Some Old Favourites

Sharp-angled Peacock

 

Last night 51 species of macros (all common) included Buff Arches, Common Emerald, Blood-vein, Small Dusty Wave, Treble Brown Spot, Riband Wave, Garden Carpet, Common Carpet, Barred Straw, Common Marbled Carpet, Barred Yellow, Grey Pug, Green Pug, Clouded Border, Sharp-angled Peacock, Brimstone Moth, Peppered Moth, Willow Beauty, Common Wave, Light Emerald, Poplar Hawkmoth, Elephant Hawkmoth, Sallow Kitten, Orange Footman, Common Footman, Buff Ermine, Cinnabar, Heart and Club, Heart and Dart, The Flame, Flame Shoulder, True Lover's Knot, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Grey Arches, Bright-line Brown-eye, Grey/Dark Dagger, Coronet, Small Angle Shades, Dark Arches, Dusky Brocade, Marbled Minor Agg, Middle-barred Minor, Uncertain, Vine's rustic, Mottled Rustic, Spectacle, Beautiful Hook-tip, Straw Dot, Snout, Fan-foot and Small Fan-foot.
Micros were few and far between but included Small Magpie, Ruddy Streak, Triangle-marked Roller, Brown Elm Bell, White Plume Moth, Hook-marked Straw Moth and Olive Pearl.

Small Angle Shades - one of my favourite moths - just something about the subtle combination of colours and gently undulating wing shape sets this moth apart for me.

Grey/Dark Dagger

Triangle-marked Roller - Ancylis achatana

Brown Elm Bell - Epinotia abbreviana - above an below - a variably marked little micro, the larvae of which feed on elm buds.

 

 

Sallow Kitten - another of my favourite moths.

Heart and Club

Grey Arches

True Lover's Knot

Today's Stuff

Bee species - rescued from being trapped indoors.

Mating pair of Silver-studded Blues

Small Heath

 

Marbled White

 

 

Common Blue Damselfly....I think.

 

 

Burnet Moth caterpillar

 

 

Six-spot Burnet

Little Grass-veneer

Little Grass-veneer - Platytes cerussella (male). I hadn't even noticed the 'nose cone' on this little micro until I looked properly at the photo. It dawned on me that it must be a 'Crambid', and one that wasn't even on my radar. According to 'Stirling, Parsons and Lewington' the species is local and prefers sandy soils/grassland near the coast, though it can be found further inland. Apart from being smaller than the other Grass-veneers, the male is much darker, though the female is considerably paler, and looks quite different.

 

A reasonable selection of moths in the trap this morning included Buff Arches, Single-dotted Wave, Treble Brown Spot, Garden Carpet, Barred Straw, Common Marbled Carpet, Grey Pug, Green Pug, Peppered Moth, Common Wave, Brussels Lace, Clouded Silver, Privet Hawkmoth, Eyed Hawkmoth, Poplar Hawkmoth, Elephant Hawkmoth, Buff Ermine, Cinnabar, Heart and Dart, The Flame, Flame Shoulder, Bright-line Brown-eye, L-album Wainscot, Dark Arches, Light Arches, Minor Agg, Middle-barred Minor, Treble Lines, Uncertain, Vine's Rustic, Mottled Rustic, Spectacle, Straw Dot, Snout and Small Fan-foot.

L-album Wainscot

Minor Agg

Minor Agg

Minor Agg

 

Privet Hawkmoth

 

 

Brussels Lace

 

 

Light Arches

Currant Clearwing

Currant Clearwing - a massive thank you to Tim for inviting me over to Topsham for my first ever Clearwing. A truly stunning little insect that more than surpassed expectation. Tim found this remarkable moth on a currant bush in his garden. The larvae feed internally on the shoots and are presumably considered pests by gardeners. In twelve years of moth-trapping, and searching, I've never come close to seeing a Clearwing, so today was a special day, despite spending the majority of it stood in the rain on the side of a football pitch!

 

Dusky Brocade f. obscura - I don't see too many of these but they're not a rare species.

Buff Arches - my first trapped this year. Other firsts for the year included Barred Straw, Smoky Wainscot and the Dusky Brocade.

Four-dotted Footman and Silver-studded Blue

Four-dotted Footman - Martin trapped two of these last night and very kindly popped them in for me to photograph, after work. Thank you Martin. According to 'Waring and Townsend' the larvae feed on algae and lichen on the stems of heathers, sallows and other woody plants. Another brand spanking new moth for me, and a long-awaited one too!

 

A few bits and pieces from the moth trap last night, but the highlight was a moth trapped by Martin - see above. Late this afternoon I spent twenty minutes in a favourite little clearing on the commons, that was heaving with butterflies and dragonflies. My target - Silver-studded Blue - a true stunner in the butterfly world. Bird-wise - still very little to report, but off Mudbank yesterday afternoon - 6 Sandwich Tern, 11 Bar-tailed Godwit and 5 Whimbrel.

 

Newly-emerged Silver-studded Blue

 

Treble Brown Spot - 4 or 5 of these last night.

Small Yellow Wave

Green Oak Tortrix

 

I think this is Hawthorn Moth Scythropia crataegella.

 

Golden-ringed Dragonfly

Keeled Skimmer

 

Black-tailed Skimmer - I'm crap on dragonflies so please correct me if I'm wrong. Lots present in a small clearing this afternoon. The only other one I recognised was Emperor dragonfly.

 

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - plenty of these found in a small area this afternoon, along with Silver-studded Blue, Large Skipper, Small Heath, Speckled Wood and Painted Lady.

Wasp or Bee species - help appreciated with this one please.

 

 

Marbled White Spot - a few of these in the clearing, along with a couple Grass Emeralds that wouldn't sit still long enough to have their photo taken.

Delicate and Broken-barred Carpet

 

Delicate

 

Delicate is an immigrant species that doesn't turn up in the trap too often. The only other immigrant species in the trap was a single Rusty Dot Pearl, although I found a Diamond-back in the garden later on. The low numbers of immigrants in the trap is surprising as I've seen several Silver Y, Red Admiral, Diamond-back and Painted Lady around Exmouth over the weekend.

Birdwise - just 3 Sandwich Tern off the seafront and 4 Whimbrel off Mudbank, with a first-summer Mediterranean Gull off there yesterday.

 

 

Painted Lady - the Maer

 

 

Broken-barred Carpet - the smartest of two in the trap last night. I very rarely see this species but they're not that rare!

 

Garden Carpet - a grey and very indistinct individual, possibly f.thules?

Rivulet

Polar Grey

 

Eyed Hawkmoth - it's turning out to be a good year for these.