Wed May 30 to Thurs May 31

A rather muggy damp night looked promising for moths so I put the trap out. Its presence probably had the indirect effect of attracting a moth to the bathroom window. It promptly flew in when I opened it.

The moth in question looked different, a proved to be my first Clouded Silver of the year.

Clouded Silver

Although I normally keep such captures over night I decided to photograph it and release it, thinking I could easily catch it in the trap. As it happened I never saw it again.

Usually in the evening I cannot resist peering into the moth box from a distance to see whether moths are turning up. On this occasion I could see the ghostly shape of a hawk moth trapped beneath the perspex.

In the morning I was delighted to see it was still there, and that it was one I had never seen before. The Lime Hawk Moth was a real beauty.

Lime Hawk Moth

I was also distracted by a small moth on the back door. I believe it was a Green Pug, a species I saw last year. This identification will be subject to verification by John S.

Green Pug

As a definite mothing novice I find my initial impressions of what the box contains are very fluid through the morning. Some species are immediately recognisable, such as the first Silver Y of the year, a Brimstone Moth, a Peppered Moth, and even two Codling Moths. Others lead me up the garden path. Four moths in the box initially got identified as May High Flyers, but I later realised they were carpet moths which reminded me of Spruce Carpet, and eventually I concluded they were actually Common Marbled Carpets.

Common Marbled Carpet

John S will no doubt tell me whether I got them right.

With micro moths it is usually a case of photograph them and try to work them out later. Unfortunately in this case I have only got as far as the family of moths for the following:

Coleoptera sp

Possibly a tortrix sp (smaller than Codling Moth)

Notocelia trimaculana

My chances of getting a confirmed identification to species level are slim, and wholly dependant on John S. In the case of the first and third of the above captioned moths the books suggest examination of genitalia is recommended. This will not be happening. What did happen is that JS suggested the last photograph is likely to be portraying a Notocelia trimaculana and not an Eplibema sp as I had thought. He also concurred that the Coleoptera sp cannot be identified without an examination of its genitals. He, like me, cannot identify the other micro and will circulate the photo to his mothing friends to see if anyone can suggest anything.

The most common moth in the trap was again Heart and Dart, at least 15 being present. As the morning progressed I had a lot of trouble protecting them from a hungry Robin which on one occasion landed on an egg box containing moths like a child surveying a box of chocolates. At least two were eaten before I could chase it off.

I found two more pugs. One I messed up with an out of focus shot, while I was sure the other was something new before I eventually concluded it was just a Common Pug.

Common Pug

Another interesting looking moth proved to be a poorly marked Common Swift, a more boldly patterned one was also present.

I then turned over an egg-box containing my first White Ermine, another contained its relative the Buff Ermine.

White Ermine

The books make it clear this is not a rare moth, but it was much appreciated all the same.

Turning to the other side of the trap, I could immediately see something different, a Coxcomb Prominent. Again, this is not a rare moth, but I couldn't recall seeing one before.

Coxcomb Prominent

Although I am tackling all these moths on my own, my other half does sometimes get dragged into it, as with the Lime Hawk Moth, I run upstairs and wave my potted prize in front of her drowsy eyes. She loves it really! The Coxcomb Prominent had been potted with that aim in mind, but when I noticed it was fluttering like mad because an ant had crawled into its pot through one of the air holes I reluctantly had to give it its liberty.

As the morning progressed more new moths were uncovered. A Green Oak Tortrix was that rare thing, an easy micro.

Green Oak Tortrix

A Maiden's Blush was new for the year, and probably the garden. I think I have seen one on an organised mothing event somewhere.

Maiden's Blush

And finally what I think was a Large Yellow Underwing.  This is a species our bathroom has often hosted, but always from July onwards. It refused to reveal its under-wing and later disappeared (hopefully not as Robin food).

