Field Trip - Hexton Chalk Pit - 25/07/17 Below are the moths Trevor and myself recorded at Hexton Chalk Pit last Tuesday night. 74 Macros and 69 Micros (143 species in total) was a pleasing haul of species packing up at around 1am when the wind got up a bit, I presume that if we stayed later we would have added more. The night was warm and relatively muggy with increasing cloud cover as the lights were switched on. At leaving time at 2am it was still 15 degrees. Stand-out species were of course a fresh Annulet, only the second modern record, and also at least 8 examples of Teleiodes sequax, a Rock-rose feeding species and probably to be expected, again a rare moth for the County and probably confined to Chalk Grassland. A single slightly worn Delplanqueia was kept for checking for either dilutella or inscriptella. Acleris aspersana were absolutely everywhere and easily numbered 30+ Sitochroa palealis was also a first for me, and another Pyralid that seems to be confined to Hexton Chalk Pit in the County Paratalanta hyalinalis was recorded once again with 4 individuals. All in all a pleasing effort and 4 new moths for me. List below Macro Moths Annulet Barred Hook-tip Barred Rivulet Black Arches Brimstone Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Brown-line Bright-eye Buff Footman Burnet Companion Clay Cloaked Minor Clouded Silver Common Carpet Common Emerald Common Rustic Copper Underwing Dark Arches Dark Umber Dingy Footman Double Square-spot Dun-bar Dusky Sallow Dusky Thorn Dwarf Cream Wave Engrailed Fern Flame Shoulder Ghost Moth Grey Dagger Haworth's Pug July Highflyer Large Yellow Underwing Least Carpet Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Lesser Yellow Underwing Light Arches Lime-speck Pug Maple Pug Mottled Beauty Mouse Moth Nut-tree Tussock Oak Eggar Oak Hook-tip Pale Prominent Pebble Prominent Poplar Grey Pretty Chalk Carpet Purple Bar Red Twin-spot Carpet Riband Wave Rosy Minor Royal Mantle Ruby Tiger Rustic Scarce Footman Setaceous Hebrew Character Shaded Broad-bar Shuttle-shaped Dart Silver Y Slender Brindle Small Fan-footed Wave Small Phoenix Small Purple-barred Small Scallop Small Waved Umber Smoky Wainscot Spectacle Straw Dot Treble Brown Spot White Satin White-spotted Pug Willow Beauty Wood Carpet Yellow shell Micro Moths Acentria ephemerella Acleris aspersana Acleris forsskaleana Acompsia schmidtiellus Acrobasis advenella Aethes cnicana Agapeta hamana Agapeta zoegana Agonopterix arenella Agonopterix kaekeritziana Agonopterix pallorella Agonopterix purpurea Agriphila straminella Agriphila tristella Anania hortulata Archips podana Argyresthia albistria Argyresthia goedartella Aspilapteryx tringipennella Batia lunaris Blastobasis adustella Blastobasis lacticolella Bryotropha terrella Calamotropha paludella Carcina quercana Catoptria pinella Celypha lacunana Chrysoteuchia culmella Cnephasia sp Cochylimorpha straminea Cochylis hybridella Crassa unitella Cydia fagiglandana Cydia pomonella Cydia splendana Delplanqueia dilutella inscriptella Emmelina monodactlya Endothenia sp Endotricha flammealis Eucosma cana Eucosma conterminana Eucosma hohenwartiana Eudonia lacustrata Eulamprotes atrella Euzophera pinguis Hypsopygia costalis Mompha raschkiella Monopis weaverella Oncocera semirubella Pammene aurita Pandemis corylana Pandemis heparana Paratalanta hyalinalis Paraswammerdamia albicapitella Phycita roborella Phycitodes binaevella Pleuroptya ruralis Plutella xylostella Prays fraxinella Pyrausta aurata Pyrausta nigrata Pyrausta purpuralis Rhopobota naevana Scrobipalpa costella Scrobipalpa sp (to check) Sitochroa palealis Stenoptilia pterodactyla Stenoptilia pterodactyla Syncopacma sp Teleiodes sequax
