Not something I expect to see in April: Rush Veneer on Borth Bog in the middle of the day.
Ceredigion Moths
Sunday 14 April 2024
Saturday 13 April 2024
Aberystwyth Garden
Saturday 17 February 2024
Hemlock Moth
Inspired by the mild weather, I put the trap out last night in a wooded area, which I was sure would be an improvement on the three moths in my garden trap (Hebrew Character, Common Quakerx2) the previous night. It wasn't.
Only one, rather small, moth. I potted it anyway, had breakfast, went to the supermarket, and then took a photograph. It turns out to be a new species for me, Agonopterix alstroemeriana, which the book says is Common. There's certainly plenty of the food plant around, but the county list suggests that's it's only the fourth Ceredigion record. Happy New Year!
Tuesday 24 October 2023
Aberystwyth garden
The moths came in twos last night, presumably to get out of the rain. Black Rustic (2), Angle Shades (2), LBAM (2), Silver Y (2 in the trap, 2 hiding on the fence). The odd one out was Ypsolopha ustella, which came alone. Before I went to bed, and before it rained, single Merveille du Jour and Red Sword-grass, probably the most interesting of the lot.
Monday 16 October 2023
Another Ceredigion first.
Peter Major had a brilliant recording session on Constitution Hill on the 7th of October - not only did he record a Death's-head Hawk-moth, Convolvulus Hawk-moth x 3 and a Scarce Bordered Straw as mentioned in Mike Bailey's post - but also a Box-tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis) which is another County first. It will be interesting to see how quickly it will spread or whether this is a one-off .
All photos - Peter Major.
Friday 13 October 2023
Spoladea recurvalis
Having heard from Peter Major that he caught Scarce Bordered Straw, Death's Head and 3 Convolvus hawk-moths on Consti at the weekend, and having caught Vestal and Rusty-dot Pearl myself on Sunday night, I was encouraged to put the trap out again last night.
This produced my first Convolvulus hawk moth for Troedrhiw Seiri, plus a rare migrant from the tropics, Spoladea recurvalis, which has appeared for the first time in a number of English counties in recent days, and I guess could be a county record for Ceredigion?!
Wednesday 11 October 2023
Llanarth garden.
I recorded a Gem earlier this year - it is an immigrant and fairly uncommon in Ceredigion. Last night I recorded two more, which made me wonder if these were bred locally.
I also had both Chestnut and Dark Chestnut - Seeing them together makes it much easier to differentiate. The shape of each being a key pointer - especially the wing tips.