Last night of the month yields something special....With all the moths from the previous two nights still in pots, I set the trap up again under cloudy and still conditions.We did get a spattering of rain during the night though and this morning clear and still 7 degrees.among the usual new for year's were Early Thorn (2), Alucita hexadactyla (1) and Agonopterix alstromeriana (1) but as I turned over the second to last egg tray, wht's that tiny moth...Agonopterix purpurea, quick pot!This is why I was excited, it is my first Hertfordshire record and only my second one, I previously caught one way back in 2009 at Hatfield Broad Oak in Essex.Post HEREOther than that bit of exciement it was the usual Orthosias, although all my moaning of no Early Grey's diminished last night with another 4 added to the year total!Catch Report - 31/03/14 - Back Garden Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson TrapMacro Moths2x Early Thorn [NFY] 2x Brindled Pug6x Double-striped Pug10x Hebrew Character13x Common Quaker 6x Small Quaker2x Clouded Drab3x Chestnut1x Oak Beauty4x Early Grey3x Brindled Pug1x SatelliteMicro Moths1x Agonopterix purpurea [NFG]1x Agonopterix alstromeriana [NFY]1x Alucita hexadactyla [NFY]2x Emmelina monodactyla1x Diurnea fagella
Field Trip - Ashwell Quarry - 09/04/17 I made a trip back to Ashwell Quarry following the warmest weekend of the year so far with highs of 23 degrees on Sunday, Saturday wasn't bad either at around 20 degrees. Sunday night was planned and I arrived at the reserve in good time to try and find some Rock-rose as a scarce Mompha species uses it as it's foodplant. Unfortunately there was none to be found anywhere and I came to the conclusion that I surely couldn't have been over-looking it (Later on Chris confirmed to me that there wasn't any here afterall). All was not lost as I was there to light trap all evening until it was too cold. I went about setting up 4 traps spread out across the reserve, some in the grass fields and one on the edge of the chalk pit, the wind wasn't too bad but it was there and coming from the West so I decided to site the traps out of the wind as best as I could do...this paid off as by 10pm the wind was very gusty and cooler as well. The temperature was 21 degrees at 7pm and dropped to 11c at midnight at leaving time. The moths were varied and pretty fantastic to say the least with good amounts of late spring/early summer species turning up. Most numerous were Common Quaker (15), Double-striped Pug (12) and Agonopterix alstromeriana (8). Early species on the wing included Yellow-barred Brindle, Least Black Arches and Small Waved Umber. Now I wasn't expecting to see anything too exciting given how early on in the season it is, but my luck was in and I got to see species such as Semioscopsis steinkellneriana, Depressaria chaerophylli and Agonopterix purpurea, moths that I don't see very often with just a few records to each of these species. Even better I recorded two moths completely new to me, Depressaria radiella (the Parsnip Moth, yes it really is scarce in Hertfordshire with no more than 10 records since records began!) and the best moth of the night and 3rd County record Phaneta pauperana, a Dog-rose feeding chalk speciality Tortrix moth confined to the South. Thanks again go to Chris and Trevor for allowing me to come back here again. Catch Report - 09/04/17 - Ashwell Quarry - North-west Herts - 2x 125w MV Robinson Trap 1x 160w MBT Robinson Trap & 1x 40w Actinic Trap - Warm, clear then cloudy with a full moon, stiffening Westerly breeze by 10pm - minimum of 11c 27 species Macro Moths 1x Brindled Pug 1x Common Carpet 15x Common Quaker 12x Double-striped Pug 1x Early Thorn 6x Hebrew Character 1x Knot Grass 1x Least Black Arches 1x March Moth 6x Nut-tree Tussock 1x Purple Thorn 3x Red Chestnut 1x Red-green Carpet 5x Red Twin-spot Carpet 1x Small Waved Umber 9x Streamer 3x V-Pug 5x Yellow-barred Brindle Micro Moths 1x Depressaria radiella [NEW!] 1x Phaneta pauperana [NEW!] 1x Acleris cristana 8x Agonopterix alstromeriana 1x Agonopterix arenella 2x Agonopterix heracliana 1x Agonopteris purpurea 1x Depressaria chaerophylli 1x Semioscopsis steinkellneriana
Field Trip - Roughdown Common Again! - 21-06-16 On Tuesday night I was joined by David and Roger at Roughdown Common for our third visit to this site this year. I arrived on site quite early and planned to do some netting before setting all of the traps up. We had access to the reserve up a slight incline and because on Monday morning it rained solidly for most of the morning, it was a slippy upward slope that the car disagreed with! Spinning and slipping I managed to get up with just the engine power and no throttle (Diesels are great for this) I'm glad I got there early as I added 12 species in around 40 minutes of 'exercise' best moth was an Epinotia tenerana. I also got plagued by clegs as soon as I got out of the car, I thought sod this...so I got some of my citronella spray that I bought from Turkey about 8 years ago! I bought about 5 bottles back then