Field Trip - Hexton Chalk Pit - 10/06/17 On Saturday night I went to Hexton Chalk Pit and was joined by Roger and Trevor. The day had been lovely and warm and with plenty of cloud cover the temperature would hopefully hold up, we just needed the wind to drop a bit which unfortunately didn't happen, in fact it got a bit worse at times with some pretty hefty gusts. With the high winds a factor we had to position the traps out of the wind as much as possible, running 5 traps in total and with the warm conditions I was confident. A total of 143 species were recorded by the end of the night at just before 3am, a great total and well worth staying late, and luckily we had decided to pack up as it started to drizzle. Some cracking moths were to be seen including 3 Ruddy Carpet, 1 Netted Pug, lots of Pretty Chalk Carpet, Wood Carpet, Satyr Pug and Royal Mantle and 10 Elephant Hawk-moths! Of note on the Micro front were the rare Pyralid Paratalanta hyalinalis, Hypochalcia ahenella, Acompsia cinerella and a County second record of Ethmia dodecea, the latter two species completely new for me. With still a few to check including a possible Cydia microgrammana (Which would be new for the County if correct and an Elachista sp) What a night and thanks guys for staying until the end to help pack up. Catch Report - 10/06/17 - Hexton Chalk Pit - North-west Herts - 6 traps in total - 2x 125w MV Robinson Trap 1x 160w MBT Robinson Trap 1x 40w Actinic + 15w LED Trap 1x 80w Actinic Trap 1x 5w LED + 26w Spiral reptile Trap 90 Macros & 53 Micros 144 species Macro Moths Alder Moth 3 Angle Shades 2 Barred Yellow 4 Beautiful Golden-Y 1 Beautiful Hook-tip 2 Blackneck 1 Bright-line Brown-eye 2 Brimstone Moth 5 Broad-barred White 1 Brown Rustic 10 Burnished Brass 1 Cinnabar 2 clouded border 4 Clouded Brindle 2 Clouded Silver 3 Clouded-bordered Brindle 1 Common Carpet 2 Common Marbled Carpet 3 Common Pug 2 Common Swift 5 Common Wainscot 1 Common White Wave 1 Dark Arches 5 Double Square-spot 2 Elephant Hawk-moth 10 Fan-foot 1 Fern 5 Figure of Eighty 1 Flame 2 Flame Shoulder 4 Foxglove Pug 2 Freyer's Pug 1 Ghost Moth 1 Grass Rivulet 50+ Green Arches 1 Green Carpet 2 Green Silver Lines 1 Grey Pug 5 Haworth's Pug 5 Heart & Dart 15+ Ingrailed Clay 20+ Large Nutmeg 5 Large Yellow Underwing 4 Latticed heath 1 Light Arches 2 Light Brocade 2 Light Emerald 4 Lime-speck Pug 3 Lobster Moth 3 Marbled Minor 10+ Marbled White-spot 6 Middle-barred minor 2 Mottled Beauty 3 Mottled Pug 1 Mottled Rustic 5 Netted Pug 2 Orange Footman 5 Pale Tussock 1 Peach Blossom 1 Peppered Moth 3 Pretty Chalk Carpet 10 Privet Hawk-moth 5 Purple Bar 4 Riband Wave 1 Royal Mantle 5 Ruddy Carpet 3 Satyr Pug 10 Scarce Footman 1 Scorched Wing 2 Setaceous Hebrew Character 10 Shaded pug 20+ Shears 10+ Shoulder-striped Wainscot 1 Silver-ground Carpet 3 Silver-Y 2 Small Elephant Hawk-moth 3 Small Square-spot 1 Small Waved Umber 4 Small Yellow Wave 1 Snout 6 Spectacle 1 Straw Dot 10+ Tawny Marbled Minor 2 Tawny Shears 1 Treble bar 1 Treble lines 1 White Ermine 1 Willow Beauty 5 Wood Carpet 20 Yellow Shell 3 Micro Moths Acompsia cinerella 2 [NEW!] Agapeta hamana 15+ Agapeta zoegana 10+ Agonopterix arenella 2 Agonopterix pallorella 1 Anania crocealis 1 Aphomia sociella 1 Bryotropha terrella 4 Caloptilia alchimiella robustella 1 Celypha lacunana 10+ Chrysoteuchia culmella 10+ Cnephasia sp 10 Cochylimorpha straminea 20+ Coleophora deauratella 2 Crassa unitella 3 Cydia fagiglandana 2 Cydia splendana 1 Dioryctria abietella 1 Elachista Aphomia canapennella 1 Elachista apicipunctella 2 Endothenia gentianaeana marginea 3 Epiblema costipunctana 1 Ethmia dodecea 1 [NEW!] Eucosma cana 2 Eucosma conterminana 1 Eudonia lacustrata 2 Eudonia pallida 5 Eulamprotes unicolorella 4 Eupoecilia angustana 10 Hedya nubiferana 5 Hedya pruniana 3 Hypochalcia ahenella 2 Lathronympha strigana 1 Lozotaeniodes formosana 1 Luquetia lobella 1 Metzneria metneriella 15+ Mompha ochraceella 5 Nemapogon cloacella 2 Nematopogon swammerdamella 2 Notocelia trimaculana 10+ Notocelia uddmanniana 2 Pammene aurana 1 Pandemis cerasana 2 Paraswammerdamia albicapitella 2 Paratalanta hyalinalis 2 Phtheochroa sodaliana 2 Plutella xylostella 2 Prays fraxinella 1 Pseudargyrotoza conwagana 3 Pterophorus pentadactyla 15+ Scoparia ambigualis 10 Scoparia pyralella 5 Scythropia crataegella 1 Sitochroa verticalis 1 Tinea trinotella 1 Udea olivalis 3
Summary[edit] Description: Exemplar found: Russia, Moscow Oblast, Odintsovsky District, near village Pestovo, 21.09.2011, by light МО, Одинцовский р-н, окрестности деревни Пестово, 21.09.2011, на свет. Date: 18 March 2018, 08:49. Source: Acompsia cinerella - Ash-coloured sober. Author: Ilia Ustyantsev.
