Belinda`s Striped Hawk-moth

 Belinda Jackson caught this magnificent Striped Hawk-moth in her garden trap west of Carmarthen on 21st June. Well done!

Catching up with the blog

 I`ve been very busy on `non-moth` matters recently though the early starts required at least allowed me to keep up the moth trapping, of which quite a few nights (c 20+) have been done in recent weeks. I`ve been using my mains actinic and the MV (though the latter has `packed in` and my attempts at repair are, so far, unsuccessful). The hot weather has encouraged dispersal (`wandering`) as well as an influx of migrants though my success with the latter has not been too grand - just a few common species, with the exception of a small marbled (on the same night that Sam caught one in Monmouthshire). My small marbled (shown below) was a 2nd vcr and follows Huw John`s record from Pembrey in 2024.

Of the wanderers that turned up in my suburban trap, a sand dart was probably from the nearby coastal sandy grasslands (though I`m about 0.5ml+, `as the moth flies`, from the coast). Photo below:

The photo above shows the view from just above my flat roof trap site with Gower and the Burry Inlet in the distance. Left click to enlarge.

The photo above shows Rhodophaea formosa, a pyralid that I used to catch fairly regularly at Pwll where its suspected food-plant - English elm Ulmus procera - lined an adjacent hedgerow, but a recent catch at my present west Llanelli garden was a pleasant surprise. Francis Lawson also has caught it one occasion at Pwll. These are the sole Carmarthenshire records.

Other recent visitors to my garden trap included beautiful hook-tip, four-spotted footmen (actually quite regular, male & female shown in the photo), blue-bordered carpet, bordered beauty, leopard moth (no photo) and cream-bordered green pea. I`ve had good numbers of rosy footmen this year and whilst not scarce, it is certainly an attractive species.

I was also pleased to catch Tinea trinotella (it`s larvae occupy birds` nests); something that I`ve only caught once before (I think!). The adult below would n`t stay still so it was placed in the freezer for two minutes (they normally recover, which this one did - but it scuttled off the instant it stood on its legs).

....and the next species is easiest to record by finding its leaf mines on lime leaves, though occasionally the tiny adult comes to light - Bucculatrix thoracella:

Peri-urban Llanelli 11th-12th July

 At last, after several very poor sessions mainly due to my bad timing, a decent night, for me at least,

Best of a decent catch were, July Highflyer, Canary Shouldered Thorn, Crescent and Marbled Green.

Happy to be corrected and apologies for my usual image quality.

July Highflyer

Canary Shouldered Thorn

Crescent

Marbled Green

Maenol last night (7-8 July)

The Skinner trap with its new UV LED light was used here last night and the results in terms of numbers of moths (28) were disappointing, but in terms of quality they were just what I had hoped for.  The 17 species identified so far included two more of the month's target moths, V-Moth and Sharp-angled Carpet:

                      

It's very reassuring to know that these species, and the Cloaked Carpet that I reported last Friday, are still around.  The trap was located close to a hedgerow which contains an abundance of Stitchwort, which accounts for the presence of the two Carpet species, and fairly close to a fruit cage containing currant and gooseberry bushes which may well have been the source of the V-Moth - although frustratingly over a number of years I have failed to find the larval stage.

Moth at Saron

I had good numbers of moths on Saturday – 79 moths and 40 species - not bad for an actinic lamp in our porch. Of particular note was the Bramble Bronze micro (Argolamprotes micella), a  first for me. I have not had this species here before. I asked Chris Handoll if he had ever had one as he is fairly close to us. He hadn’t but he said there were a few records for Carmarthenshire. I also had 2 Water Veneers last week – another first for me here. Sorry about the poor photos.

 

Maenol on the 4th July

 

Cloaked Carpet

One of my reasons for returning to trapping was to renew my acquaintance with a few species whose first appearance in my trap was a particularly memorable event.  One of these was Cloaked Carpet, first seen here in June 2010, the year when I started trapping, and in each subsequent year until I ceased trapping regularly in 2023.  This morning there were two of them amongst 100+ moths of 35 species in my trap.  Two other species worthy of note were Garden Tiger and Large Emerald.

Large Emerald

The trap used last night was an ALS Skinner type, very light and portable, with a new UV LED lamp, 12V battery powered and having the advantage of not needing a choke.  I've used it twice so far and on both occasions it's attracted at least as many moths as it has in the past with a mains-powered 20W actinic lamp.

Sycamore

 A couple of good nights on the 28th and 30th June. Over 70 species on the 28th including 8 new for the year- Scallop Shell, Grass Emerald, Dot moth , Pinion -streaked Snout. Plus 4 different Hawkmoths.

On the 30th, slightly fewer numbers, but the last moth out was a Sycamore, only the second Carmarthenshire record. Also two Bordered Beauty.