Another Five

It is currently 22:20 on Saturday, 28th June 2025 and already there is a potted Blair's Mocha in the fridge, next to the yoghurts and beer. I foresee mothy riches. Last night was another good one. Good one? Excellent one! Five new moths for me, and all sorts of other quality. If I don't get this stuff blogged pronto, there is going to be an overwhelming backlog. So...

Grey Arches. Seems quite common, but new for me.

True Lover's Knot. This beautiful little moth is a heathland specialist which feeds on heather, so no surprise that it is not particularly common locally and only our second.

Wax Moth is not that numerous locally, but we get a few each year.

Dingy Shears is the second new moth for me, and again, not especially common locally.

Cloaked Minor is a subtle little thing. We get a handful or so each year.

Long-winged Pearl Anania lancealis is a 'one or two a year' species.

Beautiful Golden Y. Common enough, but only one previous record for the garden. Despite absence of thoracic tuft, and some rough edges, still a stunning moth.

The garden's first Small Ranunculus. Probably last night's highlight. There are currently very few Dorset records, though it appears to be heading this way.

Sandy Carpet. We've not had many. This species has been a nightmare to photograph, and I ended up chasing this one all over the garden after it escaped the studio.

Hoary Tortrix Eucosma cana is common enough, and we've had a handful this year so far.

First Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella of the year. A common migrant, though when they are here in numbers I tend to kick more out of the coastal vegetation than we ever get in the trap.

One of last night's highlights, our second migrant Small Marbled. A recent big arrival it seems, with this species making the NFG list for a lot of moth folk I follow on Bluesky.

Small Marbled again.

Another NFG, Honeysuckle Grey Athrips mouffetella seems to be uncommon in Dorset, with just a couple of Bridport area records on the Living Record map.

Our second Large Emerald. I'd forgotten how enormous they are!

Large Emerald. A bigger acreage of green than any other UK moth I'll bet.

Two very different Oak Nycteolines, our first of the season. Not uncommon, but we only get a couple or so per year normally.

Lobster Moth. Just one previous garden record.

There are four NFG moths in the gallery above. Unfortunately the fifth escaped pre-photography. This was especially annoying because it was quite a decent migrant: Tufted Oak Knot-horn Acrobasis tumidana. It was also very fresh, and would have made for a nice pic. I can only hope that the current cloud of migrants whirling around the country just now might drop me another one soon...