Two New Pugs!

Leopard Moth

 

Two brand new moths last night - slender pug and toadflax pug. Neither species is particularly rare and it would have been easy for me to overlook both in the past, especially worn individuals. Once the scales have worn off, one pug looks very much like another! Otherwise it was another good night numbers-wise. The catch included 2 brussels lace, several v-pugs, rosy footman, scarce footman, buff arches, july highflyer, 3 brown-tail moth, white satin, cabbage moth, swallow-tailed moth, elephant hawkmoth, barred straw, coronet, common footman, heart and dart, dark arches, common emerald, single-dotted wave, small dusty wave, spectacle, smoky wainscot, uncertain, heart and club, dagger agg, minor agg, sycamore, garden carpet, double-striped pug, buff-tip, scalloped oak, blood-vein, small magpie, large yellow underwing, flame, flame-shoulder, bright-line brown-eye, clay, fan-foot, small fan-foot, common/lesser common rustic, clouded border and a whole heap of other common species.

Bird-wise, I somehow managed to see the gull-billed tern from a mini-bus as I headed over the Teign towards Ipplepen for a school trip to the Devon Bird of Prey Centre! It was around 0940 and I could see it hawking over the channel opposite the pub as two birders tracked it with their bins! Very unsatisfying as far as views go though!

Early yesterday morning I had a look off Maer Rocks and recorded 7 mediterranean gulls, the 2 arctic skuas, 23+ common scoter, 1 juv yellow-legged gull and 6 mute swan that flew past and landed off the Warren. Later there were 5 mediterranean gulls, 4 whimbrel and 3 canada geese off Mudbank.

 

Pale Mottled Willow - one of two trapped.

Dot Moth - a nice fresh one and the first I've seen for some time.

 

Slender Pug - a freshly-emerged individual showing the beautiful but subtle patterning on the wings.

Marbled Green - two of these in the trap last night. A common species but always a joy to see.

 

Muslin Footman

Lychnis - one of two trapped last night.

Small Blood-vein

Toadflax Pug - a long-awaited first for me.

Carcina quercana - one of the more distinctive micros.

Haworth's Pug - a worn one but note the orange 'belt' around the abdomen.

Slender Pug - a different individual to that pictured above.

 

 

Engrailed - this and Small Engrailed are very difficult to separate but this should be a second generation Engrailed according to the flight times of the two species. Small Engrailed has only one generation and is on the wing from May - mid June.

 

There are still plenty of Mediterranean Gulls around. Never tire of them though.