A brisk easterly...

The wind last night (27/6) was a consistent brisk and warm easterly and I had been hoping for a possible migrant presence but, apart from one rusty-dot pearl, plenty of diamond-back moths and a single daytime painted lady, they have been conspicuous by their absence this week. Tonight, Friday, promises hot winds from a southerly direction and, consequently, probably offers the best chance of the week. Cooler, westerly conditions will impose themselves on Saturday night so, if you`re going to trap this weekend, tonight`s the night.

The strong easterlies of last night depressed the micro catch though a couple of new (for the week) Argyresthias were present in my garden traps, namely brockeella and retinella (one trap was directly under a birch tree).
A pristine and fresh lime hawk-moth was noted, as were two privet hawk-moths and a poplar grey was nice to see; I used to catch it quite regularly at Pwll. Four conifer moths put in a second appearance for this week: the micro Exotelia dodecella, the tort Lozotaeniodes formosanus, the tort Rhyacionia pinivorana and the crambid Dioryctia abietella.

                                                Above: last night`s privet hawk-moths.

                                                                Above: poplar grey.

Above: Dioryctia abietella

Above: Lozotaenioides formosanus.

Above: Rhyacionia pinivorana