A few moths

Four species last night at Llandaff North, a good haul for December. It was 11 C at dusk and the rain and wind didn't arrive until later in the night, so pretty ideal conditions for the time of year. The catch comprised singletons of Winter moth, Epiphyas postvittana, Emmelina monodactyla and Acleris schalleriana.

Cwmbach, Last Night

After belatedly putting the trap out last night, I still had four or five hours of dry evening before the rain arrived and this morning, there were two moths present. Inside the trap was a dark looking Winter Moth and on the top of the trap, this lovely Mottled Umber.

Mottled Umber

Light Brown Apple Moth

This male E. postvittana was on my kitchen window last night.

This was the 465th individual of the year, making 2012 nearly 50% better than any other year since I've been trapping in Llandaff North, see table below:

Year	Total number
2007	202
2008	163
2009	320
2010	145
2011	185
2012	465

The low numbers in 2010 and 2011 were a result of the cold winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11. Last winter was pretty mild which probably explains the high numbers this year.

The phenology graph below shows two peaks - one in late spring and a larger one in late summer, so it seems to be mainly double brooded here. The spring peak is usually in May (but in the early spring of 2007 it was in April) and the summer peak in August (but last year it was in September). Numbers then drop off but I've record them right up until the end of the year, but never in January or February.

Cwmbach, Last Night

As usual, I ran the garden actinic for the winter GMS, last night and inside it this morning were two welcome moths: both Red-green Carpet.
It is a pity we can't seem to get a dry, calm night with temperatures above freezing. It is either dry, calm, clear and frosty or overcast, mild and stormy.

Hark the Herald...

A Herald was on a shop window in Swansea city centre today, also a Mottled Umber below an outside light nearby.

Both in tip top condition - nice to see a couple of colourful moths in the depths of December.

Decembers last night.

2 traps in woodland, in spite of heavy showers, until 10pm produced 74 December Moth, 10 Winter Moth, 8 Mottled Umber, 5 Chestnut and 1 Acleris sp. Rather pleased that three quarters of the totals were in my newly designed and built collapsible trap!

Possible new harvestman for Wales

I collected this large (leg span measured as 114mm) unfamiliar species off Wendell Thomas' front door frame when delivering his Christmas card today. It looks remarkably like Opilio canestrinii, which according the Spider and Harvestman Recording Scheme website has not been recorded in Wales [id confirmed by Peter Harvey, this being the first Welsh record and to date only noted at 13 other UK sites].

Nantyffyllon

                                  Scarce umber on my window today.

Wainscots!

Just to show that there is more on the wing in Cardiff than just winter moth, Clive Ellis sent me this Large Wainscot photo, taken on the 8th December - the latest VC41 record to date, albeit on the VC35 border!

Noctuid

A Brick at Whitchurch Hospital 9th Dec.

Cwmbach, Last Night

Having had nothing at all for the winter GMS, Friday night, I decided to run the trap again last night; not for WGMS, of course, just for myself. The forecast was for it to cloud over and the temperatures to rise overnight. The forecast was right and in the trap this morning was a single December Moth.

Late Peacock butterfly

A Peacock butterfly today outside my front room window was a surprise.

Indian Meal Moth

I was recently passed this specimen from an office in Cardiff University. The office was infested with adults and larvae, the source of which was a bit of a mystery until a half used bag of rabbit food was found hidden in a cupboard!

Plodia interpunctella

At Last. A Moth!

After what seems like weeks without sight of  a moth and with a night of sub zero temperatures ensuring an empty winter GMS trap, last night, it was nice to see a Winter Moth turn up at the kitchen window, this evening.