Thursday August 9

After some heavy showers yesterday evening and the passage of a cold front dropping the temperatures back to the seasonal normal I decided I would still put the trap out to see what I could catch.

Three moths in the bathroom were a Heart and Dart, and two grass moths; A tristella and A straminella. Meanwhile the kitchen window gave me an opportunity to see the diagnostic underwing of a Copper Underwing.

Copper Underwing

This morning I found three Willow Beauties clinging to the trap and the house, and then started exploring the contents of the trap itself.

One thing that was immediately apparent was the presence of several Common Wasps. Fortunately they were just as dozy as the moths, so I just had to be careful when picking up the egg cartons.

The first new moth was a Setaceous Hebrew Character, one of two found. This is a common moth (still a tick for me though) in Warwickshire.

Setaceous Hebrew Character

Next up was a species I did not recognise at all. I potted it and eventually discovered it was a Six-striped Rustic. Again, this appears to be a fairly common species (even though I had never heard of it).

Six-striped Rustic

Another egg-box produced another new moth, but this time only new for the year, a Flounced Rustic.

Flounced Rustic

I later discovered a similar-sized, but rather worn, brown moth which I initially thought was Common Rustic ag, but may actually be another Flounced Rustic or maybe something else altogether. I am hoping JS will come up with a solution.

PS: JS has told me that it was actually a Common Rustic ag, and commented that its small size puts it in the frame for Lesser Common Rustic, but you just can't be sure without getting an expert to examine its privates with a microscope. Here's a picture of it:

possible Lesser Common Rustic

Meanwhile I found what I initially identified as a pristine Rustic. However it was a bit smaller than the illustration in my book, while it matched another species. In fact, the internet images also pointed to what is, if I am correct, a somewhat scarce moth. A Vine's Rustic. JS may yet have a say as the problem is that size is not important, but greyness is, when contrasting it to the similar Rustic.

Vine's Rustic

It looks pretty grey to me.

The final surprise in the trap was a Poplar Hawk Moth. My third this year, but the first hawkmoth for about a month.

Poplar Hawk Moth

While I was extracting the last few boxes, a micro flew out and landed on the ivy trailing up the shed. I had a quick look at it, and recognised it as an Agriphila geniculea. Unfortunately I have no evidence to back up my claim of this moth, which was the first of the year, as it took off and flew to the upper branches of the apple tree before I could get the camera.

I started releasing the catch, and unwittingly disturbed a species of carpet moth from the entry. It flew to the shed where I managed a shot before it disappeared into the ivy. It looked a well patterned moth and I identified it as a Red Twin-spot Carpet, a species which I think I may have seen before in the garden. However, my book warned me of the possibility of the "red form" of Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet. So I went back out and brushed the ivy which flushed the moth in the direction of the vibernum.

Red Twin-spot Carpet

Unfortunately it then flew off and with hindsight I should have potted it because the diagnostic absence of a notch on the inner edge of the red wing band is hard to see. In fact, it could just have a notch on one wing (just not a very obvious one). This may be another one for JS to pronounce upon.

During the afternoon I spotted an attractive little bug on the dining room window. An internet search came up with the suggestion of Rhopalus subrufus.

Rhopalus subrufus

I have submitted it to irecord, so if the identification needs to be amended I will update accordingly.

PS: Identification confirmed.