Two Busy Nights

Mothing has shifted up a gear. There's been a notable increase in numbers and variety since the last post, with 34 new for the year and seven new for the garden. Also, Friday night saw the first wave of a small invasion. Little green moths have arrived en masse, evidently from the Continent. My Twitter feed has been all over it, with moth folk reporting many double- and even three-figure catches, while a chap in North Kent caught c1200! I'm not sure quite how widespread it has been, but certainly the south and east coasts have seen the arrival, plus many inland sites. I had six on Friday night and another three in this morning's catch. Not exactly inundated, but that compares with just a single last year. Here's one from last night ...

Moth of the moment: Tortrix viridana, or Green Oak Tortrix.

Friday night

114 moths of 66 species was virtually double the size of recent catches, certainly in terms of variety. Lots of highlights, including three new species for the garden, and 22 for the year. Here are some of them...

First hawk-moth of the year, and what a beaut! Privet Hawk-moth. I caught three last year, so they're not a common sight.

Small Blood-vein. First of the year, and a really fresh example.

Grey Pug. Tricky. Caught just three last year, so am happy for all the ID practice I can get.

A nice first for the garden.

Another garden first, and an interesting moth to catch in company with all the green ones - this one is a pale, creamy yellow. Notice it's in the middle of cleaning its antennae. Different moths have all sorts of different reactions to finding themselves in the photographic studio. Mister Timothy Tortrix was nice and relaxed about it all.

Dingy Shell. First of the year. Apparently never sits with its wings open.

After a long flight...

Small Fan-foot. First of the year.

Haven't caught many of these, and this one is probably the best marked.

One of last year's fun games was the Currant Pug/Wormwood Pug dilemma. And here we are again... This one is a Currant Pug. At least, I think so!

A common enough micro, but this is the first of 2023. Don't recall noticing the slightly pinkish flush before. Nice.

Small Clouded Brindle - new for the garden. Not that many records locally.

Saturday night

91 moths of 48 species, with four new for the garden and 12 for the year. Not quite as lively as Friday night, but again some lovely highlights...

Another crowd pleaser. Poplar Hawk-moth.

The Phoenix, a beautifully marked moth.

Green moths are always good value. Green Arches has only visited twice before.

Looks even better in the garden hedge.

This belter wasn't even on my radar. It's an Alder Moth. Apparently quite common locally (though I didn't catch any last year) but it had me completely stumped. I had one of those moments where you're faced with an unfamiliar moth but simply cannot find it in the field guide. Back and forth I went, scanning the plates, increasingly anxious that the trap had bagged some mega or other... Moth drama!

New for the garden.

One of those moths which some label a pest, and for which you can buy all sorts of stuff designed to 'control' it. I have one previous record. It's more than welcome here.

There are quite a few species which look superficially like Myelois circumlocuta. But, at almost 17mm long, this one is the daddy. A first for the garden.

This one has many look-alikes, all of which I find tricky. I need to get my eye in though, because they will soon be coming thick and fast...

Another garden first, and thankfully - with its stripy, scaly-based antennae - a Coleophorid that is easy to ID.

Another night of moth trapping lies ahead. Along with myriad Tortrix viridana, a few rarities have begun to appear on Twitter now, almost all of which I have never heard of. I love the voyage of discovery that mothing very much is, but opening the trap and spying an unfamiliar moth is far more stressful than I had ever anticipated. Is it just something common? Or is it a first for Britain?! Obviously I know what the odds are, but that doesn't make those few seconds between spotting it and potting it any less fraught.

I love it!