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Tuesday 27 February 2024

Butterflies too...

 The loud buzzing of numerous hive bees nectaring at Trachystemon orientale caught my attention and, looking, there were two red admirals doing the same on 14th February.






Friday 16 February 2024

Valentine`s night migrants

 The forecasted southerlies from North Africa prompted me to put out my actinic on 14th February and I was rewarded with a dozen moth species, including two migrants - a pristine bordered straw and 2 x rusty-dot pearls.

                                                             Above: bordered straw.


Tuesday 13 February 2024

Euchromius ocellea

 Checking my trap on the 31st I found a solitary micro moth, and was able to identify it straight away as I had seen one recently on yet another FB page. Euchromius ocellea, an exciting migrant from, I believe, North Africa, a stunning little creature, and not often seen in my neck of the woods!


Carpatolechia decorella

 A belated post. Apologies. 

Following Sam’s email I trapped on January 28th and had quite a bundle of moths.  Sitting inside later I noticed a tiny moth on my arm, potted it, couldn’t find anything like it at all so posted on a FB Micro page, and it was thought to be Carpatolechia decorella, Sam has kindly confirmed this and also confirmed that it is a Carmarthenshire First! Good start to the year.



Monday 29 January 2024

Pearly Underwing in Burry Port

 Ian's email prompted me to put the trap out last night. This morning it contained just one moth, a large noctuid.


My first Pearly Underwing!

Thursday 19 October 2023

Abernaint migrants

Nice selection of migrants in this morning's trap including 6 Rusty-dot Pearls, Palpita vitrealis, 2 Small Mottled Willows and a Gem.

Wednesday 18 October 2023

An update...

 It`s been quite some time that I have written an update, but today`s predicted heavy rain has motivated me into providing some highlights. The leaf-mining Eriocrania sparrmannella referred to in an earlier post in late June was subsequently noted at a couple of other sites near Llanelli in SE Carms - a small raised bog SW of Ty-llwyd (near Pont Abraham on the M4 extension) and on a planted, non-native birch at Pemberton Park (Trostre, Llanelli); Phyllonorycter platani was also seen on amenity plantings of London Plane at the latter site. Pachyrhabda streropodes larval workings on the underside of soft shield-ferns were found along a defunct mineral line (`Ffordd y Wagen`) near my previous home at Pwll - they were not there when I last looked in c 2018. This alien micro was also noted below the Five Fields allotments at Carmarthen where, again, it was noted on soft shield-ferns. I was informed that it was also found in Pembrokeshire this spring - near Haverfordwest (I had it in `far west` Carms at Pendine last year).

The home garden trap has been quite mediocre, in spite of quite regular trapping. There have been the usual `goodies` such leopard moths and a September spate of old lady moths with up to three of each comprising the maxima recorded. A series of about a dozen almost consecutive nights` trapping at the end of August/early September yielded quite unexceptional results - a few vestals, the odd rusty-dot pearl, silver y`s etc. I consider the l-album wainscots in those traps to be resident local moths. Box moths have increased in occurrence, being trapped on several occasions, including the scarcer brown phase. It`s a species that I most certainly do not want to see with my part-boundary hedge of tall box - I had just one record in 2022 but this year it has turned up much more frequently. A clay triple lines and Hypsopygia glaucinalis (an increasing species) were of modest interest. `Hummers` were spotted (briefly) on two occasions (7 & 14/8), at lavender flowers.

October, in contrast, has certainly brought some moth dividends. The first was on 5/10 when, among a rather undistinguished supporting cast that was much bothered by a restless hornet overnight, was a  NCR - a Clancy`s rustic, a 2nd Welsh record with the first being noted in eastern Glamorgan only a few days earlier. More vestals, a few l-album wainscots and cypress carpets followed over the next few nights, along with some usual `seasonals` such as Merveille du  jours, Blair`s shoulder-knots and large wainscots. On 7/10 there was another `good` migrant: Crocidsema plebejana (circa 4th/5th vcr). 

                                                  Above: Crocidomsema plebejana.

                                                           Above: Clancy`s rustic.

A visit to the former coalmine site at Cynheidre (just N of Llanelli) to search for late season birch mines on 9/10 was a complete flop as the birch leaves had 99% fallen! However, success came out of adversity with the 2nd vcr of the oak leaf miner Acrocercops brongniardella spotted and, much better, an adult Caloptilia falconipennella, new to Carms. It had been observed briefly flying from a alder leaf to another - but, given the late season and the fact that I was `leaf mining`, I had no net. Carefully and very slowly an approach was made with an opened plastic tube which managed to catch it - most of such approaches fail but, luckily this time, I did n`t! It must be said that, at the time, I did n`t realise its identity and it was caught just to see what common/frequent species it was ie to provide `a record`. It was in the fridge for a couple of days before I remembered to check it - it was falconipennella, a micro that is spreading slowly north-westwards. 

                                                     Above: Caloptilia falconipennella.
                                         Above: Acrocercops brongniardella mine on oak.

It was not the last as far as `moth luck` was concerned for 9/10. In the garden trap that night was a white speck and, best of all, an old world webworm, a migrant that was having a good season. It was resting on the side of the trap but not inside and it too was `potted up` with luck/care! I emailed Sam Bosanquet and George Tordoff very early the next morning with my photo.

                                                   Above and below: old world webworm.


                                                                Above: white-speck.

After that, the migrant phase petered out, with just the odd vestal (and more of the colonising box moth!).  Leucoptera malifoliella on pear was another rarely-noted Carms leaf miner, noted at an orchard at Stradey Home Farm on 10/10. 

                                         Above: mines of Leucoptera malifoliella on pear.
Above: attractive but unwanted - the brown phase of the box moth, showing its iridescence.

Thanks to SB & GT for confirming the more significant moth records.