Large Yellow Underwing

I must admit I am slightly bothered about this one as the books saying they fly from June onwards, which is also my experience. JS has confirmed the identification, and had just seen his first of the year too.

Other species caught comprised several more micros (all familiar), a large black beetle, a Hawthorn Shieldbug, and a caddis-fly.

Tuesday May 29

I again had to rely on the bathroom to supply any moths. It produced another Brown House Moth and my first Mompha subbistrigella of the year.

Mompha subistrigella

This one was more boldly marked than one I found last March. It is a hibernator but can turn up at almost any time of year.

Monday May 28

Just a few moths to report. I didn't put out the moth trap because we decided I couldn't spend the time emptying a boxful of moths this morning.

Nevertheless a handful of moths made it into the house. In fact the first one, Brown House Moth, was probably in here anyway. It's more of a surprise that I haven't seen one this year until now.

Brown House Moth

The rest definitely flew through the window of the bathroom. A pug turned out to be a Common Pug, and I was confident enough about its identity to release it after photographing it in the dark.

Common Pug

The remaining three were micros; A Tachystola acroxantha, a White-shouldered House Moth, and my first Diamond-back Moth of the year.  This species looks at first glance like a seed, but amazingly is a migrant, albeit a very common one.

Diamond-back Moth from above (at its most seed-like)

Diamond-back Moth side-on

It sounds as though, although we had thundery showers yesterday, we were lucky to avoid the deluge and flooding experienced by my sister living five miles away in Tidbury Green.

One other creature to mention. I saw a dead Hedgehog as I was heading for the supermarket this morning. While this is obviously bad news for the road casualty, it at least means that the species still exists around here. We used to see them regularly, but nowadays its just the odd corpse (and only one of those last year). The national decline has been attributed to traffic, to the isolation of discrete populations, to pesticides in the countryside, and to the increasing use of slug pellets. It's probably all of the above.

Saturday May 26

After yesterday's rain the evening was overcast and so not too cold. I was up early again and quickly found my first two new moths. An Alder Moth on the wall of the house was a lifer, and was pleasingly easy to identify.

Alder Moth

Living close to Ipsley Alders, this moth's presence didn't come as a great surprise. As I opened the door a second moth flew off. I noted where it had gone and managed to flush it again. This time it landed on the fence and proved to be a Flame Carpet. I did record this species in the bathroom last year.

Flame Carpet

Several other moths were found in the immediate vicinity and in the actual trap. I will list them all at the end of this post. One egg box contained a pug which promptly flew to the fascia above the door of the utility room. It could be a Common Pug, but I am wondering about Wormwood Pug. I am awaiting assistance on that one. The assistance came from Mike Southall who has confirmed it was just a Common Pug.

Common Pug

Further exploration of the box produced another lifer; a Chamomile Shark.

Chamomile Shark

Reading up as far as I can, this moth is very similar to the Shark, but its flight period is earlier and it seems to exhibit the correct markings at the wing-tip. It is the scarcer of the two in Warwickshire.

Another moth in the trap was a really attractive one, and another lifer; A Buff Ermine.

Buff Ermine

This seems to be quite a common moth, but a tick's a tick.

Next came a bit of a nightmare. A rather attractive and distinctive moth which I thought would be a doddle to identify.

Ingrailed Clay

However, after mulling it over all afternoon I think I have the answer. The moth is an Ingrailed Clay, described in the books as highly variable in appearance. You don't get this trouble with birds.

I had thought I had found them all so went indoors to show Lyn the Buff Ermine. I returned to find that I had missed quite a few moths hiding in the nooks and crannies of the box. One of these was new for the year, but was also familiar from previous years. A Common Marbled Carpet.

Common Marbled Carpet

It started to rain quite hard, so I put up the parasol to protect my captures. On the underside of the canopy was my second Orange Footman of the year. I now know them to be relatively common following a population explosion in the last ten years.