Summary[edit] Description: Exemplar found: Russia, Moscow Oblast, Odintsovsky District, near village Pestovo, 06.07.2012, by light МО, Одинцовский р-н, окрестности деревни Пестово, 06.07.2012, на свет. Date: 18 March 2018, 08:58. Source: Acompsia tripunctella. Author: Ilia Ustyantsev.
Trip to Las Descargues 8th August - 18th August - Micro Moths Here is the second post containing all (or nearly all) of the Micro Moth species that I recorded on my 10 night stay to Las Descargues. The smaller moths were quite thin on the ground most nights and with lots of bigger bulkier moths crashing around in the traps it made it harder to actually pot them up and a few escaped at times! I still have a few for identification as always but so far the Micro Moth species list stands at 102 species. Species highlighted in red are completely new to me. All of the Macro and the Micro Moth species that I took photos of can now be viewed on my flickr page HERE Acleris variegana Acompsia cinerella Acompsia tripunctella Acrobasis advenella Acrobasis glaucella Acrobasis tumidana Adaina microdactyla Agapeta hamana Agapeta zoegana Agonopterix yeatiana Agriphila inquinatella Agriphila straminella Agriphila tristella Agrotera nemoralis Amblyptilia acanthdactyla Anania verbascalis Ancylolomia sp Antigastra catalaunalis Argyresthia bonnetella Argyresthia semitestacella Aroga velocalla Bactra lancealana Batia lambdella Batia lunaris Blastobasis glandulella Borkhausenia fuscescens Bryotropha basaltinella Bryotropha terrella Caloptilia alchimiella/robustella Caloptilia stigmatella Calybites phasianipennella Carcina quercana Carpatolechia decorella Catoptria falsella Catoptria pinella Celypha lacunana Celypha rivulana Celypha striana Chrysoteuchia culmella Clepsis rurinana Coleophora sp Coptotriche marginea Cosmiotes freyrella Crambus pascuella Cydalima perspectalis Cydia amplana Cynaeda dentalis Depressaria pulcherrimella Dialectica scalariella Dichomeris limosellus Dioryctria abietella Ectoedemia heringella Elachista canapennella Emmelina monodactyla Endothenia oblongana Endotricha flammealis Ephestia elutella Epinotia ramella Ethmia quadrillella Etiella zinckenella Eucosma conterminana Eudemis profundana Eudonia lacustrata Eudonia mercurella Euzophera pinguis Evergestis forficalis Homaloxestis briantiella Homoeosoma sinuella Khorassania compositella Lobesia botrana Metalampra italica Metendothenia atropunctana Monopis laevigella Monopis obviella Niphonympha dealbatella Nomophila noctuella Notocelia uddmanniana Oegoconia sp Oncocera semirubella Ostrinia nubilalis Oxyptilus ericetorum Palpita vitrealis Paraswammerdamia albicapitella Parornix sp Pediasia contaminella Phycitodes albatella Phycitodes binnaevella Phyllonorycter coryli Phyllonorycter harrisella Plutella xylostella Pyralis farinalis Pyrausta despicata Pyrausta purpuralis Pyroderces argyrogrammos Scrobipalpa acuminatella Scythropia crataegella Sitochroa palealis Stomopteryx detersella Synaphe punctalis Syncopacma ochrofasciella Syncopacma sangiella Udea ferrugalis
Summary[edit] Description: Exemplar found: Russia, Moscow Oblast, Odintsovsky District, near village Pestovo, 01.07.2017, by light МО, Одинцовский р-н, окрестности деревни Пестово, 01.07.2017, на свет. Date: 2 July 2017, 12:11. Source: Acompsia cinerella - Ash-coloured sober. Author: Ilia Ustyantsev.
Summary[edit] Description: Exemplar found: Russia, Moscow Oblast, Odintsovsky District, near village Pestovo, 10.07.2015, by light МО, Одинцовский р-н, окрестности деревни Пестово, 10.07.2015, на свет. Date: 10 July 2015, 13:35. Source: Acompsia tripunctella. Author: Ilia Ustyantsev.