I believe that it's a Beautiful Plume (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla)
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Wednesday, 9 October 2019
Wood Store Plume
It seems that my new wood store might produce the occasional moth for me, this one flew out and landed on the wall close by. Fortunately it stayed put long enough for me to fetch the camera.
I believe that it's a Beautiful Plume (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla)
I believe that it's a Beautiful Plume (Amblyptilia acanthadactyla)
Rusty-dot pearl
For what it`s worth, a rusty-dot pearl was on the wall near my front door this morning (9/10), and very obvious against a white background.
Saturday, 5 October 2019
Last night`s trap...
I made a token gesture of putting a single mains actinic trap out last night (Friday 4/10) and exactly a dozen species of autumn moths were present this morning, including my first Blair`s shoulder- knot of the season.
Above: Blair`s shoulder-knot.
It was Tischeria...
I`ve only now (Saturday) had a chance to check the potential Tischeria ekebladella that I collected from two sites (the Sawdde Gorge at Pont-ar-llechau and Garnant in the Amman Valley) on Wednesday`s (2/10) leaf-mining outing - see my preceding blog below.
I`m happy to say, that after checking the Pont-ar-llechau larva, it seems to be Tischeria ekebladella (rather than the alternative sawfly`s Profenusa pygmaea dissimilar larva). The Garnant larva also matched Tischeria perfectly. So, it is pleasing to have a personal new moth and to also add two sites for this species in the county.
Above: top - my specimen from Pont-ar-llechau and, bottom, the larva from the UKflymines website. Below is the larva of Profenusa pygmaea from the British Leafminers website.
I`m happy to say, that after checking the Pont-ar-llechau larva, it seems to be Tischeria ekebladella (rather than the alternative sawfly`s Profenusa pygmaea dissimilar larva). The Garnant larva also matched Tischeria perfectly. So, it is pleasing to have a personal new moth and to also add two sites for this species in the county.
Thursday, 3 October 2019
A day out leaf-mining
Yesterday, I had a rare day out away from my home patch of south-east Carmarthenshire when, together with Nigel Stringer, the Sawdde Valley (in the western Carmarthenshire part of the BBNP) was visited. I had long wanted to re-visit this site in autumn, due to the presence of small-leaved limes along the Sawdde gorge, the main purpose of the visit being to search for leaf miners on that tree species.
Both being engulfed in significant non-moth hassle and bad weather had delayed my visit, but yesterday `was on`. The desired mines on the few small-leaved limes that could be reached (the river in the gorge below was in full spate and dangerous) was, frankly, very disappointing. What I believe is either the sawfly Profenusia pygmaea or the moth Tischeria ekebladella was found on one oak tree. This species was also later noted at a second site, in the Amman Valley, alongside the access road to Garnant golf club. The remainder of the mines collected during the pleasant day were of common species.
Above: the queried blotch mine. I`m of the opinion that it is Profenusia, but I`d prefer to be wrong on this one!
I also light trapped at home last night - a stupid choice as the night was mostly cold and clear. Expectedly perhaps, there were few moths in the single trap this morning - just six species, including two large ranunculus.
Above: large ranunculus.
Two asides: driving southwards over Mynydd Du into the Amman Valley the sharpness of distant landscapes was amazing, with the distant vistas of SW England clearly evident - both the coast and hills of Devon and a view significantly along the length of the north Cornish coast. Obviously, I`ve seen part of the that coast before, but not with such clarity as was yesterday. Small wonder then, its precisely the same atmospheric conditions that plane-borne archaeologists use on their aerial surveying.
Finally, and another `aside`: the advantage of having a `smart meter` is that you can now calculate how much your trap takes to run - last night my 40w actinic used 13p`s worth of electricity from 8.00pm to 7.00am (ie just over 1p an hour). When I`ve got both the actinic AND the MV running it costs me c 3 p and hour. Useful info when you ask friends if you can leave your trap in their garden - or just for `Ebenezer Scrooge purposes`!
Both being engulfed in significant non-moth hassle and bad weather had delayed my visit, but yesterday `was on`. The desired mines on the few small-leaved limes that could be reached (the river in the gorge below was in full spate and dangerous) was, frankly, very disappointing. What I believe is either the sawfly Profenusia pygmaea or the moth Tischeria ekebladella was found on one oak tree. This species was also later noted at a second site, in the Amman Valley, alongside the access road to Garnant golf club. The remainder of the mines collected during the pleasant day were of common species.
I also light trapped at home last night - a stupid choice as the night was mostly cold and clear. Expectedly perhaps, there were few moths in the single trap this morning - just six species, including two large ranunculus.
Two asides: driving southwards over Mynydd Du into the Amman Valley the sharpness of distant landscapes was amazing, with the distant vistas of SW England clearly evident - both the coast and hills of Devon and a view significantly along the length of the north Cornish coast. Obviously, I`ve seen part of the that coast before, but not with such clarity as was yesterday. Small wonder then, its precisely the same atmospheric conditions that plane-borne archaeologists use on their aerial surveying.
Finally, and another `aside`: the advantage of having a `smart meter` is that you can now calculate how much your trap takes to run - last night my 40w actinic used 13p`s worth of electricity from 8.00pm to 7.00am (ie just over 1p an hour). When I`ve got both the actinic AND the MV running it costs me c 3 p and hour. Useful info when you ask friends if you can leave your trap in their garden - or just for `Ebenezer Scrooge purposes`!
Wednesday, 2 October 2019
Porch Light Provides
A small selection turned up: Setaceous HC 2, Silver Y 2, and singles of Black Rustic, Pink-barred Sallow, Angle Shades, Large Fruit-tree Tortrix, and this Brown-spot Pinion :
Dry albeit cold conditions are forecast for tonight so I might put a trap out.
Dry albeit cold conditions are forecast for tonight so I might put a trap out.
A small excitement
I trapped as much as I could through this awful weather, and nothing exciting or unusual turned up, until the 29th. Amongst the 23 Black Rustic, LYUs, M du Js, assorted Quakers and Carpets was a moth I didn't recognise. I Hummed and Hahed and emailed Ian , with an 'Is this possibly a Grey Chi?' He kindly confirmed that it was and I am very pleased as there don't seem to be many Carmarthenshire records.
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