SP9326: 14/07/11

What ? No new moths...! Well... yes, as the discovery of a few leaf mines on a pioneering Rubus sp. meant that Stigmella aurella has bred and was, therefore, new to the garden. Sadly the offending 'bramble' had to go. Oh for a larger garden !

50 Stigmella aurella

Yesterday evening cooled down quite quickly, which no doubt kept the totals low.

1405 Mother of Pearl

1705 Dwarf Cream Wave

1712 Small Scallop

List for SP9326: 14/07/11

  998    Light Brown Apple Moth    1    (Epiphyas postvittana)
1293    Chrysoteuchia culmella    20
1304    Agriphila straminella    2
1306    Agriphila inquinatella    1
1331    Water Veneer    3    (Acentria ephemerella)
1405    Mother of Pearl    3
1424    Endotricha flammealis    1
1634    The Lackey    1
1705    Dwarf Cream Wave    1
1712    Small Scallop    1
1713    Riband Wave    1
1777    July Highflyer    1
1906    Brimstone Moth    1
1981    Poplar Hawk-moth    1
1994    Buff-tip    1
2050    Common Footman    2
2092    Shuttle-shaped Dart    3
2107    Large Yellow Underwing    1
2155    Dot Moth    1
2193    The Clay    1
2293    Marbled Beauty    1
2321    Dark Arches    3
2322    Light Arches    1
2381x  Uncertain/Rustic agg.    4
2489    The Fan-foot    1

Total: 25 species

SP9326: 13/06/11 - A real Gem

The minimum temperature recorded was 5.5 Celsius.

Quite a few moths around, then tailing off around 01:00, then, with a collection of moths potted up for identification in the morning, it was up the stairs to Bedfordshire.

A Gem of a Moth!

One of the 'unknowns' proved to be The Gem (Orthonama obstipata). Not wishing to make any schoolboy errors, confirmation was sought from the macro recorders.

It is a sexually dimorphic immigrant, distributed over much of Europe, and is an annual migrant to the UK. The last 'Gem' year was in 2006, apparently, when it was generally good for migrants as a whole (Bedfordshire Naturalist 2006, Part 1: Macro Moths 2006 by Andy & Melissa Banthorpe or *Here*). The recorders state that there are nine previous records in the database in Bedfordshire.

Udea olivalis and Celphya lacunana were also new for the garden.

1720* The Gem
female

1705 Dwarf Cream Wave

1742 Yellow Shell

1931 Peppered Moth

2489 The Fan-foot

List for SP9326: 13/06/11

  874    Blastobasis lacticolella    1
  989    Aphelia paleana    1    (Timothy Tortrix)
1076*  Celphya lacunana    1
1293    Chrysoteuchia culmella    1
1392*  Udea olivalis    2
1428    Bee Moth    2
1524    Emmelina monodactyla    1
1669    Common Emerald    1
1705    Dwarf Cream Wave    1
1720*  The Gem    1    (female)
1728    Garden Carpet    1
1742    Yellow Shell    1
1834    Common Pug    1
1906    Brimstone Moth    1
1931    Peppered Moth    1
1976    Privet Hawk-moth    1
2089    Heart and Dart    24
2101    Large Yellow Underwing    1
2160    Bright-line Brown-eye    1
2321    Dark Arches    3
2387    Mottled Rustic    2
2489    The Fan-foot    3

Total: 22 species
+ 1 micro TBI