and this is my last (full) bottle..the stuff worked instantly and I never aw another one afterwards. The traps were all set-up at around 9pm and lights on at 9.40pm, we ran a total of six lights across the site covering all different areas. The weather was just perfect, thick dominant cloud cover, little wind and 17 degrees. Things did get a little chillier at packing up time at 2am and the breeze kicked up a bit. 129 species was not to be sniffed at but we've done a lot better this time of year in the past.. echoing the continuation of a poor year. Best Moth was a Garden Dart, a really uncommon and terribly declining moth which use to be an annual moth on most people's records in the 1970's..now well this only my second record in 10 years and my first Hertfordshire record. Another moth of note was the micro moth Thiotricha subocellea, another rare moth for the County, two were recorded on the night, only my 2nd and 3rd records ever. All in all a pleasing night with the guys. Catch Report - 21/06/16 - Roughdown Common - 3x 125w MV Robinson Trap 1x 26w & 40w Actinic Trap 1x 160w MBT Robinson Trap and 1x 80w Actinic Suitcase Trap 128 Species in total Macro Moths -74 Species Beautiful Golden-Y 1 Beautiful Hook-tip 5 Bright-line Brown-eye 1 Brimstone Moth 3 Broken-barred Carpet 2 Brown Rustic 6 Buff Arches 1 Buff-tip 1 Burnished Brass 1 Clouded Border 2 Clouded Brindle 1 Clouded Silver 30+ Common Marbled Carpet 8 Common Pug 4 Common Swift 10 Common White Wave 1 Coronet 3 Dark Arches 1 Dot Moth 1 Double Square-spot 3 Elephant Hawk-moth 1 Fan-foot 2 Fern 3 Flame 2 Flame Shoulder 1 Garden Carpet 1 Garden Dart 1 Ghost Moth 3 Green Carpet 2 Green Pug 4 Grey Pug 2 Haworth's Pug 2 Heart & Club 2 Heart & Dart 15+ Ingrailed Clay 5 Large Nutmeg 1 Large Yellow Underwing 4 Least Black Arches 1 Light Arches 1 Light Brocade 1 Light Emerald 3 Lime Hawk-moth 2 Lobster Moth 1 Marbled Minor 5 Marbled White Spot Middle-barred Minor 1 Mottled Beauty 6 Mottled Pug 1 Mottled Rustic 1 Orange Footman 2 Peppered Moth 1 Poplar Hawk-moth 1 Pretty Chalk Carpet 3 Privet Hawk-moth 2 Purple Bar 2 Riband Wave 2 Rustic Shoulder-knot 1 Scorched Carpet 1 Setaceous Hebrew Character 1 Shears 3 Shoulder-striped Wainscot 2 Silver-ground Carpet 4 Small Fan-foot 4 Small Yellow Wave 2 Snout 2 Spectacle 1 Straw Dot 2 Tawny Marbled Minor 1 Treble Brown Spot 2 Treble Lines 1 Uncertain 2 White Ermine 1 Willow Beauty 1 Yellow Shell 2 Micro Moths - 55 Species Acentria ephemerella 1 Agapeta hamana 5 Agapeta zoegana 3 Agonopterix arenella 2 Agonopterix purpurea 1 Aleimma loeflingiana 3 Alucita hexadactyla 1 Anania hortulata 2 Aphomia sociella 2 Archips xylosteana 1 Argyresthia spinosella 1 Blastobasis lacticolella 2 Bryotropha terrella 15+ Celypha lacunana 5 Chrysoteuchia culmella 15+ Coleophora sp 1 Cnephasia sp 4 Cochylimorpha straminea 2 Crambus lathoniellus 10+ Crambus pascuella 1 Crambus perlella 1 Cydia pomonella 2 Dichrorampha aplinana 1 Ditula angustiorana 1 Epinotia bilunana 4 Epinotia tenerana 1 Elachista argentella 1 Eucosma cana 2 Eucosma obumbratana 1 Eudonia lacustrata 2 Eulamprotes unicolorella 2 Gypsonoma dealbana 1 Hedya nubiferana 2 Hedya pruniana 5 Homoeosoma sinuella 1 Metzneria metzneriella 3 Mompha epilobiella 1 Morophaga choragella 1 Notocelia trimaculana 2 Notocelia uddmanniana 1 Pandemis cerasana 10 Pandemis heparana 5 Paraswammerdamia albicapitella 1 Parornix sp 1 Plutella xylostella 10+ Prays fraxinella 2 Pseudargyrotoza conwagana 4 Psyche casta - Case Scoparia ambigualis 6+ Scoparia pyralella 4 Stenoptilia pterodactyla 1 Teleiodes luculella 2 Tinea semifulvella 2 Thiotricha subocellea 2 Tortrix viridana 15+ Udea olivalis 5+
Summary[edit] Description: Last night of the month yields something special.. With all the moths from the previous two nights still in pots, I set the trap up again under cloudy and still conditions. We did get a spattering of rain during the night though and this morning clear and still 7 degrees. among the usual new for year's were Early Thorn (2), Alucita hexadactyla (1) and Agonopterix alstromeriana (1) but as I turned over the second to last egg tray, wht's that tiny moth.. Agonopterix purpurea, quick pot! This is why I was excited, it is my first Hertfordshire record and only my second one, I previously caught one way back in 2009 at Hatfield Broad Oak in Essex. Post HERE Other than that bit of exciement it was the usual Orthosias, although all my moaning of no Early Grey's diminished last night with another 4 added to the year total! Catch Report - 31/03/14 - Back Garden Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap Macro Moths 2x Early Thorn [NFY] 2x Brindled Pug 6x Double-striped Pug 10x Hebrew Character 13x Common Quaker 6x Small Quaker 2x Clouded Drab 3x Chestnut 1x Oak Beauty 4x Early Grey 3x Brindled Pug 1x Satellite Micro Moths 1x Agonopterix purpurea [NFG] 1x Agonopterix alstromeriana [NFY] 1x Alucita hexadactyla [NFY] 2x Emmelina monodactyla 1x Diurnea fagella. Date: 1 April 2014, 17:58. Source: [0691] Agonopterix purpurea. Author: Ben Sale from UK.