Before I get onto the full list, here is a photo of a micro on the side of the shed, which I photographed yesterday afternoon. I'm afraid it shows up the limitations of my camera, and I don't yet know what it was.

So the full list for last night was:

Light Brown Apple Moth - 1
Bee Moth - 1
Common Pug - 1
Flame Carpet - 1
Common Marbled Carpet - 1
May Highflyer - 1
Orange Footman - 1
Buff Ermine - 1
Ingrailed Clay - 1
Heart and Dart - 19
Shuttle-shaped Dart - 3
Flame Shoulder - 4
Alder Moth - 1
Chamomile Shark - 1

A total of 37 moths of 14 species.

Friday May 25

Its Friday morning and its pelting down.

I have an addendum to add to yesterday's post. On returning from an evening meal at our favourite gastro pub (The Red Lion at Claverdon) we entered the utility room to find a moth flying about.

I assumed it was the one I had found and lost in the morning which I had thought was a Heart and Dart. However, on capturing it I discovered it was too small for Heart and Dart and seemed to lack the dart (and indeed the heart).

However, after an interminable time trawling through images on the Internet, I still couldn't put a name to it.

Shuttle-shaped Dart

I sent the shot off to JS, but have since learnt he will be unable to reply until early next week. He advised me that in future I should try to photograph micros side on (so it doesn't sound like I will get a positive i.d. on the titchy one).

Meanwhile on the outside of the window rested another moth. This turned out to be a Common Swift. The images I took were even more blurred than usual due to the poor light. I let it go as it was getting frantic in the pot. This morning I found it clinging to the wall of the house.

Common Swift

Common Swift

Continuing with last night, our bathroom then attracted two small moths. One was the familiar micro Tachystola acroxantha, the other was a pug. Oh joy !

Common Pug ?

I was hoping I might have finally cracked my Mottled Pug duck, but I think it is actually a Common Pug. Another one for John perhaps (unless he decides to leave the country to get away from me).

Postscript: I think my mystery noctuid is just a Shuttle-shaped Dart looking less shuttle-shaped.

Thursday May 24

I had always been planning to put the moth trap out last night, but the hint that there could be thundery showers did cause me to consider aborting. In the end I decided it would be OK, and within a minute of turning the thing on a Common Wasp was buzzing around it. A good sign?

So this morning I was slightly relieved to find no trace of the wasp. Instead I could immediately see that the overnight cloud cover had done the trick and there were several moths in the trap.

However, as usual I checked the wall of the house first. A pair of Pale Tussocks had obviously experience a steamy night.

Pale Tussocks

In fact I eventually counted five Pale Tussocks (only one of which was actually in the trap) and seven Heart and Darts, making them the best represented species.

However, another moth on the side of the house was a bit of a puzzle and turned out to be my first Knot Grass.

Knot Grass

Turning to the trap itself I could immediately see a couple of belters. A Buff-tip was a garden tick, while a Peppered Moth was another lifer. This is a species I can remember featuring in Biology lessons about genetics rather more years ago than I'd care to admit. The pale ones were prevalent when the air was clean, and dark ones wherever it was polluted. The air in Redditch must be pretty good.

Buff-tip

Peppered Moth

I lifted the perspex out to get a good look, and then noticed a ridiculously tiny micro dwarfed by the raindrops now appearing. I love my bridge camera, but I have to admit it struggles with very tiny insects. After one shot the moth took off, but landed immediately on the side of the trap where I got a second chance.

I believe it is some kind of leaf-miner, and my research points vaguely in the direction of Ectoedemia argyropeza. It may well be impossible to be certain on the basis of this photo, but I will update later if I get any feedback from JS.

More moths were found as I lifted each egg-box. Two Tachystola acroxantha, one of the easier micro-moths and one I have seen here before. Then another micro. This one caused much head scratching but eventually decided it must be a Codling Moth (another I have seen before).

A rather late Early Grey was a bit of a surprise, and on the other side of the same egg-box a Green Carpet.

