Martin Evans and myself walked my Golden Retriever, Tia up on Stock Hill this morning. It was too blowy for any butterflies but we did find lots of cases of Coleophora laricella on the newly opening Larch buds. It's a good place to find them as you have many smaller trees to search. We seemed to find them in small groups, with maybe 3-4 on a branch, presumably reflecting on how the eggs were laid. The next branch might not have any. Tia spent most of the time barking and laying down in muddy puddles. Roger

Best night of the year so far (just), with 16 moths of 4 species. FFY Early Thorn, Common Quaker (6), Clouded Drab (5) and Hebrew Character (4).

40 moths of 6 species last night including my first Pine Beauty of the year.

If you have the time and feel safe out at night it's worth looking at female Goat willow (Salix caprea) and Grey Willow (S. cinerea bushes on a calm night. The female catkins secrete copious nectar and are very attractive to moths. If you use a red torch any moths which are nectaring won't fly away.


You can see this Hebrew Character's proboscis probing the nectaries. Obviously a flash image - hence the red-eye effect!

Garden Moth Scheme week 4
A much warmer and calmer night (T min 12˚C) with light occasional drizzle. A good catch:

Caloptilia semifascia 1
Emmelina monodactyla 3
(Assorted Depressariids 8 - to be verified ASAP)
Double-striped Pug 1
Oak Beauty 1
Common Quaker 14
Clouded Drab 5
Twin-spotted Quaker 2
Hebrew Character 12

And best of all
Red Sword-grass 1 (the first specimen I have trapped since leaving N Wales in 1976!!)

Red Sword-grass Xylena vetusta, Langport 27 March 2015

Whitefield, Wiveliscombe - Min Temp 7.2 degrees

The warmer night produced the best catch for the year to date with 26 moths of 9 species including FFY - Early Thorn (4) and a Double-striped Pug.

It was such a change to have 'warm' conditions (9C!) last night - with barely a breeze - resulted in quite a few FFYs; LBAM(1), Diurnea fagella(4),Oak Beauty(2), Double-striped Pug(2), March Moth(2), Early Grey(2), Grey Shoulder-knot(1) The rest ; Common Quaker(12), Clouded Drab (3), Hebrew Character(8), Agonopterix alostromeriana(2) but best was my 1st ever Twin-spotted Quaker(photo)

A bit late adding to Nigels's 18th March results for Witch Lodge/Lime Ridge - but between all the rest of us there were only 3 more species to add; Chestnut, Early Grey and Twin-spotted Quaker.

Last night I put the trap out with high hopes but put it away after a few hours because of persistent rain. I had just one Common Quaker and a very soggy Hebrew Character!

Interestingly, while it seems to be a bad start to the trapping season, I've recorded the same number of species, 13, as I had up to the same date last year, though the species mix is slightly different.

My second trap of the year (with a black Wemlite) was only marginally better than the first with just five moths, two Common Quaker, two Hebrew Character and the 'star of the show' for me an autumn generation Caloptilia semifascia. Roll on some warmer weather!

It is strange that I am only 2 miles away from Nigel yet recorded 44 moths of 9 species last night. Two FFY's were: Twin-spotted Quaker (3) Early Thorn (1). Common Quaker (22) were the most numerous.

Much warmer here last night T Min 9.6°C but with some light rain and drizzle. A disappointing three moths: Oak Beauty, Common Quaker and FFY Double-striped Pug.

Even with a milder night, still not much happening here.  Just 15 moths in all, with only an Early Thorn FFY, otherwise the usual Orthosias, plus 1 Depressaria daucella.

Roger and Martin did really well at Great Breach Wood, while my trap was shivering down the slope at Worley! Garden pretty poor again last night, just 3 March Moths, 2 Hebrew Characters, 4Common Quakers and a Clouded Drab.

Roger and Martin did really well at Great Breach Wood, while my trap was shivering down the slope at Worley! Garden pretty poor again last night, just 3 March Moths, 2 Hebrew Characters, 4Common Quakers and a Clouded Drab.

Hi Sue I think the difference is that we stayed by the trap throughout. I think only 10-20 per cent of moths actually went in and the rest were on the sheet or surrounding vegetation. 10 per cent would be 9 moths and maybe only a couple of species. This does mean however that we only got the moths that flew between 7-10pm and missed all the later flyers. Also, it would have been much colder out in the open rather than in the woods. Roger

Roger and Martin did really well at Great Breach Wood, while my trap was shivering down the slope at Worley! Garden pretty poor again last night, just 3 March Moths, 2 Hebrew Characters, 4Common Quakers and a Clouded Drab.

