Wednesday 13 August 2014

Quieter times


Small but curious update: I was just looking back to last August and on the 17th I headed a post...Quieter Times. The moths repeat themselves, as I suppose one would expect.



Colder and breezier weather kept the numbers down on Monday night when I lit the lamp for the first time in several days. There were still some appealing moths, however, including the Green Carpet above and the Flounced Rustic below.


Flame Shoulders were much the commonest overnighters with a good spread of assorted Yellow Underwings also in residence. But now I have time to put up some more pictures of my backlog of previous visitors, which I'm glad to say is dwindling. First, some micros:
I think this is what we call a 'Grass Veneer' micro but species yet to be pinned down
Eluding me at the mo, but might this be Eucosmo cana?
Chequered Fruit-tree Tortrix
Brown China-mark
And this remains beyond my grasp too

As does this, which I think may have a torn forewing

Macros now, and a Dun-bar

Followed by a Least Yellow Underwing

One of the Minors. often hard to tell apart without dissection which I don't do. Update: so very many thanks to Richard for coming to my rescue again in Comments. It's a Cloaked Minor

A common or Lesser Common Rustic

Dot moth. Update: Nope. All thanks to Richard again for correcting this to a Cabbage Moth.  I might have known from the state of some of our Purple-sprouting, though I think the villains are White butterfly catties.

Isn't this a subtly coloured moth? I think it's a Flounced Rustic. Update: Wrong again. Richard corrects me to a Straw Underwing which I should have known as they've been before this summer. Very many thanks again.
And is this, appropriately, an Uncertain?



Now it's Wednesday, because I couldn't nail all of the above yesterday, and I've just a couple of pictures to add. It was another modest night and probably the two most interesting things I've seen this morning are (a) the Green Woodpecker ant-hunting on the lawn and yaffling with alarm when I materialised in my dressing gown. And (b) the large number of wasps in the trap, for the first time this year. Here, however, are pictures of the micro Agriphila tristella, I think,  


and an incredibly battered moth which I found yesterday while manfully clearing part of the vegetable patch. At first I took it to be a Clearwing or something noteworthy like that, but I fear that it is a common species at the very end of its mothy tether. It was extremely lively albeit unable to take off and after a spell in an old marmalade jar for photos I let it go. May it enjoy further weeks of life.


2 comments:

RJB said...

Hi Martin,
I'll try and get the photograph numbers right this time.
No.11 Cloaked Minor
No.13 Cabbage Moth
No.14 Straw Underwing

Nice moths, keep 'em coming.

Richard

Martin Wainwright said...

Richard, this is brilliant! I don't mean to be lazy but I am hopeless at mastering the browny-grey noctuids and I really appreciate your expertise.

I'm the one who bungles the numbers, not you. Anyway, I'll put those right now


I do indeed have more coming - just cleaning out the final backlog this morning

Very much appreciated!

all warm wishes

Martin