First butterfly

I saw my first butterfly of 2015 today - a Red Admiral flying weakly in the winter sunshine at Porthkerry Country Park this lunchtime.

Rubbish phone pic below!

Another Hibernating Lep

Searching the sandstone outcrops around Castell Nos, above Maerdy for a particular moss, yesterday, I came upon a hibernating Peacock Butterfly. It was about 50cm inside a deep cleft, the narrow entrance of which was well protected by a dense screen of Hard Fern (Blechnum spicant), keeping the interior of the crevices snug and humid.

Hibernating Moths

Mike Hogan, Beth Evans, Graham Watkeys and I visited two disused railway tunnels and a limestone cave, in the Merthyr Tydfil and Cynon valley area, today, counting the hibernating lepidoptera and surveying bats.
In general, the number of hibernating Herald moths was down on last time, but as illness and unavailability caused the count to be done about a month later than last time, it is difficult to draw direct comparisons, but I have included the counts for the previous survey anyway.

Pontsarn/Pantcadifor Tunnel:

01/12/2013 - 37 Herald Moths.
04/01/2015 - 36 Herald Moths.

Cefnglas Tunnel:

01/12/2013 - 82 Herald Moths.
04/01/2015 - 65 Herald Moths.

Morlais Quarry Cave:

26/12/2013 - 13 Herald Moths.
                       2 Tissue.
04/01/2015 -  9 Herald Moths.
                       3 Tissue.
                       2 Peacock Butterfly.

Parc slip today.

                              Mottled umber and 2 December moths on the café wall.

Creigiau last night

Weather looked reasonable so tried the trap last night. Lots of flies in there this morning ... and four December Moths.

Mompha bradleyi

I've recently dissected a specimen of this species which I found in a friend's garden in Cathays (ST1777) in May 2014. This appears to be the third county record, and interestingly they are all from adjacent squares in this very urban part of Cardiff. I've dissected a few Mompha divisella/bradleyi from my current garden and all have been divisella - and looked like it too, with a broad white basal streak. The Cathays specimen was darker with an interrupted basal streak (shame I don't have a photo), which made it look a bit different from typical divisella. So, if you catch an odd looking 'divisella' it'll be worth hanging onto it.

Moths!!!

Having had a Winter Moth come to the kitchen window, yesterday evening, I decided that despite the rain and prospect of increasing winds, I would take advantage of the unusually mild night and run the garden trap.
Come the increasingly breezy morning, there was nothing but flies inside the trap, but sitting on one of the vanes was a December Moth; the second I've had this winter.
Studying the forecast for Friday evening and night, it looks likely that I'll record my fifth consecutive nil catch for the winter GMS, but you never know...