No, not me!!
With the butterfly season coming to a grinding halt over the past few days with only a few Red Admirals, Wall Brown, Clouded Yellow and Speckled Wood of note, and the birds also being a little slow I thought I would dust off the moth trap and see if I could catch any of the migrants which could be coming in with the warm winds from Spain.
Although it was quite breezy last night I did actually get a reasonable haul which included my first ever Delicate. This moth actually is a migrant, so bearing in mind that this moth has just flown across the English Channel it can't be that 'delicate'!!
Delicate.
Also in the trap was a Bright-line Brown-eye, who thinks up these names??
Bright-line Brown-eye.
A bit of a surprise was finding a Swallow-tailed Moth on the outside of the trap. This species I get in the Summer in good numbers. I wasn't aware that this species occasionally has a 2nd brood. Although it wasn't in tip top condition it was still good to see.
A bit of a surprise was finding a Swallow-tailed Moth on the outside of the trap. This species I get in the Summer in good numbers. I wasn't aware that this species occasionally has a 2nd brood. Although it wasn't in tip top condition it was still good to see.
Swallow-tailed Moth.
3 Feathered Ranunculus were also good to get as well as my first Red-green Carpet.
Male Feathered Ranunculus (Note the feathered antennae).
Red-green Carpet.
Several Black Rustic were both in the trap and the fence nearby. These are a very smart Autumnal moth. Two L-album Wainscot and a few other common species made up the numbers. All in all not bad for a night in October.
A trio of Black Rustic.
L-album Wainscot.
A lovely selection Bob. Each one in it's own right a little beauty with some lovely markings.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful moths - a white swallowtail as well, fresh out of the packet when they are white aren't they?
ReplyDeleteVery nice selection Bob.
ReplyDelete