Maenol Update

 I've managed five trapping sessions so far this month but the catches have been disappointing, the usual seasonal moths have turned up: Marbled, Spruce and Pine Carpets, Sallows, Yellow- and Red-lined Quakers, Green Brindled Crescents, Merveille du Jours, Black Rustics etc.; several of the November Moth clan, the first on October 13th; an occasional Dark Swordgrass, Brown-spot Pinion and Lunar Underwing, a single Pale Mottled Willow (October 9th) and, this morning, just for a change, a Grey Shoulder-knot.

Pale Mottled Willow

Lunar Underwing

Grey Shoulder-knot

Phyllonorycter messianella

 

24 hours in the fridge calmed this specimen down. A handsome creature. If this is messianella, I wonder where it originates as I know of no local examples of its foodplants - oaks, beech, sweet chestnut.

Tricky Chestnuts

 I found myself puzzling over a strongly marked orangey-brown moth. Research led me to think it was a well marked Chestnut, my first for the year. Also in the trap was my second ever beaded chestnut. It's state of wear makes me speculate that it's actually the same moth!

I also found a tiny leaf miner.

Despite being very skittish and generally badly behaved I think this is Phyllonorycter messianella. Any thoughts?

Pontyberem garden.

 In spite of the wonderful weather (15.2 degrees min), nothing unusual in the Garden Moth Scheme trap this morning, though there were 25 species which was great. This compares with just 7 species this time last year, when the temperature was 7.4!

Best for me was a perfect Oak Nycteoline of a form I've never seen before.

There were no migrants, though I did have a nice male Gem about three weeks ago in the warm spell.

70.047 Gem, male. 17th September 2021

74.009 Oak Nycteoline 8th October 2021

Firsts for the Year in Burry Port

 Like Ian, my moth trap had a distinctly autumnal feel, though alas, no Merveille. I was pleased to have three firsts for the year - my second ever Autumnal Rustic, My second Sallow (and the first for a couple of years) and the autumn regular, Red-line Quaker. I fancy one of these is the form rufa.

 

It`s autumn....

 I put out the garden actinic trap for the last few nights, but have nothing really newsworthy to report. Unlike in Ceredigion where I note that a death`s-head hawk-moth turned up, my migrants were limited to a couple of silver ys and a rush veneer. The ideal trapping conditions of last night (Fri, 7/10) yielded a dozen species of mostly typical autumnal species, a couple of which are shown below.

Arfon `Clifden` Williams continues to trap in `far north` Carmarthenshire and very recently he reported his FOURTH Clifden nonpareil, strengthening the suspicion that it may be breeding locally. Arfon says that one of the food-plants, aspen, grows nearby. By my count we have now had eight 2021 sightings of this magnificent moth since it was first trapped, as a new county record, by Adam Dare at Burry Port. Arfon also has recorded a streak - but it was  just over the county border in Ceredigion. Two moths that I`ve never seen!

                                       Above: merveille du jour and, below: beaded chestnut.

L-album Wainscot in Burry Port

 

I realised that this extremely worn moth was L-album Wainscot. It's the wrong time of year for Shoulder-striped Wainscot and this moth is shorter and wider. What nailed it for me though, were the faint diagonal stripes ending at each wingtip. Also of note were 8 Tachystola acroxantha, which I think is a garden record.