A Dewick's Plusia moth within a quiet Moth Box.

Sunday 12th July 2026

My first Dewick's Plusia moth for a several years.

I’m afraid I was up so early this morning I wondered if I got any sleep at all! It was still dark when I made myself a cup of coffee and so jumped onto my new Laptop to update some of the Moths I had seen recently in one of the folders. When it was light enough to go outside, I then got cracking in checking what the Moth Box attracted overnight.

There was a blustery north-westerly blowing over Southsea and due to a clear cloudless night, it certainly reduced the Moth total compared to yesterday. It was thankfully quite cool too this morning, though it is sure to heat up as the day goes on. An early morning update on the ‘Lazee Birders’ Whatsapp revealed that the Night Heron was still present on Miller’s Pond in Southampton.

 

My Moth Box:

My third Thorn species in two days, the September Thorn.

There were much fewer Moths than yesterday with just 59 moths recorded of 28 species in total. On a plus side, my first Dewick’s Plusea of the year was within the Moth Box and the August Thorn from yesterday was replaced by a September Thorn! Just one Canary-shouldered Thorn was present still (although the other could be hiding in the plants somewhere in the garden!).

Above, a Clancy's Rustic and below, one of three Silver Y moths.

Two Grey / Dark Daggers were present (I did see one yesterday evening of which I must have flushed after watering the garden) this morning. This species must be dissecting to get a true ID. The aberrant Black Arches was still present for its third day, and a few  Mint Moths were the pick of the micro moths this morning. The following Moths were recorded this morning:

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Black Arches x1	Common Plume x4
Grey / Dark Dagger x2	Bud Moth x1
Large Yellow Underwing x2	Golden-brown Tubic x3
Dewick’s Plusea * x1	Hampshire Dowd x1
Silver Y x3	Rosy Tabby x3
Clancy’s Rustic x1	Gold Triangle x1
September Thorn x1	Mint Moth x2
Canary-shouldered Thorn x1	Barred Marble x1
Riband Wave x3	Light Brown Apple Moth x4
Pale Mottled Willow x1	Rusty-dot Pearl x1
Bright-line Brown-eye x1	Bird-cherry Ermine x4
Shuttle-shaped Dart x1	Willow Ermine x6
Cloaked Minor x1	Garden Grass-veneer x6
Marbled Beauty x1	Large Pale Masoner x2

 

Above, a Common Stiletto Fly and below, the Pied Hoverfly in my Moth Box this morning.

The Moth Box attracted an array of insects this morning and some interesting species were present. This included the usual Lacewing, a few Harlequin Ladybirds and a Buff-tailed Bumblebee. Among the more unusual insects present was a Common Stiletto (Thereva nobilitata), from the family of insects Asiloidea or commonly known as Stiletto Flies. Also, a Spectacled Berry Fly (Anomoia purmunda) was present, which is a species of Fruit Fly of the family Tephritidae. Finally, a female Pied Hoverfly (Scaeva pyrastri) was sitting comfortably in one of the egg trays.