Phyllonocrycter query

Only 2 moths last night - a Red-green Carpet in the trap and, what I think is, a Phyllonocrycter messaniella on a nearby window. This would be a new moth for me so grateful for confirmation or correction.

The painful so-and-so wouldn't come out of the pot so I struggled to get a side view. Hopefully it will have settled down by the time I try again.

Coed y Bedw/Parc Slip

Could anyone attempt to identify this caterpillar found by a volunteer at Coed y Bedw please?

Ran the trap at PS last night too and had the biggest haul of caddisflies I've ever had. 17 moths of 10 species with 3 new for the year - dark chestnut, spruce carpet and red-line quaker.

Creigiau - Tuesday 27 October

Only 4 moths of 3 species in the mid-week trap last night, but two of them (Grey Shoulder-knot and Yellow-line Quaker) were new for the year.

Grey Shoulder-knot

Mompha divisella

Yellow-line Quaker

Late Emerald

There was a nice fresh looking Light Emerald on a shop window in Swansea this morning. This seems to be the latest record on the county database. I had one in the garden trap last week too.

Nul point in Bridgend

We did worse than Howard last night - our first ever total blank in 358 garden trappings over 11 years since 2004 - not a moth in sight despite checking all the surrounding garden vegetation! So here instead are a few from three nights ago!

Beaded Chestnut 22Oct15

amended - Brick 22Oct15

Green-brindled Crescent 22Oct15

The Brick (amended - thanks Benny) was pleasing garden year tick taking our year list to 196 - just hoping to crawl up to our 200 total of 2014.

Creigiau last night

Ran the trap in the garden last night, but with a cloudy sky and minimum temperature of 11.5C I was expecting a lot more than the 8 moths of 6 species that were in/around the trap. Highlight was the first appearance of the year for Frosted Orange.

Gower last night

Ran two traps for a few hours last night at Gelli-hir. 16 species.
Not huge variety but 50 Epirrita and 10 Merveille du Jour which I can never resist photographing!
I tried to get lots in one photo but they didn't want to sit still!

Merveille du Jour

Merveille du Jour party

Broughton 18Oct15

11 moths of 8 species but a lovely diversity (photos to follow) including 1 Large Wainscot, 1 Black Rustic, 1 Autumnal Rustic, 1 Beaded Chestnut, 3 Flounced Chestnut and a Sallow (8w actinic trap).

 

 

Butterfly Conservation, South Wales Branch AGM

Just a quick plug for tomorrow's Branch AGM & Members day at Kenfig tomorrow. Non-members welcome! Starts at 10:30, and features our regular poster Vaughn talking about the Parc Slip moth trapping, Kevin Dupé on the Lepidoptera of the Newport Wetlands, Sue Smith and Peter Hugo from Gloucestershire branch on their Rough Bank reserve, Lindsey Rendle and Amanda Evans talking about Marsh Fritillary in Carmarthenshire, and the usual bits and pieces about what the Branch and the staff at BC Wales have been up to. All welcome, tea and coffee (and biscuits) provided, but you'll need to provide your own lunch.

Phyllonorycter tristrigella mines on Wych elm.

                   After only succeeding with hearing the Yellow browed warbler at
                   Kenfig yesterday, I decided to walk the east pool shore and head
                   back to the car park via the path from the north pool up to the main
                   road. There is a stand of Wych elm near the top of the path just
                   behind the bus shelter and a search for leaf mines produced this
                   one, which pretty much matches the photos on UKmoths and the
                   descriptions in the guides.

Coed-y-bedw on Saturday

I left two 6W actinics at Coed-y-bedw on Saturday night, in fairly promising conditions (not exactly warm, but cloudy and still). The catch on Sunday morning was rather disappointing, with a good variety of craneflies and caddis but only 9 moth species (plus a crippled Yellow-line Quaker found in the herbage elsewhere on site). Almost all the moths were geometrids, with a fresh Green Carpet, a Spruce Carpet, and a Red-green Carpet among others. I caught 7 male Epirrita which proved on closer inspection to comprise 1 November Moth and 6 Pale November Moth. They were drab and I suspected they would all be November Moth, so I was glad I checked them.

My first Feathered Thorn of the year was among the catch

Caddis flies included both Halesus radiatus and H. digitatus,  but the highlight of the whole catch was this whopping great cranefly, Pedicia rivosa.

Nicholaston Woods. Friday 9th October

Not a great selection (only 12 species) down where the wood meets the marsh so perhaps a bit exposed to the east wind.
There were 10 Large Wainscot, though, so obviously just right for them! Also NFY for me were Red-green Carpet and Beaded Chestnut.
As it has been a bit quiet recently I photographed this little fly (forewing approx. 3mm) which seems to be quite common at the moment. Perhaps someone can put a name to it?

Red-green Carpet

Large Wainscot

Beaded Chestnut

Fly query

Creigiau last week

20 moths of 11 species on Tuesday night, including 2 new for the year - Green-brindled Crescent and Small Wainscot.

Green-brindled Crescent

Last night there were 18 moths of 16 species in/around the trap, including my first ever Sallow. 3 others - Beaded Chestnut, Blair's Shoulder-knot and Spruce Carpet - were new for the year. The Beaded Chestnut looks a bit faded so I would appreciate confirmation of this one please.

Beaded Chestnut ?

Blair's Shoulder-knot

Sallow

Spruce Carpet

Red-line Quaker and Black Rustic last night in Bridgend

We trapped 23 moths of 12 species last night, the highlight being the a new moth for the garden in Acleris sparsana and Red-line Quaker and Black Rustic. Other species caught were Light Brown Apple moth, Eudonia angustea, Mompha divisella/bradleyii agg, Light Emerald, Common Marbled Carpet, Large Yellow Underwing, Square-spot Rustic, Blair's Shoulder-knot and Angle Shades. We also caught a Tapered Dronefly and overhead we saw our first Redwing of the year plus 6 Goldfinch, and several Siskin and Meadow Pipits .

Parc Slip

Very poor results in the trap this morning - glad i didn't get up super early for it. 7 moths of 7 species (and only 4 of those were actually in the trap). May as well do the full list...

Green-brindled crescent (FFY)
Yellow-line quaker (FFY)
Sallow
Flounced chestnut
Frosted orange
Common marbled carpet
Light emerald

Gold Spot and Blair's Shoulder-knot 03Oct15

Some lovely shots by Emma of some moths from our trapping a couple of nights ago at home.

Sycamore larva

 

This was found by a local lad on 2 Oct and shown to us as we were passing - it was crossing the lane between Colwinston and Llysworney at Hilton Farm (SS953749). We'd seen photos before but never the moth or larva - it's such a colourfully distinctive beast!

Creigiau - last night

Minimum temperature of just under 5C last night so just 3 moths in/around the trap: Light Emerald, Red-green Carpet and Rosy Rustic. Also, a couple of Silver Y on the Sedum this afternoon.

The trap hasn't seen minimum night-time temperatures in double figures since early September!

Bridgend overnight 01Oct15

MV in the garden overnight. 20 moths of 15 species, the highlight being our first Grey Pine Carpet since 2010 and also new for the year a Blair's Shoulder-knot and a Pale Mottled Willow. We also caught Eudonia angustea, Light Emerald, Sallow, Large Ranunculus and Angle Shades. Year list up to 189 species (125 macro / 64 micro).

Parc Slip

25 moths of 14 species in the trap this morning with a couple new for the year: flounced chestnut, grey pine carpet and Acleris rhombana. The first autumn angle shades were also nice to see and still a few attractive autumn species with canary-shouldered thorn, sallow and frosted orange...just the 2 large yellow underwings...