Trapped at Netherclay until 21:35h last night by which time the temperature had plummeted and ice was starting to form on the sheet! 24 moths of six species: March Moth (3), Common Quaker (10), Clouded Drab (5), Chestnut (1), Hebrew Character (3) and Dotted Border (2). When the latter species arrived, at 21:30h, the temperature reading was 0.7°C.

Martin Evans and I trapped with 1mv and 1 actinic last night between 7-10pm. Temperature was 5oC rising to 6.5oC as the cloud cover came over. We caught 91 moths of 15 species. 2 Lead-coloured Drab, 18 Clouded Drab, 2 Oak Beauty, 12 Common Quaker, 10 Small Quaker, 3 Twin-spot Quaker, 10 March Moth, 1 Red Chestnut, 3 Chestnut, 8 Hebrew Character, 15 Diurnea fagella, 2 Early Grey, 1 Water Carpet, 2 Shoulder Stripe and 2 Brindled Pug. Many thanks to Robin and John for the information Roger

Left my portable 20W black light out last night. Unfortunately temp dropped lower than forecast, 2' and then the deluge. Just 1 Common Quaker and 4 Clouded Drabs...grim!

I trapped (125w MV) at Upton Barn last night by kind permission of Mrs. Jay; Mark Fletcher put me in touch. Despite near-freezing temperatures I had 39 moths:
Common Quaker 14
Clouded Drab 5
Hebrew Character 18
Early Grey 2.
Also lots of Scarlet Tiger larval feeding damage on ornamental Comfrey plants although the larvae weren't obvious - very cold!.

The larvae are now out - 200+ at the usual site on the bank at Combe Hay where they are demolishing the ornamental comfrey.  I do find them elsewhere most years but never in these sorts of numbers.

Well that didn't take long! 1 solitary Hebrew Character in the trap this morning.

T Min 5.2°C. Nine moths of four species: Six Common Quaker and one each Small Quaker, Oak Beauty and Hebrew Character.

A very poor show - another chilly breezy night with just 4 Hebrew Characters in the Actinic, nothing in the MV. Bit of a waste of time and electricity really.

Very cold last night (Tmin 2˚C) and I wouldn't have bothered to trap except that it was Garden Moth Scheme night! Worth the effort though - 15 moths of 4 species. March Moth (2), Common Quaker (2), Clouded Drab (4), Hebrew Character (7).

Not bad last night considering how chilly it turned. 16 moths of 7 species - 1 Diurnea fagella (FFY), 2 March Moths, 1 Small Quaker, 3 Common Quakers, 2 Clouded Drabs, 4 Hebrew Characters and 1 Early Grey.

7 moths of 5 species in or around the trap this morning as follows: 3 x Common Quaker, 1 x Hebrew Character, 1 x Early Grey, 1 x Clouded Drab (my first) and 1 x Pale Pinion (my first). It looks like it's going to be colder tonight, but I'll try the trap in Mum's garden anyway.

18 moths (7 species) braved the chilly breeze last night. Two FFY's: a Shoulder Stripe and an Early Grey. The Early Grey was exactly a month later than last years first sighting.

First trapping session produced only 2 Hebrew Characters, one of which is a pinkish colour.  Not much - but a start and a species I could identify!

Two actinic traps run, and a good night:

Hebrew Character (37), March Moth (24), Clouded Drab (5), Shoulder Stripe (3), Dotted Border (3), Twin-spotted Quaker (2), Small Quaker (2), Red Sword-grass, Chestnut, Oak Beauty, Acleris literana.  Surprisingly no Common Quaker.

The Hebrew Characters largely came to one trap, the March Moths to the other.  The March Moths and the Shoulder Stripes preferred to sit on the vanes of the trap rather than enter it.

Nothing so exciting as unusual micros here, in fact nothing exciting at all !!  At least I got into double figures last night, with 11 moths of 5 species, including FFY Clouded Drab (2), and Early Grey.

I jumped at the chance to join David Agassiz and Mike Bailey to search for Psychidae cases at Lord's Wood near Hunstrete yesterday. I had read about these unusual micro moths but had never searched for them before.  After just a few minutes searching the trunks of the mature Oaks in Lord's Wood our first case was found, this was the old case of Psyche casta 'decorated' with tiny pieces of dried grass stems. Three species were found in all, including the larva of the self-fertile wingless female Luffia ferchaultella and the distinctive case of Narycia duplicella with its 'fin-like" sharp edges.

Psyche casta 11.012 (BF0186) Lord's Wood, Hunstrete

Luffia ferchaultella 11.009 (BF0185) Lord's Wood, Hunstrete

Narycia duplicella 11.002 (BF0175) Lord's Wood, Hunstrete

Belated report for Wednesday night - 14 moths of 6 species. FFY were Clouded Drab and Early Grey (2). Also March Moth, Common Quaker (6), Hebrew Character and Small Quaker.

