Scarce Bordered Straw - early Christmas pressie

A nice surprise this morning in the trap and a garden first. This Scarce Bordered Straw was alone in the egg boxes other than a Light Brown Apple Moth. Seems that it's all happening this "winter"

Scarce Bordered Straw - Garden First 19th December

Late Autumn goodies - Palpita vitrealis

With the warm season extending into November, I have continued to put the trap out in the hope of a goodie to finish the year and have been rewarded with a new and rare micro and a smart new macro.

 Palpita vitrealis - Olive -tree Pearl. New for garden 5th November (3rd for Beds VC30)

 Mottled Umber - new for garden 28th October

Brick (on brick) - don't usually get these but seems to have been a good year for them

 Brown-spot Pinion - do usually get these but seems to have been a bad year for them

 \Grey Shoulder-knot - an autumn record here is my first as all previous records have been in spring

Red-green Carpet - a common moth here and a nice fresh bright example

300-up Autumnal Rustic

Just when I thought I might have to wait until next year for my 300th macro...

Autumnal Rustic - new for garden 3rd October 2015

August roundup - on the brink

A subdued month vs expectation in which trapping was partly restricted by holidays away. One new for the garden takes me to 299 macros so hoping for something special for the headliner 300th.

Lesser Swallow Prominent - new for garden 24th August - rather worn and found sitting in wet grass next to the trap

 Orange Swift - brown female, mostly I get small orange examples of this species and this was huge

 Small Ranunculus - not established around here yet - this is only the third one that I have caught

Yellow-barred Brindle - fresh and green

 Garden Dart - six in five years of this scarce species, always to manage to get one for the year list

Knot Grass - another scarcer one for me, usually just one each year

Herald - third garden record

Golden spell

As has been the case in recent  summers the middle to end of July is proving to be the best period for diversity of species in the garden and a golden spell of three new for the list in three days had an obvious highlight for me, a Golden Plusia, not only a rare species in the county at the moment but to my eyes a very nice looking one. Also new and generally more common was a Small Dotted Buff and a Small Phoenix. This followed on from two others new at the start of the month, Orange Footman and Small Yellow Wave. Also illustrated a very smart  Oak Nycteoline, very much better than the normal fairly plain ones I get.

 Golden Plusia - new for garden 20th July

Small Dotted Buff - new for garden 19th July

Small Yellow Wave - new for garden 4th July

Snall Phoenix - new for garden 21st July

Oak Nycteoline - this one trapped 10th July

June round-up

Not much happened during the month until the last week, with the year list steadily progressing with the usual suspects but not much of real note. Thankfully numbers and variety picked up in the last few days of the month. Unfortunately, other than one Dark Sword-grass, a few Diamond-backed Moths and a procession of Silver Y, I did not record any of the migrants that are currently winging their way around the country.  Only one new macro for me, a Tawny Shears.

 Tawny Shears - new for garden on 17th June

Dark Sword-grass - my sixth in five years, 16th June

 All black Peppered Moth impersonating a SR71 Blackbird

 White Ermine - second garden record, first in June 2010

 Toadflax Brocade - well established (four in May and five in June)

Ingrailed Clay - every one seems to be different

Broom Moth - a couple every year

Shark

Shoulder-striped Wainscot - common here but seemingly not for other county trappers

Three New for Early May

Despite entering my sixth summer of garden trapping, the list continues to grow with three more new for the garden in a week despite relatively low overall catches. None of them rare in county but presumably so in my area. Also illustrated others that were of interest to me.

 Swallow Prominent - new for garden 11th May

 Mullein - new for garden 15th May

 Least Black Arches - new for garden 5th May

 Iron Prominent - trapped 7th, 8th and 16th May - only one previous record in June 2013

 Pale Tussock - common hairy beast

 Powdered Quaker - only average just over one a year of these, this on 10th May

 Maidens Blush - annual but only just, this one 7th May

Silver Y - first of the year of this common migrant 12th May

April mothing

Away first ten days, family holiday with some decent birding opportunities in Cyprus, followed by cold nights for most of the rest of the month so very little to report. Even Common Quaker and Hebrew Character were counted on one hand on all but a couple of nights when it was suitable to actually put the trap out.
Only decent moth in the month was Tawny Pinion which appeared on 14th and 16th as second and third garden records and look to be different individuals. Also an early Pebble Prominent on 21st.
Micros recorded included a Diamond-backed Moth on 14th and an Esperia sulphurella that I managed to pose for a photo in the sunshine on 18th.

 Tawny Pinion, 16th April

 Tawny Pinion, 14th April

Pebble Prominent, 21st April

Esperia sulphurella 18th April

mid-March update - Red Chestnut NFG

Red Chestnut - Not the most uncommon moth in the county but my first newbie of the year. Otherwise pretty slow with cold nights and infrequent trapping; been working through micro photos though so a good update and first publish of the list from last year soon, and no doubt the odd one appearing on this blog, including my first notable of the year below.

 Red Chestnut - new for garden 12th March

 Acleris cristana - 12th March

Chestnut - do not get many of these surprisingly, was not on the list for 2014 at all. This one from 9th March

Oak Beauty - one of my early spring favourites, 7th March

Turn of the year

Two from late November (Feathered Thorn and December Moth) proved to be my last new species for the year, surprisingly only one of each of these and a few blank nights into December. Started 2015 with a pale Dotted Border, then the next two moths were the same species, one much darker and one in between...so three individuals of a species I did not get in 2013 of 2014, now just waiting more variety.

 Dotted Border, darkest of three individuals at the end Feb, early March

 December Moth - nice one to finish the year

Feathered Thorn - this one really coloured almost like a Barred Red