Nearly 200 moths of 76 species at home that night, the highlight being one of 3 Peppered Moths, a melanic individual of the form carbonaria. I've seen a few dark examples but rarely one so solidly blackish as this.
Peppered Moth (f. carbonaria), North Elmham, 6th July
A tatty Brown Scallop and 2 Four-dotted Footmen were also good, both species commoner in the Brecks than elsewhere.
Brown Scallop, North Elmham, 6th July
Others new for the year were Bird-cherry Ermine Yponomeuta evonymella, 2 Common Cloaked Shoots Gypsonoma dealbana, Bud Moth Spilonota ocellana, Beautiful China-mark Nymphula nitidulata and Brown-line Bright-eye.
Bud Moth Spilonota ocellana, North Elmham, 6th July
Other macros were Buff Arches, 3 Common Emeralds, Small Emerald, 2 Small Fan-footed Waves, 2 Dwarf Cream Waves, Single-dotted Wave, Treble Brown Spot, 7 Riband Waves, Garden Carpet, Yellow Shell, 5 Barred Straws, Sandy Carpet, Foxglove Pug, Grey Pug, 3 Green Pugs, 2 Clouded Borders, 4 Willow Beauties, 3 Mottled Beauties, 2 Common White Waves, 8 Clouded Silvers, 2 Elephant Hawkmoths, Marbled Brown, Buff-tip, 2 Common Footmen, Cinnabar, Turnip Moth, 2 Flames, Flame Shoulder, Setaceous Hebrew Character, 3 Double Square-spots, 2 Dot Moths, 5 Brown Rustics, 3 Dark Arches, Light Arches, 14 Uncertains, Green Silver-lines, 2 Burnished Brasses, Beautiful Golden Y, Beautiful Hook-tip, 7 Snouts and 8 Fan-foots.
My best count yet of False Cacao Moths Ephestia unicolorella (8) headlined the other micros, the rest of which were Case-bearing Clothes Moth Tinea pellionella, Beech Midget Phyllonorycter maestingella, 2 Grey Rush Case-bearers Coleophora glaucicolella, Brown House Moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella, White-shouldered House Moth Endrosis sarcitrella, Cinereous Groundling Bryotropha terrella, Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis cerasana, 5 Large Fruit-tree Tortrixes Archips podana, Privet Tortrix Clepsis consimilana, 3 Large Ivy Tortrixes Lozotaenia forsterana, Flax Tortrix Cnephasia asseclana, 2 Light Grey Tortrixes Cnephasia incertana, Yellow Oak Button Aleimma loeflingiana, 4 Barred Marbles Celypha striana, 9 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Pine Marble Piniphila bifasciana, 6 Marbled Orchard Tortrixes Hedya nubiferana, 2 Hoary Bells Eucosma cana, 9 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, Grass-veneer Crambus pascuella, Meadow Grey Scoparia pyralella, 6 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, 4 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Elder Pearl Anania coronata, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella and Ermine Knot-horn Phycitodes binaevella.
Caddisflies included my first Goera pilosa, along with Ecnomus tenellus, probable Polycentropus flavomaculatus, 3 Hydropsyche siltalai, Limnephilus flavicornis and 2 Limnephilus lunatus. Also 4 Summer Chafers and the Mayfly Serratella ignita.
Goera pilosa, North Elmham, 6th July
My next door neighbours have a large garden (which I benefit from as we overlook it) and asked me if I could show their 9 year old grandson some moths. Rather than have him get up at the crack of dawn to go through my moth trap I set a different trap in their garden and popped round at a more civilised time to have a look through it with them.
The Privet Hawkmoth and Eyed Hawkmoth created the biggest wows but the lad made a friend with a Buff Ermine too, and much amusement was found in the fact that there was a moth called Uncertain. I didn't keep count of everything in the trap as that wasn't the point but from what I could remember when I got back the following were also trapped: Common Groundling Teleiodes vulgella, Orange Crest Helcystogramma rufescens, 2 Barred Fruit-tree Tortrixes Pandemis cerasana, Large Fruit-tree Tortrix Archips podana, 2 Cnephasia sp., 6 Common Marbles Celypha lacunana, Marbled Orchard Tortrix Hedya nubiferana, 6 Garden Grass-veneers Chrysoteuchia culmella, 2 Common Greys Scoparia ambigualis, 2 Little Greys Eudonia lacustrata, 2 Small Magpies Anania hortulata, Bee Moth Aphomia sociella, False Cacao Moth Ephestia unicolorella, Beautiful Plume Amblyptilia acanthadactyla, Drinker, Single-dotted Wave, 2 Riband Waves, 2 Clouded Borders, Scorched Wing, Brimstone Moth, Swallow-tailed Moth, 2 Willow Beauties, 2 Clouded Silvers, White Ermine, Short-cloaked Moth, Heart and Dart, 10 Double Square-spots, Middle-barred Minor, 10 Uncertains, Rustic, 2 Mottled Rustics, 2 Burnished Brasses, Beautiful Hook-tip, 2 Snouts and Dotted Fan-foot.
Drinker, North Elmham, 6th July
Dotted Fan-foot, North Elmham, 6th July
Short-cloaked Moth, North Elmham, 6th July
The best moth from my perspective was lurking on the side of the trap and at first I thought it was going to be a Small Clover Case-bearer Coleophora alcyonipennella, and took it home with me to check. It was only after I got home that it dawned on me how big it was. I measured it - yep, this was no Small anything. Surely this had to be a Large Clover Case-bearer Coleophora trifolii! It had to be on size but I dissected it just to make sure and so it proved - an unexpected lifer for me!
Large Clover Case-bearer Coleophora trifolii (male, gen det), North Elmham, 6th July
There was one more lifer in the trap for me too - the green Lacewing Dichochrysa ventralis.
Dichochrysa ventralis, North Elmham, 6th July