Could have been worse, 26 moths of 6 species, but FFYs Twin-spotted Quaker and Small Quakers have appeared. Lots of Agon.alstromeriana in the garage, presumably after being tucked up for the winter in there.

Still not a lot to report - just 5 Hebrew Characters and one FFY Small Quaker.

This clearly needs upgrading but will be a mammoth task!

At the moment I am preparing 2014 data for submission to NMRS - another big job which needs to be completed before I even contemplate anything else!

Liz Marsden, Robin Clatworthy, Mike Ridge and I trapped at Lime Ridge Wood until 22:00h last night by which time the temperature had dropped to 2°C. My 125w MV Skinner attracted: March Moth (2), Early Thorn (1), Oak Beauty (8), Dotted Border (1), Small Quaker (6), Common Quaker (5), Clouded Drab (3), Hebrew Character (2) and Satellite (2).

An example of 1052 Acleris umbrana reported from Combwich today by Roger Musgrove. The photo was posted on Twitter and the identification confirmed by Dave Grundy.

I am unclear as to the status of this species in the county. The map on this website states 'No Recent Records' but the 10 'dots' on said map all refer to records from 2007-2014??

The latest moth attracted to the security light was a Shoulder-stripe!

Martin Evans and I trapped last night with 2x20 w Compact Fluorescent Traps. We only managed 3 hours from 7-10 with the temperatures fluctuating between 3.5-5o We recorded: 30 March Moth, 2 Oak Beauty, 9 Yellow Horned, 1 Clouded Drab, 3 Chestnut, 1 Dark Chestnut, 2 Red Chestnut, 1 Satelite, 3 Early Grey, 1 Red Sword-grass, 2 Pale Brindled Beauty,

In spite of a min of -1'C, some moths braved it, 5 Com. Quakers, 4 Heb. Characters, 2 Dotted Borders, 2 March Moths and FFY 2 Clouded Drabs. Google images had some dead certs for Pams Larva-Angle Shades indeed. Today: male Brimstone and 2 Small Torts in the garden.

Probably shouldn't have bothered trapping, as it was forecast to get quite cold, and indeed there was a light frost. In the event, there were 6 moths in the traps, 5 Hebrew Characters and a Common Quaker. Brave creatures !!

P.S. A Small Tortoiseshell out and about today (FFY)

No trapping since last week but did manage a Dotted Border on the outside wall by a light. Year list now 9 (as opposed to 11 on the same date last year)!

Thank you, John. Just 13 moths last night.

I'm pretty certain it's an Angle Shades. Dorsal and lateral markings fit OK. Photo in Porter (plate 41D) shows these.

Can anyone help me to identify this larva or caterpillar.

Last nights 37 moths of 10 species, including 19 Small Quaker and one ffy Grey Shoulder Knot.

T Min 5.3°C. Early Grey (2), Common Quaker (5), Hebrew Character (2), Dotted Border (1) and FFG a relatively late Early Moth.

Two better nights last week, the 11th March a total of 30moths with 2 ffys, an Early Thorn and Shoulder Stripe, 10 species in all, including 11 Small Quaker. 12th, March was best night of year with 52 moths, 8 species, one ffy, a Yellow Horned. Best numbers were 21 Small Quaker and 14 Common Quaker.  13th a ffy Clouded Drab.

As hoped for, I had a few more moths in the trap at my Mum's garden in Frome last night (it consistently did better quantity and species wise than my own garden when I started mothing last autumn). Still not many but I had my first Early Grey (2) as well as Hebrew Character (1) and Common Quaker (4). Also a LBAM female.

9 moths last night, a small increase on my previous trap. 2 Oak Beauties, 1 March Moth, 1 Early Moth, 1 Common Quaker & 4 Hebrew Characters. I recorded the first two species for the first time last year so it's nice to see that wasn't a one-off.

A relative bonanza last night with 47 moths, 9 sps, mostly Com. Quakers and Heb. Characters but FFY, Grey Shoulder-knot, Acleris literana and a great surprise, 3 Red Sword-grasses, one in the trap, one under it and one in the grass alongside. Only ever had one before in April 2013. Interesting that Ian had one too.

Not as much variety as others had but still glad to have more than one!  - 9 Common Quakers and 1 Clouded Drab, both FFY, 2 Agonopterix alostromeriana and 1 A. heracliana

Whitefield, Wiveliscombe - Min temp 8.7 degrees

The warmest night here of the year so far with ten species including FFY - Pale Pinion, Grey Shoulder Knot and Brindled Pug.

Best night of the year so far. 10 different macros and 24 individuals. Dotted Border, Dotted Chestnut, Double Striped Pug and Small Quaker were first for the year along with Red Sword Grass. I recorded this species for the first time last Spring. I recorded another in the Autumn. Let's hope it has established itself nearby.

