present that included the rare Plumed Fan-foots, a species that isn't very common in Hampshire.

One of six Rosy Tabby moths this morning.

Common Footman and Small Ranunculus are always nice moths to get in the Moth Box and this morning, there were a good total of 6 Rosy Tabby’s (Endotricha flammealis) in and around the Box. A smart Mother of Pearl (Patania ruralis) was at the base of the Moth Box and two Privet Tortrix (Clepsis consimilana) was the other species notable among the many micros this morning.

Left, a Lackey moth and right, a Rufous Pearl moth.

Incidentally, when I release the Moths, I have two large plants growing close by and by gently tapping the egg trays, they normally all end up in here and hide from the marauding House Sparrows! Others are scooped up in one of the Moth Pots and let free immediately to fly off across the garden and into cover. The Moths present this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
White Ermine x2	Apple Leaf Miner x6
Plumed Fan-foot x2	Privet Tortrix x2
Common Footman x1	Rosy Tabby x6
Cabbage Moth x1	Blushed Knot-horn x5
Common Emerald x5	Beautiful Plume x1
Lackey x4	Rusty-dot Pearl x2
Small Ranunculus x1	Garden Grey x1
Dark Arches x2	Light Brown Apple Moth x2
Heart & Dart 1	Brown House Moth x2
Riband Wave x2	Mother of Pearl x1
Bright-line Brown-eye x1	Box Tree Moth x1
Lime-speck Pug x1	Large Pale Masoner x1
Rufous Pearl x1	Ruddy Streak x3
	Garden Grass-veneer x3
	Barred Marble x1

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

I suppose the rain didn’t help, but there were only 10 bird species recorded this morning of which all the usual birds were seen. The Wren was heard singing a few times in the distance and one flew out of its nesting site close to where I stand in Pembroke Road. Good to see it's still present. The usual Herring Gulls were abundant and there was just the one sighting of a Great Black-backed Gull this morning.

One of many Snails present this morning. This individual was in the Hibiscus Bushes, with many on the footpath.

A few Buff-tailed Bumblebees braved the rain and lingered around the Lavender plants and as mentioned, the rain brought out the Snails as I carefully scooped a few off the footpath so they didn’t get squished!