Vestalfest reaches Dingestow

26th October seemed like the last chance to hit the southerly airflows of October 2017, although the winds swung to light NW for much of the night.  Moth'ers in SW England caught 100s of Vestal over the previous two nights, along with many rarer migrants, so I had my fingers crossed.  A check of the flowering ivy produced the first Vestal of the night, and this was followed by 12 more around the MV trap (not one of them was on or inside the trap, all were on the wall/grass).

 

Vestals were only part of the story on this mild night.  23 moth species appeared at the MV, with a few more on the ivy flowers.  Highlights were a pristine Chocolate-tip (an extraordinary 3rd-brood for this species), a Sprawler and a Brown-spot Pinion, with a tiny gammina among the Silver-Ys.  No more exciting migrants appeared, unfortunately, although my fingers are crossed for another pulse of migrant activity later in the autumn.