The mild, cloudy weather of late held out for the majority of last night- perfect conditions for a moth or two. The alarm woke me up at half 4 this morning, and I was soon confronted with the satisfying (but slightly daunting) sight of hundreds of moths settled in and around the moth trap. The fantastic acrobatics of some late-to-bed bats provided welcome entertainment whilst I processed the catch, their silhouetted bodies effortlessly swooping over the trap and frequently landing on the vertical concrete walls of the neighbouring house- no doubt taking advantage of the free meals on offer.
Thankfully, 57 species of moth survived the night- the highlight being this rather underwhelming micro which looks set to be
Mompha sturnipennella, a rare species in the county. Problem is that it's rather similar to
Mompha subbistrigella, so will have to be examined up close with a microscope to confirm its identity...
It really was night of the nondescript, with the very grey
Exoteleia dodecella and the even greyer
Glyphipterix fuscoviridella being notable records for the garden.
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| Exoteleia dodecella |
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| Glyphipterix fuscoviridella |
Other highlights included fantastic examples of
Buff-tip &
Lime Hawk-moth, as well as these characters...
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| Argyresthia spinosella |
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| Buttoned Snout |
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| Dwarf Pug- just about. |
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| Prays fraxinella |
I wouldn't normally put the trap out two nights in a row, but with the mild weather set to continue who knows what's out there...
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