Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Monday 12 September 2011

More Moth Ticks

A warm muggy night last Friday resulted in quite a large number of moths in the trap. Mainly noctuids and at this time of the year many are very worn and there were at least six moths I didn't even attempt to identify.

This beautifully marked silver moth is I think Autumnal Rustic - a new species for the garden.




Yellow Shell (a bit worn but hopefully my identification is correct) - the first one I've trapped this year



I find it hard to differentiate between some of the Rustic spp.

Is this Vine's Rustic? - would be new for garden



Square-spot Rustic



If any of the above identifications are wrong please feel free to correct me!


Summary of Moths Trapped Friday, 9th September

Minimum Temperature 17 degrees centigrade

7.30 p.m. until dawn

15w Actinic Skinner Trap

Large Yellow Underwing x 19
Willow Beauty x 6
Copper Underwing x 9
Flounced Rustic x 10
Garden Carpet x 1
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing x 1
Straw Underwing x 1
Square-spot Rustic x 4
Yellow Shell x 1 (New for Year)
Autumnal Rustic x 1 (New for Garden)
Vine's Rustic? x 1 (New for Garden)
Common Rustic x 2
Lesser Yellow Underwing x 1

Micros

Light Brown Apple Moth x 1

Number of species seen in garden (all years) = 132

Number of species seen in garden 2011 = 88


Also in the trap were 2 wasps (fortunately I don't trap many of these although I have read of people who get dozens, if not hundreds, in their trap!!), one sexton beetle, one hawthorn shield bug plus the shield bug in the photo below which I think is a red-legged shield bug


2 comments:

Stewart said...

I had about 25 or 30 wasps in the trap on Saturday am. luckily they are groggy and if you are careful they can be flicked away and out of harm...

Ragged Robin said...

My two on Saturday seemed pretty dead! But the few I've caught in the past were, as you say, groggy! Its amazing what effect the moth trap seems to have on species!

The shield bug looked pretty comatose but eventually wandered off without apparently showing any lasting side effects!