Sunday 29 March 2015

Abergavenny

We ran our MV trap on the 26th March and identified:
14 Common Quaker
2 Hebrew Character
3 Early Grey
3 Clouded Drab
1 Small Quaker

Some action at last but nothing new for us.
Mike and Val

Tuesday 24 March 2015

The Moths of the British Isles

Not sure if this might be of interest, but you can access the first editions of Richard South's "The Moths of the British Isles"  on Wikisource.  Links below:

The moths of the British Isles - First Series



Sunday 22 March 2015

Ypsolopha mucronella

We don't see many moths during our winter work parties, but last Sunday at Hendre Woods (near Monmouth) we disturbed this rather striking Ypsolopha mucronella while cutting back brambles to encourage Wood Spurge growth for Drab Looper.

Ypsolopha mucronella
This moth feeds on Spindle as a larva and is very scarce in Wales, with just four previous records for Monmouthshire and three for Glamorgan. It was certainly the highlight of a chilly day.

George (Butterfly Conservation)

Lower Ochrwyth - 21 March

Best catch of the year so far with 21 moths of 5 species: Common Quaker x13; Hebrew Character x2;  Twin-spotted Quaker; Oak Beauty; and, best of all x4 Yellow Horned.  I have in previous years only trapped singletons of Yellow Horned.




Saturday 21 March 2015

Lighthouse Park

Ran the MV last night 23 moths of 9 species.

1 x Dotted Border
1 x Small Quaker
3 x Clouded Drab
8 x Common Quaker
5 x Hebrew Character

2 x Epiphyas postvittana
1 x Emmelina monodactyla
1 x Agonopterix heracliana agg
1 x Depressaria spp

                                   Small Quaker

Friday 20 March 2015

ABERGAVENNY

We ran our MV trap on the 17th March and got :
4 Common Quaker
1 March Moth.
Only 1 Common Quaker was in the trap; the rest were nearby.

We ran it again between 8pm and midnight on the 19th and got:
1 Hebrew Character
1 Common Quaker, both were in the trap.

After a quiet winter things are moving at last.  A few mild nights are needed now.  The warm sunny days are being followed by cold, clear nights at present.
Mike and Val

Thursday 19 March 2015

Redhouse Barns 18th March 2015

I ran the MV last night and caught 14 moths of 4 species: 9 Hebrew character, 3 common quaker, 1 twin-spotted quaker and 1 shoulder stripe.

Shoulder stripe

The shoulder stripe was on the wooden cladding of the barn, approx 6m from the trap.

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Seaview Moths 17th March

Our first trapping of 2015, ten moths from seven species, very pleasing.
Clouded drab; common, twin-spotted and small quakers; hebrew character; oak beauty (photo) and early grey (photo).

DandJ


Lighthouse Park

Ran the MV last night at home .with clear skies and temps falling away to 2° i did'nt expect much to drop in but did manage to intice

3 Hebrew Character
1 Common Quaker
2 Dotted Border

And this Tawny Pinion.

Saturday 14 March 2015

Annual General Meeting held on Friday 13th March

The meeting at the Royal British Legion in Usk was very successful. 15 people attended with many new faces. All officers were re-elected unopposed. Roger James thanked Martin for his excellent and timely production of The Silurian. The meeting showed their agreement with a round of applause. The meeting also agreed to record our thanks to Richard Clarke for his management of this website. Sheila Dupe, our Treasurer, gave a finance report. The balance was £367.46. Kevin proposed a £50 donation to Butterfly Conservation South Wales Branch, as George had not asked for any expenses for giving his talk. This was agreed by the meeting.
George Tordoff, Conservation Officer for Butterfly Conservation Wales gave a fascinating talk on Lepidoptera Conservation in South East Wales. He focused on Marsh Fritillary, Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Grizzled Skipper, Drab Looper, The Forester, Argent and Sable, Scarce hook-tip and The Silurian. 
Our County Recorder, Dr Martin Anthoney, gave an up-date on Lepidoptera recording in Vice County 35. The total number of records had increased by over 50% between 2011 and 2014.


Records of common species, such as Small Tortoiseshell, had increased the most. Our Chairman, Roger James, pointed out that this meant a massive increase in the amount of work Martin had with entering data. He was entering up to 3,000 records a month. Kevin Dupé appealed to recorders to use the Excel spreadsheet produced by Martin to send in records as this would make Martin's job much easier. Martin will re-issue the spreadsheet with the next issue of The Silurian. Gaps in recording were mainly in the north east of the county and the west.
There was a discussion on where to trap on National Moth Night in September, with the theme being "migrants". Martin suggested ROF Caerwent, as it had to be cancelled last year due to torential rain. Kevin suggested the fishing lake on Lamby Way in Cardiff, which is just inside the border of Monmouthshire and is in an under-recorded square. 
There was a discussion about organising trapping events and Martin suggested using the Monmouthshire Moth & Butterfly Group's Blog website to publicise trapping sessions at short notice. This was agreed by the meeting.
The meeting was very positive and showed the strength of Lepidoptera recording in our area, with a growth in the number of active recorders. It was an excellent start to the recording season.

Sunday 8 March 2015

Lower Ochrwyth - 7 March

After such a glorious sunny spring day and having seen bumblebees in the garden, I thought it was time to get the MV out to see what was about - the answer, not a lot!  Just x3 moths: Hebrew Character and x2 Common Quaker.



Saturday 7 March 2015

Angle Shades - Lower Ochrwyth

Found this climbing up the outside wall yesterday - more signs of spring.



Thursday 5 March 2015

Micro-moth Distribution Maps Available

As you might have read in the latest edition of the Silurian, draft distribution maps for all the micro-moths have been prepared - these are now available on this blog under species lists & distribution on RHS.