Our Bridgend garden last night

Warmer night = more moths, 118 in all of 33 species. The highlight was our first ever Blackneck (see photo) for the site and a lifer too. 377th (262nd macro).

Other species new for the year were Mompha divisella / bradleyii (agg), 1 unidentified (help! - see below - Pempelia type sp?), Grass Veneer, Crambus perlella, Foxglove Pug, Knot-grass and Marbled Beauty.

Llangynwyd last night.

                         Waved carpet

                         Green silver lines.
                         210 moths of 77 species in total. No migrants...

Whitford bioblitz Sunday/Monday

As expected due to the stiff breeze, clear sky and nearly full moon numbers were low on Monday morning for this superb site, but 76 species seen with three new for me, Thyme Pug, Reddish Light Arches and Hypochalcia ahenella. Plenty of hawk-moths with 7 Privet, 3 Eyed, 1 Elephant and about 15 Small Elephant. Coast species well represented with Shore and L-album Wainscot, Crescent and Sand Dart plus Caryocolum marmorea (thanks to Steve Palmer at the Gelechid Recording Scheme for confirmation of ID.) Also a July Highflyer demonstrating the art of camouflage.

Caryocolum marmorea

Hypochalcia ahenella

Privet Hawk-moth and thyme

July Highflyer hiding in plain sight

Thyme Pug

Reddish Light Arches

Hummingbird Hawk

A single Hummer near the BC office in central Swansea this lunchtime. Hopefully one of many migrants to arrive with this hot air.

Central Roath

Highlights for latter half of June for garden: Old Lady (25th), Purple Clay (24th & new for site), Garden Grass-veneer (30th, 33 highest ever count for garden), Yellow-barred Brindle (17th [3] & 24th). Good numbers of Small Dusty Wave & Small Ranunculus (1 on 29th, 22nd garden rec.) Migrants: Silver Y (15th) & Diamond-back (17th).

Bridgend garden overnight 28/6/15 (MV)

A surprisingly quiet night with only 53 moths of 23 species. New for the year were Plum Tortrix, Peach Blossom, Phoenix, Lychnis and Poplar Grey (first since 2012). Again the catch was dominated by Heart & Dart, Heart & Club and several uncertain.

Roll on tonight which looks good so far, warm and lots of cloud!

White-barred Clearwing in Merthyr

I've just had a reliable report of White-barred Clearwing in Merthyr (from Colin Plant). The report itself is from private land but given that there is plenty of Birch and Alder around. Apparently they like to feed nectar on wild roses. If you are in the area it would be well worth keeping a look out. Oh, and this is the first modern record for the species.

Gorseinon

226 moths of 57 species in the garden trap this morning, Scythropia crataegella (Hawthorn Moth) & Zeiraphera isertana being additions to the garden list, as was a Black Lacewing Nothochrysa capitata.

Creigiau Friday 26 June

66 moths of 34 species on Friday night. It has been an odd month - I have not trapped anything in large numbers but the variety has been excellent. Another 8 species new for the year - Dark Arches, Dot Moth, Celypha striana, Marbled Beauty, Marbled White Spot, Small Angle Shades, Small Magpie and Snout. This pushes the garden total to over 130 for 2015 so far, with 53 of these making their first visit during June.

Sallow Kitten

Yesterday, while exploring an interesting coal waste site, near Trecynon, Aberdare, with Martin Bevan, I came across what I thought at first was a damaged leaf, but on donning my specs, turned out to be this Sallow Kitten larva. It is such a strange looking thing, but the camouflage is superb.

Help with ID, Please

Last night I trapped at Pwll Waun Cynon nature reserve, just down the valley from my home. It was a reasonably good night, with temperatures higher than forecast, but also breezier than forecast, so the species count was limited to the mid sixties.
Of particular note were my first ever Poplar Grey and the second Blackneck for the site, proving that they are breeding there. This makes the reserve the only site outside of the vale and Gower to have records of this species.
I have been puzzling all day over two micros, which look really identifiable, but have finally got me stumped.

I at first thought this was Eidophasia messingiella, but it lacked the scales on the lower parts of the antennae. Could it be that the scales had worn off?

There were two of these and they were identical, but I have been completely unable to find an exact match for it. I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

Nicholaston, Gower, Thursday morning

Lots of activity in and around the traps this morning, just where the woods meet the marsh and dunes.
125 species including several new to me, especially Sloe Pug, Argolamprotes micella, Strophedra weirana (thanks George for the ID), Cryptoblabes bistriga (sadly, no pic)  and a possible Phalonidia affinitana; any thoughts on that one?
There was a good mix of coast species such as Sand Dart and Crescent Dart, marsh species like Obscure Wainscot and Chilo phragmitella and woodland ones, with several Lobster in the grass nearby and a couple of Green Silver-lines looking stunning as ever, as well as Pretty Chalk Carpet and Fern. Also a couple of tiny nepticulids I can't do; any thoughts?