Green Carpet

The bottom of the box revealed a May Highflyer. This was another tick, but since I heard that the species existed and was reasonably common, I had been half expecting one.

May Highflyer

Another egg box revealed a Flame Shoulder. I'm pretty sure I have seen this common species on moth-trapping events, but it was definitely a garden tick.

Flame Shoulder

Finally a micro in the trap looked like some kind of tortrix, but I couldn't find anything that matched it and eventually concluded it was just a variant Light Brown Apple Moth.

However, this identification may yet be overturned.

I plan to get the trap out again on Friday night.

Sunday May 20

I woke up at 06.00 am this morning and tiptoed to the bathroom. The second most important reason for this visit was that I had caught a tiny moth on the landing the night before and wanted to cool it down on the windowsill in the hope of photographing it later.

However, as I approached the window I realised I could hear, faintly but persistently, a Cuckoo calling. This is the first I have ever heard from our garden, and also a patch tick. Adey, who I used to chat to when I would bump into him at Arrow valley lake, had told me he had seen one targeting the Reed Warblers there in recent years, but I never got close.

As for the moth. Well I got a shot of sorts, but it obviously hadn't calmed down all that much and it soon took off and flew to the top of the apple-tree. I believe it was was Bryotropha affinis, a species I have recorded in the bathroom before.

Bryotropha affinis

Our bathroom is still proving a better bet for micros than the moth trap.

Saturday May 19

After a slightly chilly night the day dawned sunny and calm. I was up early, ready to start extracting moths from the moth trap.

Fortunately I remembered John's words of wisdom suggesting I check the immediate environs for moths before I began. This advice prevented me from sitting on the first moth, a Pale Tussock, which resting on the seat of a garden chair.

Pale Tussock

I next checked a wooden box on the table. This contained various gardening implements and an Orange Footman, which was a new moth for me.

Orange Footman

I moved on to the trap itself and found the first of three Muslin Moths, the third of which I found later when I flushed it from a garden chair.

Muslin Moth

Muslin Moth

The box also contained a Brimstone Moth, a Heart and Dart, and my first Bright-line Brown-eye of the year.

Bright-line Brown-eye

Heart and Dart

Brimstone Moth

Later in the morning I ventured back into the garden where I finally managed to get a good look at a white butterfly, a Small White to be precise.

Small White

Finally, a quick comment about birds. I have noticed a lot of concern on Social Media about the shortage of certain migrant species returning from Africa this year, and would generally agree. In particular, although I saw a single Swift over Arrow Valley Lake at the end of April, there have been none over our garden yet. Indeed on a shopping trip to Stratford this afternoon I did finally hear the screaming of Swifts and noticed two or three birds up above. Quite a relief, but it does look like something bad has happened to migrants this winter.

Thursday May 17

I put the moth trap out last night despite a downturn in the temperature overnight.

So this morning I was delighted to discover a Pug on the flap of the socket cover, and then three proper moths in the box.

The biggest and best was a Pale Tussock. This is a new one for me, but the books say they are pretty common. The feathered antennae indicated it was a male, and again the books say that males are much more likely to be attracted to light than the larger females.

Pale Tussock

Next to be pulled out was my first Heart and Dart of the year. Actually, it is probably the first on the property for many years because it hasn't featured in this blog before. I have seen them on moth-trapping events in the past, and I know they are a common moth. Nice though.

Heart and Dart

Another moth clinging to the egg boxes was a Shuttle-shaped Dart, my second this year.

Shuttle-shaped Dart

Finally, I required the assistance of JS with the pug, which was boring-looking even by pug standards. It turned out to be my second Common Pug of the year.

Common Pug

Hopefully I will eventually be able to identify them myself.

During the late afternoon I noticed at least two Psychoides filicivora moths on the ferns outside the front window. These are truly tiny micro-moths, and they hatch there every year.

Psychoides filicivora