A change in weather yields a new moth Wednesday (and as per a previous post) I was scheduled to go out but in brief my wife wasn't very well and the weather was a little iffy after a huge thunderstorm on Tuesday night with some localised downpours. Conditions seemed better on Wednesday but the expected temperature of 28 degrees never materialised and we topped out at 22 degrees here, which is still relatively respectful.

The trap was set-up with the rain cover firmly on expecting more rain, which did come at some point in the night.

By the morning, the catch was quite pleasing with a new Tortrix moth for me and always a sweetner adding it to the garden list, Adoxophyes orana the Summer Fruit Tortrix and making it the 1st County record for Hertfordshire!

Other nice moths included a year first Tree-lichen Beauty, a moth that is increasing its range across the Country and the last 3 years it has been recorded from my garden.

Chinese Character was also very welcome and I have had just one record in 2013 and 2015 so far, so as you can see it is a bi-yearly singleton species and very consistent.

Mompha propinquella returned after a 4 year absence, a pretty unusual little moth that is very photogenic.

Also I’m pretty sure I have both Acleris laterana and comariana, the latter a rare moth in Herts having caught the second County record many years ago on the farm, laterana would be a year first and comariana would be a garden first. Both will need dissecting to be 100% the photos look convincing.

Epiblema costipunctana was back after its debut year last year, a thistle feeder and a most welcome second garden record.

And finally Zelleria hepariella was a new species of Micro Moth for the garden having recently recorded one at Scales Part in North-east Herts, not a common moth for me I must add.

As I finish typing, Saturday has been a complete wash-out and last night's catch was completely sodden...more on that soon.

Catch Report - 19/07/17 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

1x Chinese Character [NFY] 1x Tree-lichen Beauty [NFY] 1x Bright-line Brown-eye 3x Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 1x Buff Footman 2x Common Footman 11x Common Rustic 1x Common Wainscot 1x Dark Arches 1x Dingy Footman 2x Dot Moth 2x Dun-bar 2x Elephant Hawk-moth 1x Grey Dagger 1x Haworth's Pug 1x Heart & Dart 1x July Highflyer 2x Least Carpet 2x Maple Pug 1x Mottled Beauty 1x Mottled Rustic 2x Nut-tree Tussock 1x Poplar Hawk-moth 1x Purple Thorn 1x Red Twin-spot Carpet 14x Riband Wave 1x Rustic 3x Scarce Footman 1x Scalloped Oak 2x Silver-Y 1x Smoky Wainscot 1x V-Pug 6x Uncertain 1x Yellow-tail

Micro Moths

1x Adoxophyes orana [NEW!] 1x Zelleria hepariella [NFG] 2x Acleris laterana/comariana [NFY] 1x Agriphila tristella [NFY] 1x Eucosma conterminana [NFY] 1x Eucosma hohenwartiana [NFY] 1x Mompha propinquella [NFY] 4x Pammene regiana 1x Prays fraxinella 1x Acleris forsskaleana 1x Acrobasis advenella 2x Acrobasis suavella 10x Agriphila straminella 11x Blastobasis adustella 2x Chrysoteuchia culmella 1x Coleophora sp 2x Cameraria ohridella 1x Cnephasia sp 3x Cydia spledana 7x Endotricha flammealis 18x Eudonia lacustrata 3x Eudonia mercurella 1x Euzophera pinguis 2x Oegoconia sp 1x Pammene aurita 2x Pandemis heparana 9x Pleuroptya ruralis 2x Plutella xylostella 6x Spilonota ocellana