Green Silver-lines

Argolamprotes micella

Possibly Phalonidia affinitana

Strophedra weirana

Delplanqueia dilutella

Sloe Pug

Lobster Moth

Query 1

Query 2

Llandaff north last night

My best garden catch of the year by some margin last night - unsurprising given the excellent conditions. As well as the usual suspects there were two species new for the garden list - Scorched Carpet and Argyresthia spinosella - and my second garden (and ST17) record of Anania stachydalis.

Scorched Carpet

Argyresthia spinosella

Anania stachydalis

Brynna Woods and Llanharan Marsh

I trapped this site for the first time last night with an actinic on the edge of the marsh and the MV Robinson in the woods. Only half a dozen species in the actinic with small dotted buff probably the most interesting. About 50 species in the MV but that doesn't include quite a few tricky micros that i had to reluctantly let go due to the fact that it was a public moth morning and i didn't have time afterwards to go through them! When i got to the trap it was alive with geometrids and (not including escapees) i had a final count of 51 mottled beauties and 12 light emeralds which were the main culprits...

A few new for the year including a smart green oak tortrix and common lutestring with another Spatalistis bifasciana probably the best of the micros with also Anania crocealis, Lozotaenia forsterana, Aleimma loeflingiana, and Blastodacna hellerella.

Creigiau 23 June

Another good catch in the garden with 60 moths of 30 species. Of these, 3 were new for me - Ghost Moth, Coleophoridae sp, and a Nematopogon sp - and another 6 were new for the year - Beautiful Golden Y (also new or the garden), Heart & Club, Lozotaenia forsterana, Dipleurina lacustrata, Scorched Wing and Yellow Shell.

Ghost Moth

Coleophoridae sp.

           Nematopogon sp
           

Beautiful Golden Y

Parc Slip

By far the best night of the year so far at Parc Slip with 186 moths of 60 species coming to the trap (and none in need of id unlike yesterday...). Highlight for me was probably a couple of the attractive micro Spatalistis bifasciana which is new to me and the site as far as I'm aware. I also had a latticed heath in the trap which is another first. Others of note were miller (I catch one a year), bordered white (2nd ever catch), Anania coronata (1st for 2 years) and the first appearances this year of small fan-foot, small fan-footed wave, grey arches, scorched wing, pale-shouldered brocade, purple clay, spectacle, dark arches, pinion-streaked snout, small angle shades, large fruit-tree tortrix, dark fruit-tree tortrix and Perinephela lancealis.

Bridgend overnight 23Jun15 (MV)

We caught 99 moths of 32 species. The highlight for us was The Alder, a nice fresh one and our first since 2006. Though the trap was dominated by Chysoteuchia culmella and Heart & Darts.

A few nice micros were trapped including Notocelia rosaecolona and Anania coronata. Others new for the year were Rush Veneer (2012), White Ermine, The Cinnabar (2009), The flame, Double Square-spot, The Rustic, Mottled rustic and Small Fan-foot.

This takes our year tally to 86 species (64 macro/22 micro).

Cadoxton Ponds (Micros)

When i opened the trap i was faced with a rather daunting number of micros at first but the majority of those were taken up by Celypha lacunana (27) and Chrysoteuchia culmella (12) but there were at least 15 other species including Bramble shoot moth, Nematopogon metaxella, Pseudargyratoza conwagana, Agapeta hamana, Ancylis badiana, Eudonia pallida, Celypha striana, Elachista atricomella, Cyclamen tortrix and these which i'd like some help with please:
Firstly i'm fairly sure this is Anania perlucidalis:

1.Acrobasis consociella?

2.Cnephasia sp.

3.Cochylis hybridella

4.Coleophora peribenanderi

5.Metzeneria metzneriella

6.Faded Ptocheuusa paupella?

7.Scrobipalpa acuminatella

Thanks in advance!

Cadoxton Ponds (Macros)

I set an MV in Dow Corning's nature area in Cadoxton last night and had my best catch of the year so far. Unfortunately (partly due to the slightly unfamiliar habitat and partly due to the silly hour i have to get up to get to Barry) i'm struggling with quite a few so apologies for the number of photos coming up...

There was approximately 60 sp. in total with the most striking macro being a beautiful Barred Yellow which i think is a first for me.

Plenty of other FFY including grey/dark dagger, small fan-foot, beautiful hook-tip, lime-speck pug, light arches, clay, mottled rustic and turnip moth. There were also the following which i'd appreciate confirmation (or correction) please:

1.Common pug?

2.Smoky Wainscot

3.No idea!

4.Dusky Brocade

5.Heart & Club

6.Pale-shouldered Brocade

Creigiau Sunday 21 June

57 moths of 24 varieties in the trap on Sunday night, including 8 new for the year - Bee Moth, Freyer's Pug, Garden Grass-veneer, Miller, Mottled & Willow Beauty, Riband Wave and Uncertain - and one unidentified pug.

Freyer's Pug (?)

unidentified