Newcomer, maybe

I sometimes wonder how many moths have visited my trap, and possibly even been examined by me, which were new for our garden but have not made it on to my list. One possible candidate is the Double Lobed, above and below, a common moth but one which I have not recorded - until this morning. I had been on the verge of passing by on the other side, the trap having several hundred residents, on the assumption that it was a Common or Lesser Common Rustic. But luckily I felt that the pattern wasn't quite the same, and I was right.

Here is the afore-mentioned Common or Lesser Common Rustic - genital examination or even dissection is needed to tell the closely-related species apart, and I'm not up for that. These are common as much hereabouts and there were at least a dozen in the eggboxes. The markings are similar to the Double Lobed and the moths are side by side in the Moth Bible, so perhaps my negligence over missing the DB until now, assuming that to have been the case, may be excused.

Another visitor which gave me great pleasure last night was a Black Arches, and exquisite op-art moth which is only locally common but apparently spreading North like many UK moth species. I tried to get a picture of its fine pink abdomen but it was too nervy. I'm putting in my blurred effort, though, because it gives a glimpse of the grey, satiny hindwings which are normally concealed.

I also welcomed my first Dusky Thorn of the year (first two pictures below) and nice examples of a Phoenix, a Lesser Yellow Underwing, a Campion and a Ruby Tiger. 

Here too is that fine and excellently identifiable pug moth, the Lime-speck which rivals the Chinese Character in the imitation bird-poo camouflage stakes. Update: except that it isn't. It's another new species for my garden: the Bordered Pug. What I thought was the Lime-speck's unmistakeable white blotch is placed differently. O what a fool am I! But at least this is a genuine self-correct, after a train journey spent musing over recent catches and moth pictures online. Finally, the patch of our vegetable garden where I placed the trap was full of 'outsider' moths roosting on potato plants and, in the case of the Brimstone moth below, asparagus.

Oh, and I have a final curiosity in the shape of this little moth pretending to be a butterfly. I shall spend a quiet hour later Googling the underwings of possible suspects.