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

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Some New Garden Ticks (Moth-wise)

Saturday night's moth trapping session produced one new species for the year and one, not only new for the year, but also new for the garden.

The macros were a lively bunch fluttering around as soon as I got them out of the fridge so it was hard to get any photos at all. Most of the micros escaped whilst I was potting the macros (saving hours of id problems!)

As usual the ids are a trifle tentative so please feel free to correct me!

Dark Spinach (new for garden) and what a beautifully marked moth



Knot Grass - I've posted photos of this species before but it has lovely markings



My first Common Footman of the year - very lively this one managed to just get a photo as it crawled across the worktop. Hopefully, its the Common species as like so many other moths there are several Footmen that look very similar!

Edit - Many thanks to Dean for coming to my rescue and correcting my id. This is a Scarce Footman - great news (another new species for the garden)



And here's a better photo of a more docile individual that I took last year which was quite happy to pose for its picture.

Edit - Common Footman id confirmed by Dean



And here's a mystery micro - haven't got a clue what this species is. Very poor photo (the micros are really just too small for the 14-42mm lens to cope with)



On Sunday I caught this moth in the bathroom (it won't count towards the Garden Moth Scheme) but as presumably it flew in through the window from the garden and its a new species I shall count it for my garden list!

Clay - hopefully. I know its a male as it has a black mark on its abdomen but there is a very similar species (White-point) where the male also has a black mark visible on the underside of its body



Summary of Moths Trapped Saturday 23rd July

9.30 p.m. until dawn Minimum temperature 9.7 degrees centigrade

15w Actinic Skinner Trap

Riband Wave x 1
Heart and Dart x 2
Uncertain x 17
Shuttle-shaped Dart x 1
Dark Arches x 6
Heart and Club x 1
Common Footman x 1 New for Year Edit This should be Scarce Footman (new for garden) Thanks again Dean
Knot Grass x 1
Dark Spinach x 1 New for Garden (and year)

Micros

Garden Grass-veneer x 1

Plus

24th July

Clay x 1 New for Garden

Total number of species in the Garden (since mid 2009) 122 Edit 123

Total number of species in the Garden 2011 64

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The first 2 id`s are correct, Caroline. The first of the Footman images is a Scarce Footman. Easy to tell by the furled wings, and not held flat like the Common below it.

The micro is one of the Grass moth family.
I always thought it was just the Clay that had the black triangle on the underside.

Ragged Robin said...

Thanks so much again for your help Dean. Good news on the Scarce Footman as its a new species for the garden. Thanks too for the tip re: the furled wings - I've added a note in my Waring Guide.

I'll remember to try and take photos of side and back of the micros - if they stop still for long enough.:D I am full of admiration for the photos you manage to take of insects the ones I trap are always so lively :D.

I've rechecked the Waring guide which suggests that both the Clay and White-point (males) have a black band on the underside. Perhaps Clay's is more triangular?? I really do need to consider the Waring full guide - it will be added to the Cmas list :D. I think the moth in the photo is Clay as the white marks are more teardrop shape (not really clear from photo).

Thanks again for your help - it is really appreciated.