A trio of migrant Moths new for the year.

 Friday 21^st August 2026.

My first Scarce Bordered Straw of the year which completes the trio of Bordered Straw moth species.

A bright, almost cloudless morning marked a noticeable change in the weather. At around 6am, when I began checking the moth box, the temperature in the garden was only about 10°C. I had also hoped for some bird passage overhead, and I was rewarded with a pair of Tree Pipits flying north, calling as they went.

The moths were the real highlight of the morning. I added three excellent autumnal species to my year list, alongside a strong supporting cast of other notable moths.

 

My Moth Box:

My first Pearly Underwing of the year.

The standout moth of the morning was my second-ever Scarce Bordered Straw. With Bordered Straw and Eastern Bordered Straw already recorded in the garden this year, this completed an excellent Bordered Straw trio.

My first Delicate moth of the year.

The sequence felt remarkable and was perhaps one of the upsides of the five heatwaves the UK has experienced this year, which appear to have helped bring an impressive number of migrant moths into the country.

The Poplar Hawk-moth was back for a second day.

Two further migrant moths were added to the year list: Pearly Underwing and Delicate. Both are virtually annual visitors to the garden, but they remain highly sought-after species and were very welcome additions. Other notable migrant Moths include four Golden Twin-spots, 4 Rush Veneer and 2 Rusty-dot Pearl.

One of three Small Ranunculus moths this today.

Yesterday’s Poplar Hawk-moth was most likely back in the moth box this morning, while up to three Small Ranunculus were also notable. A Yellow-barred Brindle was found resting on the fence panel, and yesterday’s Dusky Thorn was still settled near the light bulb. The most numerous moth of the morning was Pale Mottled Beauty, with at least eleven individuals recorded. There is some speculation that this species may be migratory, so it is possible that some of these individuals were migrants. The Moths recorded this morning were as follows:

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Scarce Bordered Straw * x1	Box Tree Moth x6
Pearly Underwing * x1	Common Plume x2
Delicate * x1	Light Brown Apple Moth x2
Poplar Hawk-moth x1	Rush Veneer x4
Small Ranunculus x3	Rusty-dot Pearl x2
Pale Mottled Willow x11	Brown House Moth x1
L-album Wainscot x5	Chevron Grass-moth x3
Common Rustic x1	Apple Leaf Miner x5
Square-spot Rustic x1	Gold Triangle x1
Vine’s Rustic x4	Rusty-dot Pearl x3
Cabbage Moth x7	Mint Moth x1
Double-striped Pug x1	Chestnut Tortrix x1
Golden Twin-spot x4
Dusky Thorn x1
Yellow-barred Brindle x1
Bright-line Brown-eye x1
Small Dusty Wave x2
Garden Carpet x1
Lime-speck Pug x1
Willow Beauty x1