Mossmorran Scarce Umber, 27/10/2015

Ambling through the heather at Mossmorran at lunchtime when an orange moth came out in front of me from the trees and landed on the heather. Luckily I was able to catch it in a box and grab a quick photo. New for me and also only the fourth hectad in Fife with a record for the species.

Castle Brae November Moth, 07.10.2015

A male November Moth (Epirrita dlitata) drawn to office uplighters. Poking about with the genitalia I clearly went up the wrong track, bypassing the important 8th sternite. Fortunately one prong of Sternite 8  was captured in passing and clearly appears to be the E.dilitata type.

Falkland, 25/09/2015

Overnight moth trapping with one MV Robinson trap set up and only checked in the morning

LYU: 15
Common Marbled Cazrpet: 1
Rosy Rustic: 3
Silver Y: 2
Mouse Moth: 1
Lesser Yellow Underwing: 2
Green-brindled Crescent: 2 (new for palace/hectad)
Canary-shouldered Thorn: 1 (new for palace/hectad)

A lot of wasps in the trap making working difficult. One nice micro got away while I attempted to pot it between clumps of wasps. Didn't get stung though and a lot of them made off as soon as the light was off.

Canary-shouldered Thorn

Green-brindled Crescent

Mouse Moth

Silver Y

Lesser Yellow Underwing

Cullaloe, 01/09/2015, 20:30-21:45

Some nice year additions with Sallow, Rosy Minor, Dark Marbled Carpet and Small Wainscot. Camera issues so dodgy mobile shots mostly, except for those photographed in the morning

Sallow - plain form

Sallow - fancy form

Rosy Minor

Rosy Minor

Small Wainscot

Dark Marbled Carpet

Dark Marbled Carpet

Dark Marbled Carpet

Square Spot Rustic (thx, DD)

Useful ID assistance - Northumberland Moths

This looks like a useful ID resource from Northumberland moths

http://www.northumberlandmoths.org.uk/idtips.php

I'll have to stick it on the links so it doesn't get lost

Mossmorran 31st July

Head torch 21:45-22:30

An intended trip to Falkland vanished away under rain but Mossmorran remained clear for a brief spell allowing a few nice moths to be picked up. Hoped for a Single-dotted Wave as it would have been a new hectad record, but none were forthcoming.

Dark Arches (1)
Snout (1)
Flame Shoulder (1)
Antler (2)
Shoulder-striped Wainscot (2)
Burnished Brass (1)
Clouded Border (2)
July Highflyer (5)
Pretty Pinion (1) (photographed this time)  
Small Fan-footed Wave (2) 

Agriphila tristella, Common Grass-veneer, were out and about in numbers, there was a Pandemis heparana, Dark Fruit-tree Tortri, and some moss moths (i.e. Scopariinae), one of which I took and have no final determination on yet - a Eudonia or Scoparia.

July highflyer

Small Fan-footed Wave

Antler

Pretty Pinion

Burnished Brass

Mossmorran 29th July, lunchtime, Ingrailed Clay

Adding to a surprising list of daytime species this lunchtime was this Ingrailed Clay, nectaring on Creeping Thistle. A new one for me at Mossmorran, though we had one at Cullaloe last weekend.

Cullaloe, 24/07/2015 (Pinion-streaked Snout)

A nice list of 60 spp with TB, running three MVs and an acticnic heath trap. Sadly I forgot my camera so only weak phone cam pics available. Best of the night was a Pinion-streaked Snout, which I think is only the 3rd Fife record and a new hectad record. There were 12 new species for the reserve and a fair few for me.

Here's a selection:

Poplar Hawk

Buff Tip

Com White Wave and Campion

P-streaked Snout

Swallowtail

Single-dotted Wave

Barred Red

Suspected

Six-striped Rustic

Peppered

Pebble Prominent

Garden Tiger

Iron Prominent

July Highflyer

Large Emerald

Mottled beauty

Purple Bar

Mossmorran, 21/07/2015

22:00-23:00 headtorch

Gold Spangle (1)
Common Wave (3)
Light Emerald (1)
Yellow Shell (3)
July Highflyer (1)
Snout (5)
Riband Wave (1)
Small Fan-footed Wave (1)
Clouded Border (3)
Shoulder-striped Wainscot (1)
Small Dotted Buff (2)
Gold Spot (1)
Shaded Broad-bar (3)
Garden Carpet (1)
Silver-ground Carpet (2)

One interesting thing about guerrilla mothing with a headtorch is that you observe behaviour rather than just a box full of moths. The Snouts were all over a patch of young birches, but if they had been in a trap I would have just known there were a lot of Snouts about. Clouded Border likes to hang out on low leaves, even during the day, but a couple were noted on Tufted Hair Grass flowers. The golden spotted species were flying low amongst the grasses. The Light Emerald was hiding between birch leaves, inactive, and I remember that this species became active much later on during a previous visit.

Interestingly far more species were picked up around the birches and the grasses than the willows. Shame I didn't get a pug now I've converted from loathing to loving them.

One for one - Hill of Beath Cabbage Moth, 21/07/2015

For the second time this year I have caught one moth in my garden and it has been a new hectad record. This time it's the turn of Cabbage Moth. When I got up at 4 to empty the trap it was very, very cold.

By contrast I spent one hour with a headtorch at Mossmorran and recorded 15 species of macro - see later post

Day nectaring MBM at Cullaloe, 21/07/2015

This is the second time I've had nectaring Middle-barred Minor this year. The previous one was at Mossmorran on Ground Elder. This time Cullaloe on Hogweed

Double Square-spot versus Triple-spotted Clay

Not my post at all so I won't take any credit for it except for showing where to look:

http://trappingsofsuccess.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/double-square-spot-vs-triple-spotted.html

Hopefully I remember where this is when that moment comes!

Here's my own from the other night that I called Double Square spot. Phew!

Hill of Beath, 10th July - Currant Pug

Spectacle (1)
Dark Arches (2)
Marbled Beauty (1)
Ghost Moth (1f)
Snout (1)
Currant Pug (1)
Grey Dagger (1)
Double-square Spot (1)
Map-winged Swift (1)
Flame Shoulder (1)
Heart & Dart (2)
Small Angle Shades (3)

Current Pug - new hectad record

Finally

ONe of the most bizarre omissions from my home hectad - Latticed Heath. This is recorded, not surprisingly, from almost all of the hectads around mine but not mine, despite loads of suitable habitat. Now finally that gap is plugged

Also at Mossmorran this lovely 6-spot Burnet enjoying a Marsh Thistle

Psi power

Another nice office wall tick this lunchtime as this Grey Dagger was spotted inside beside a window. Not particularly well camouflaged against sandstone. It Latin name Acronicta psi nicely describes the "dagger" shapes on the wings (Psibeing the Greek letter of this shape)