S Hughes

Cypress Carpet
Found on the wall next to the trap this morning. Not just new for the garden but vc51 Flintshire and apparently it would seem North Wales as there’s no entry on the North Wales Lepidoptera website.
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Possibly a very worn Feathered Gothic

I’ve trapped three times this week and caught 100/32. The highlight being my first records of Lead Coloured Tortrix and Tawny Pinion which appears to be a scarce moth in vc51 Flintshire, the only previous record this century I can find was in October 2015.
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Acleris variegana, Garden Rose Tortrix, they come in various forms including a dark one

A cold night produced few moths, the only ones of note, a Yellowtail which is probably my latest ever and a Figure of Eight which is my earliest by nearly three weeks, also present was my first Caperer caddisfly of the autumn.
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Keep an eye on it then and you might get to see a female like this one which emerged from that cocoon.

She might be if it’s still occupied but that male could well have emerged from it.

I think that is more likely a cocoon than a batch of eggs, it looks very similar to this vacated one.

The first moth is a female Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, not a Lesser Yellow Underwing

Scarce Bordered Straw

I’m no expert and I’ve never seen one but it might be worth checking that Flame Shoulder, it might be Radford’s Flame Shoulder but I could be wrong.

Last night turned out better than expected with some nice moths, including Frosted Orange, Oak Hook-tip, my first Feathered Ranunculus of the year and Palpita vitrealis Olive-tree Pearl with a slightly damaged wing.
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The moth is Lunar Underwing and the beetles are probably Aphodius rufipes a dung beetle.

Tischeria dodonaea Small Oak Blotch-miner, not a mine I’ve found before and I think it’s new for vc51 Flintshire. In fact it appears scarce across the whole of North Wales.
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Clifden Nonpareil, my second ever, the first in 2022 was a vc51 first and in much better condition. This one stubbornly refused to open its wings before a sudden departure into the nearest trees.
Smart Common Marbled Carpet as well.
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It’s September Thorn not Canary-shouldered Thorn

Could the green one be Herald?

Scarce Bordered Straw with its big green eyes was the best moth for me this morning.
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The smallest Silver Y I’ve ever caught, 14mm in length and almost certainly of the form gammina.
On a fern behind the garage there were numerous larval feeding signs of Psychoides filicivora Common Fern Moth.
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Two new species for me last night, Fleabane Pearl Anania crocealis and the oddly named Neglected Rustic which is a rather smart reddish colour similar to Ruby Tiger.
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Setaceous Hebrew Character

I’m attempting to breed out some leaf miners, the first emerged yesterday, Phyllonorycter nicellii Hazel Leaf-miner, leaf collected on the 6th August.
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Had my third ever Bordered Straw two years to the day after the last, Rusty-dot Pearl was the only other migrant. First Flame Carpet of the year and second Old Lady were the only other moths of note in a fairly quiet vc51 trap.
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I don’t get many Rush Veneer up here on the north wales coast and when I do they often look quite worn, so it was nice this morning to get this well marked fairly fresh looking one.
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Is it possibly a Flounced Rustic?

My first ever December Moth was taken by a Starling as it climbed high above the house, I’ve also had Elephant Hawk-moth and Map-winged Swift taken mid flight by House Sparrow.

Two from last night, my first ever Ear Moth species, being a couple of miles inland of the north wales coast and looking at distribution maps it’s most likely Saltern, and my second Red Underwing so far this month. #teammoth

Best moth for me this morning was this Dark Tufted Scallop - Ypsolopha horridella which appears to be a Flintshire county first and is classed as Nationally Scarce B. Just need the county recorder to agree. #teammoth

Is the Small Clouded Brindle not a Common Rustic?

The double lobed in the photo is a Shuttle-shaped Dart