Clouded Border

Best from last night.  4 LBBYUnderwing together yesterday.

Some Rhoscolyn moths

A couple of pics of recent moths, night of 20/21st July12. Dark Arches and Lychnis were the most numerous. Plain Golden Y was a new moth for me.

I always like the Spectacle but there was also a Dark Spectacle - a new one for me

and I can't resist a piccy of the Swallow-tailed Moth because it is so delightful

I was unable to pin down the following - so any help would be appreciated.

2009 Micro

Just dug this photo out from 2009 when I presumably caught it in a trap here on the island. It was probably the  first micro moth I ever bothered to take a picture of! Pretty straight-forward to ID it as Orthotelia sparganella, however a look at the distribution map does not show any records coming from down the Lleyn or Anglesey-does anyone know how many records there have been of this species in North Wales?

Burnished Brass, Conwy

Was a new one for me so I was feeling left out as everyone else was getting them and not me so this was a nice addition in the box this morning.

Couple of Shaded-broad Bars the only new ones in the last couple of evenings.

Latest bits and bobs

 Wasn't in the trap but found this Yellow-tail Euproctis similis whilst dawdling back to work at lunchtime! 

 Another Yellowshell, Buff Arches and this Brindled Straw last night:

 not sure of these two:

Carpet has me stumped too:

Year Ticks

There were about 150 moths in two of the heath traps this morning, and in one about 34 species. This included the first White Plume Moth, Marbled Green, Burnished Brass and Lychnis of the year. There has only been four records of Lychnis on Bardsey, the last being in 2007. The last record of White Plume was also in 2007.

 White Plume Moth-a new one for me

 Marbled Green

 Burnished Brass

The Lychnis

Gothic

Lots of Large Yellow Underwings last night and this lovely Gothic - a  garden first for me.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth in Cemaes

One was feeding on a wall with some flowers on it on the small path between the Play park and Little beach on saturday afternoon.

A couple of Garden firsts - 23/7

A couple of garden firsts here in Penrhyn Bay last night.
A nice Poplar Grey was different, while a Least Yellow Underwing was my first here.
It was nice to get a couple of moths that I had to search through the field guide for.
Early thorn was my first of the year too, while a number of commoner moths - L Y underwing, Dark Arches, Ribband Wave, Scalloped Oak etc were also present

 Poplar Grey - a nice moth and still present sat on our kids trampoline all morning.

 Least Yellow Underwing - i.d. tahnks to Back Garden Moths web-site and then revealing its bright orange underwings.

Early Thorn - from other posts on the blog looks as though they're now well and truly in flight.

Swallowtail and Pug ID

About 80 moths in the trap this morning contained this rather fresh Swallow-tailed Moth, as well as a Scalloped Oak and my second Common Wave of the year.

 Swallow-tailed Moth

 Scalloped Oak

 A worn Common Wave

And finally, I caught this pug yesterday that I'm struggling to pin down. I've tentatively IDied it, but would like to know other people's thoughts. Comments welcome...

Small Emerald steals the show

With the term over, the schoool moth traps ae now back in my garden in Penrhyn Bay. Highlight of last night's catch was my first Small Emerald. A quick look on the database shows this to be an uncommon visitor to North Wales, with only 36 known records.

Other moths included 2 lovely Swallow-tailed Moths, 3 Silver Y, Brown-line Bright-eye, Clay, Mottled Beauty, Light Arches, Uncertain, Common Rustic, 2 Scalloped Oak and a number of Dark Arches, Heart and Dart and Large Yellow-Underwings.

 Small Emerald - Amazing how two pictures can make a moth look totally different - colour, shape and light all confusing things.

 Swallow-tailed Moth in pristine condition - What a beauty!

I'm looking forward to the calm spell of weather forecast in the coming week, but recently the strong winds have meant very few moths. About 100 moths in the trap this morning, including Single-dotted Wave, two Cloaked Minors, Early Thorn and a few micros.

 Early Thorn-front view

 Funky-looking Batrachedra praeangusta

 Bactra furfurana- 14th first record for Bardsey in two weeks!

common but new for this year

 Early Thorn above and Lesser broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

 Yellow Shell-new for garden

More micros

Although I haven't caught any different macro moths recently, today was a good day for the micro-lepidoptera of the island. Two Apotomis semifasciana and an Eana penziana were in the moth trap, which are both Nationally Scarce B. They are also the second and third records for the island. During the day I found  Phalonidia manniana, which is the first record for the island and another Nationally Scarce moth.

 Phalonidia manniana

 Apotomis semifasciana

 Eana penziana

Also in the traps was this smart Endotricha flammealis (first of the year) and a Bramble-shoot Moth

more id......

 Not sure about these two: The pug was in the trap and the one below was out during the day this afternoon.

 This grey type Silver Y was in the trap this morning, the first of this colour type for me.

Is this a Crescent Dart?

I caught this in Cemaes on Saturday night. Is it a female Crescent Dart? Thanks.

Cinnabar

Although it was a seemingly windy night, there were 130 moths in one of the heath traps, which I had set near a reed bed. I was quite surprised at this catch, as this location has proven to catch very few moths in the past. However, it certainly did well last night, as in one of the egg boxes was this stunning Cinnabar moth. I have never seen one on the island before, and I think that there have only been four records since 1999, and before that the last one was in 1966. I also didn't think that this species was attracted to light, although I'm aware that they fly at night.

Other highlights from the trap (excluding the below) were three Southern Wainscots, a Shears, Poplar Hawkmoth and Agapeta hamana 

 This Pempelia palumbella was also in the trap. Before I discovered three on separate occasions on the mountain last year, there had only been one previous record on the island. I haven't seen any on the mountain so far this year, although I haven't had many thorough searches on still sunny days

Lastly, I also caught a rather more small and brown micro in the form of this Agonopterix heracliana, a pretty common species on the island

The Big Butterfly Count 2012

Through nursing a hangover, I couldn't think of a better suggestion that to get outside and carry out a butterfly count. After this summer's dreadful weather, its a worry that many species will've been severely affected.

Making a short walk down to the River Elwy that runs through St. Asaph, you could see that butterflies were few and far between. Covering a small area of about 200m, I managed to catch up with 6 Snall Tortoiseshell, 2 Commas, 6 Meadow Browns and a Speckled Wood!

In past years, I've witnessed a far more diverse range of species including peacocks, many blues and white varieties.

The big butterfly count is a nationwide survey aimed to help assess the health of the environment we live in today. It was launched back in 2010 and an impressive 10,000 people took part, counting 210,000 butterflies and day-flying moths across the nation. More people took part in 2011 and this year's big butterfly count is taking place from Saturday 14th July - Sunday 5th August 2012.

I see this as an excellent opportunity for as many people to just take a little piece of time to stop and look whats around them. Please visit the website below and add any information on the butterflies you do see in your area

http://www.bigbutterflycount.org/about