43 moths of 11 species last night, two FFY's: Double-striped Pug and Small Quaker. 24 Common Quakers, being the most numerous followed by 5 March Moths.

Nearly made it into double figures last night - 8 moths in total, the best so far this year (that's not saying a lot is it ?) 4 Hebrew characters, and 2 each Common Quakers and FFY March Moths.

T Min 9.1°C. I don't normally run the garden trap on consecutive nights but did so on this occasion: Common & Small Quaker, Oak Beauty, Hebrew Character, Dark Chestnut, LBAM & 670 Depressaria daucella in the trap this morning.

Hi Sarah

Tonight looks like it might be a good one to try out the new trap for the first time. Good luck if you do.

I got my trap out for the first time this year at home in Frome last night. Not a total washout. Two moths, my first Hebrew Character and my first Common Quaker.

I've set the trap at my Mum's garden also in Frome for tonight.

Welcome Sarah - I hope you have many happy mothing nights !!

T Min 5.3°C. Single Early Grey and Oak Beauty and a couple of Common Quakers.

Hello Sarah, Welcome to the wonderful world of moths :-)

A FIRST FOR EVERYTHING FOR ME AS A NEW MOTH-ER! A MALE DOTTED BORDER FOUND ON MY HOUSE WINDOW. HAVE NOW MADE MY MOTH TRAP AND KEEN TO USE IT SOON

After no trap for a week,on Sunday night i had 2 Oak Beauty ffy and last night 1Chestnut plus 4 other species-all ffy, being one each of Twin-Spotted Quaker,Dotted Border,March Moth and a Small Quaker.

Whitefield, Wiveliscombe

The temperature was 8 degrees when I put the trap out but the sky cleared and it had dropped to 2.2 in the morning. However we had eight moths including two FFY - Oak Beauty and a Twin-spotted Quaker. This morning I have just seen a Small Tortoiseshell sunning itself on a camellia in the garden

First outing for the Wemlite in Butleigh Wood this year. 6 Hebrew Charcters, 5 Common Quakers, 2 Pale Brindled Beauty and a Chestnut, nothing spectacular but a reasonable number of moths about. Drying out my trap when I got home, I found a Shoulder-stripe tucked up in the corner, a FFY.

A slight improvement, with 6 moths altogether - 3 each in actinic and mv traps.  Altogether 4 Hebrew Characters, 1 each Common Quaker and FFY White-shouldered House-moth (Endrosis sarcitrella).

First trap of the year, just a single Hebrew Character, hardly worth the electricity!

5 common Quakers, 1 Hebrew Char. and a first March Moth last night.

Moths at last!  Last night I had 1 Common Quaker,, 4 Hebrew Characters and 1 Dark Chestnut, which is FFG.

Getting better all the time: 2 March (FFY), 7 Common Quaker, 2 Hebrew Character (FFY), 1 Clouded Drab (FFY), 1 Pale Brindled Beauty, 1 Chestnut, 1 Diurnea fagella (FFY).

Whitefield, Wiveliscombe - MIn temp 4.6 degrees

Best night of the year so far!. Eleven moths of three species all FFY - Early Grey, Common Quaker and Hebrew Character.

Just two moths last night - a Common Quaker and a FFY Hebrew Character.

First GMS night - and first moths of the year! Early Moth, Oak Beauty and Common Quaker, 1 each

Whitefield, Wiveliscombe - Min Temp 5.2 degrees

FFY - on the trap a Shoulder Stripe and in the house a LBAM.

First night of the 'Summer' Garden Moth Scheme. T min 4˚C; 1 Dotted Border.

A male Brimstone butterfly in the garden at lunchtime - Spring is (almost) here !!

Best night so far this year. A FFG Diurnea fagella, 6 Dotted Borders, 4 Common Quakers, 1 Oak Beauty, 1 Hebrew Character, 3 Agon. heracliana,

4 Dotted Border (FFY), 3 Common Quaker, 1 Chestnut.

Whitefield, Wiveliscombe - Min temp 3.5 degrees

FFY - five March Moths !

T Min 5.1°C – nothing in the trap this morning but found a Pale Brindled Beauty on the side of the house – my first macro since a December Moth on 4th Jan.

Just 3 moths in the traps this morning - 1 each Dotted Border, Depressaria daucella and Common Quaker (FFY). A bit disappointing, but the full moon doesn't help.

Received an email and photos today from Beverley Roberts in Weston. She has seen a Hummingbird Hawk-moth in her garden today.

Probablty a bi too breezy last night - just a solitary Agonopterix alstromeriana in the traps.

Just found a Grey Shoulder-knot in the house (mid-day) - not sure if it came in last night or not, it was inside the window nearest the MV trap.

Not many moths in the trap this morning - 5 Chestnut, 2 Dotted Border.