Twenty-plume and White-spot, 24-04-2016

A surprise Twenty-plume Moth emerged from under a wheelie bin in my garden yesterday - a nice surprise. I guess somebody has some honeysuckle in their garden nearby

Earlier in the day this Eriocrania unimaculella was knocked out of a conifer at Mossmorran. Interestingly this is exactly the prescribed method of finding the species and the exact right timing as described in the Micros book.

Cullaloe LNR, 19/04/2016 - Water Carpet and a false start

After watching the temperature dial drop as the moon shone in a clear sky disaster struck as it turned out the generator had stopped (lack of petrol) and the light gone out. Not much of a haul

Water Carpet - 1 (!) Chocolate Form
Micro - unnamed - 1

Chocolate Form

Cullaloe LNR, 22/03/2016

An overnight heath trap in the birches and a brief head torch session at the one Salix with workable catkins produces two new species for the reserve and a Lepidoptera total now finally at 200! the Yellow Horned was also new for NT18, just sneaking in time for the atlas at its last chance

Yellow Horned - 1
Chestnut - 1
Common Quaker - 1

Mottled Grey - 2 (on Salix)
Mystery species (but not new, I think...)

Agonopterix ocellana - 1

Chestnut

Common Quaker

Mottled Grey

Yellow Horned

Agonopterix ocellana

and the one I can't put a name to yet...

I know those spots mean something...

2016 - kickoff

So a round of individual moths started the season off in fine style

Herald from Dumbarnie Links

Dotted Border from Hill of Beath

Pale Brindled Beauty, also from Hill of Beath

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