Unseasonable moth

 I spotted this micro resting inside my kitchen window (the adjacent door was open) last Thursday (14/11/24). It is Psychoides filicivora, common enough in Carmarthenshire but the late date is of interest.

Less of interest on Wednesday night 6/11/24

 Given the good result on 5th November, I re-tried the following night but little of note, though 4 dark sword-grasses and a few silver y`s represented the migrants.

Above: three of the four dark sword-grasses. No 4 would n`t stay still and had wandered out of the photo.

Sparks of light on Guy Fawkes night at Llanelli...

 Some may recall my protracted and highly frustrating wait to catch a Clifden nonpareil a few years back, in spite of several other moth trappers having success locally. The same applied to Radford`s flame shoulder, of which a lot have been caught in southern Britain in recent months including here in Carmarthenshire, where Arfon Williams in particular has been spectacularly successful with his north Carmarthenshire catches, including the afore-mentioned Radford`s flame shoulders.

Whatever, I was lucky last night (5th November), with a slightly worn, but instantly recognisable, one awaiting me this morning in my actinic trap. There were other migrants also present.

Arfon tells me that last night, in or near his trap near Ffarmers, he also (ie as well as some more regular migrants) had another Spoladea recurvalis and Diasemiopsis ramburialis, the latter being found hidden in a nook within the porch where the trap had been placed.

                                                Above: the Llanelli Radford`s flame shoulder.

                                                               Above: Palpita vitrealis

                                         Above: four migrant species with two seasonal residents.

More migrants (4th November)

 Some more migrants last night, this time at Llanelli. Highlights were 2 x scarce bordered straws and a single delicate; also 2 x dark sword-grasses and several silver ys.

                                        Above: the two scarce bordered straws and the delicate.

The catch of the year?

 Arfon Williams made an extraordinary catch on Monday, 28.10.24 with multiples of various rare migrant moths on a night when he `did n`t expect much`!

He caught 9 Palpita vitrealis, 3 Radford`s flame shoulders, 2 scarce bordered straws, 1 delicate, 3 Spoladea recurvalis and 10 rusty dot pearls! An amazing catch. All caught in actinic traps, rather than the MV trap in his garden north of Ffarmers in N. Carmarthenshire.

                                               Above: a general shot of some of his catch.

                                                 Above: Radford`s flame shoulders

                                                      Above: his haul of Palpita...

                                                            Above: Spoladea recurvalis

(I too trapped that night - and had only six moths in my trap, though at least they were of six different (common) species!).

Things are looking up….a bit….

 I’ve had a few Rusty-dot Pearls over the past week, plus two separate Scarce Bordered Straws, and this morning found this nice White Point in the trap. A first for me. Thanks Ian for confirming.

Some more migrants...

 Southerly winds bode well for migrants on Weds 23rd and Thurs 24th nights, this time in Llanelli. The 23rd yielded a scarce bordered straw, but the next night was more productive with a delicate, Palpita vitrealis, a diamond-back and multiple silver y`s. Less welcome were two box moths, one dark phase, the other the more usual white form.

                                               Above: Palpita vitrealis and below, the delicate.

Arfon Williams reports a recent capture of a Clifden nonpareil at his north Carmarthenshire home trap site. As mentioned previously, this magnificent moth is likely to be resident in Arfon`s home patch, given the number of records made by him.