Quiet mid-July - but still two New

Cooler, wetter weather and fewer moths to report but I still have managed to add two to the garden list this week. One is an old record thanks to gendet by our recorder. I submitted a sample of the small pugs that I was unable to identify from the glut that I had on 21/22 April. I was expecting that they were a mix of poorly marked Brindled and Oak-tree though I did have one interesting pale sandy coloured individual in the sample. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I had TWO male Ocherous Pug records for the garden from this set. There are less than ten VC30 records and these represent the first away from the greensand ridge.

New this week was a garden first Nutmeg and a couple of expected common species.

Common Rustic agg. which confused me for a while - first for year 18/7. A small individual with a forewing of 12-13mm so same size as a Marbled Minor agg. in the trap next to it

The Nutmeg - new for garden 17/7, at least that's what I think it is, well dusted with grey

Common Wainscot - first time I have had an individual that resembles the "orange" one in the book

Mottled Rustic, a smart pale one

Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, first for year 19/7

The teens of May

With the cooler and breezy nights, the teens of May did not produce great excitement at Wychwood Moths this year with only a steady increase in the list for 2011 of species, all moths that are expected to appear in reasonable numbers through the course of the next couple of months. Just illustrated a few here.

Clouded Silver - under the perspex after brief overnight shower

Lime Speck Pug - in the condensation on top of the Ratface Skinner (pat. pend.)

Flame Shoulder

The Flame

Green Pug

Mottled Rustic -(Thanks Matt, I was getting my Rustics muddled)