Lindfield Moth Diary - October ’08

e-mail: moths@littlesnails.com

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Wednesday 24 - Wednesday 31 December 2008

The cold weather returned and the year rather petered out.

Tuesday 23 December 2008

Weather: Very mild, overcast, virtually still.

Day 456… Another freakishly warm night but this one, unlike the night before, produced results that were more in line with what I might have hoped for rather than expected. For the first time since 27 November I actually needed my note book whilst going through the trap (just). We caught thirteen moths of eight species which included the first Pale Brindled Beauty of the winter and an absolutely pristine and rather late Yellow-line Quaker. The catch was as follows:

Pterophoridae

1 Common Plume Emmelina monodactyla Linn.

Tortricidae

2 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker

Lasiocampidae

1 December Moth Poecilocampa populi Linn.

Geometridae

2 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata Linn.
1 Pale Brindled Beauty Phigalia pilosaria D. & S.
3 Mottled Umber Erannis defoliaria Cl.

Noctuidae

2 Satellite Eupsilia transversa Hufn.
1 Yellow-line Quaker Agrochola macilenta Hb.

Pale Brindled Beauty

Monday 22 December 2008

Weather: Very mild, overcast, fairly windy at first.

Day 455… I moved the trap to a spot in the garden that is sheltered from the westerly wind (for the past few nights it’s been in an elevated position and exposed to the wind). Given how incredibly mild it was, the catch was a little smaller than I was hoping, to say the least. The catch was as follows:

Lasiocampidae

1 December Moth Poecilocampa populi Linn.

Geometridae

1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata Linn.

Sunday 21 December 2008

Weather: Mild, overcast, breezy (Solstice at 12.04 pm).

Day 454… Pretty much a rerun of yesterday but with not quite as many moths. The most important thing about today though is that the nights are now getting shorter and spring is on the way! The catch was as follows:

Geometridae

2 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata Linn.
4 Mottled Umber Erannis defoliaria Cl.

Saturday 20 December 2008

Weather: Mild, overcast, a little light rain, fairly windy.

Day 453… The conditions last night were possibly better than we had on some nights in August: a little bit of dampness and a minimum temperature of about 10°C, sadly though there just aren’t too many moths around to take advantage. We had exactly the same variety as last night but with quite a few more Mottled Umber. The catch was as follows:

Lasiocampidae

1 December Moth Poecilocampa populi Linn.

Geometridae

1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata Linn.
6 Mottled Umber Erannis defoliaria Cl.

Friday 19 December 2008

Weather: Mild and overcast at first, becoming frosty and clear later, still.

Day 452… With milder conditions forecast for the next few days I thought I would jump the gun by putting the trap out a day before it had been due to arrive. The results weren’t too bad either - at least there was some variety. The catch was as follows:

Lasiocampidae

1 December Moth Poecilocampa populi Linn.

Geometridae

1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata Linn.
2 Mottled Umber Erannis defoliaria Cl.

Sunday 14 - Thursday 18 December 2008

Well it is December and, up until now, the coldest December for thirty years (so they say), which should be a good thing. If the exceptionally mild winters that we have experienced of late are in any way to blame for the monumental declines of many species, then a cold and miserable winter should hopefully help. I think it’ll need to continue for some time yet though and then, hopefully, to be followed by a descent summer for a change - now that really would be nice!

Saturday 13 December 2008

Weather: Mild, cloudy, heavy rain before dawn, light wind.

Day 451… I don’t now what possessed me really, I think I just needed to see a moth. Got what I wanted I suppose. The catch was as follows:

Noctuidae

1 Red-line Quaker Agrochola lota Cl.

Wednesday 10 - Friday 12 December 2008

Low grade weather abounds.

Tuesday 09 December 2008

Weather: Cold, cloudy, occasional showers, light wind.

Day 450… It’s got to the stage now where any night that the forecast is for a temperature above 0°C and for not too much rain, it becomes fair game for a spot of trapping. Last night was just such a night. Not much to report though except two moths and a fairly soggy trap. The two moths we did catch seemed entirely appropriate nevertheless. The catch was as follows:

Lasiocampidae

1 December Moth Poecilocampa populi Linn.

Geometridae

1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata Linn.

Sunday 07 - Monday 08 December 2008

Very hard frost on both nights.

Saturday 06 December 2008

Weather: Cold, mainly clear, light wind.

Day 449… Despite the mainly clear skies it was a little less cold than the night before. No doubt as a result of this we had a staggering 20% increase in moth numbers in the trap. The catch was as follows:

Geometridae

1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata Linn.
1 Scarce Umber Agriopis aurantiaria Hb.
3 Mottled Umber Erannis defoliaria Cl.

Mottled Umber

Friday 05 December 2008

Weather: Very cold and frosty, partly cloudy, decreasingly windy.

Day 448… As the prospects were for a dry and not quite so cold night I thought I’d put the trap out, I was pretty curious to know whether anything would show up. It turned out far colder than the 3°C that had been predicted - the garden was very frosty and the surface of the pond was covered in ice for the first time. I’m pleased to be able to report that it wasn’t an entirely futile exercise, four moths took the trouble to show up, two of which were Mottled Umber - as many as we’ve seen all year - but also a tortricid which I couldn’t find any match for so, as usual, I posted a couple of photos on the ukmicromoths forum. The only response I’ve had so far came from Martin Corley suggesting that the moth is a Clepis species and that it might be of Madeiran origin. If this were the case then is there a possible connection to November’s as yet unidentified Blastobasis, which also seems to have a possible Madeiran link? If Madeira is proven to be the origin of these moths, then the next step will be for me to work out where this neck of the woods fits in…? The catch was as follows:

Tortricidae

1 Clepsis Sp.?

Geometridae

1 Winter Moth Operophtera brumata Linn.
2 Mottled Umber Erannis defoliaria Cl.

Madeiran Clepsis Sp.?

Monday 01 - Thursday 04 December 2008

December’s weather carried on where November’s left off and the outlook is suggesting more of the same for some time to come.

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