Moths on the night of 1st/2nd May (UK)

[Nick Greatorex-Davies]

I am always fascinated to see lists of moths from other peoples traps
in the UK so I hope some will be interested in another list - and that
this may prompt a few more - though I don't think there are many UK
moth-ers on the list. (This won't be feasible of course in the summer
when numbers of species and individuals are much greater!)

[Incidently we had an adult Cinnabar (Tyria jacobaeae) here in March
- in the building! This is the second time I have seen the Cinnabar so
early and almost certainly is the result of larvae getting inside the
building and finding somewhere suitable to pupate and then emerging
early due to the warmer inside temperatures.]

I put the MV out in my suburban garden near St Ives in Cambridgeshire
UK on the nights beginning 1st and 3rd May (last night). Various
macros but very few micros (13 macros on 1st and 19 on 3rd) but
nothing particularly early, despite several warm days recently. I note
that on May 3rd 1997 I had 36 species of macro-moth to the MV in the
garden!

01.05.99
2   Grey Pine carpet (Thera obeliscata)
1   Red Twin-spot Carpet (Xanthorhoe spadicearia)
1   Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (Xanthorhoe ferrugata)
1   Scarce Tissue (Rheumaptera cervinalis)
1   Brimstone moth  (Opisthograptis luteolata)
1   Chocolate-tip (Clostera pigra)
1   Least Black Arches (Nola confusalis)
2   Bright-line Brown-eye (Lacanobia oleracea)
2   Pale Mottled Willow (Caradrina clavipalpis)
6   Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis puta)
1   Spectacle (Abrostola triplasia)
2   Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta)
2   Hebrew Character (Othosia gothica)

03.05.99
2   Red Twin-spot Carpet (Xanthorhoe spadicearia)
1   Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (Xanthorhoe ferrugata)
2   Yellow-barred Brindle (Acasis viretata)
1   Oak-tree Pug (Eupithecia dodoneata)
2   Waved Umber (Menophra abruptaria)
1   Scarce Tissue (Rheumaptera cervinalis)
2   Brimstone moth  (Opisthograptis luteolata)
1   Common White Wave (Cabera pusaria)
1   Peppered Moth (Biston betularia var. carbonaria)
1   Pale Prominent (Pterostoma palpina)
1   Iron Prominent (Notodonta dromedarius)
3   Swallow Prominent (Pheosia tremula)
4   Least Black Arches (Nola confusalis)
14 Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis puta)
2   Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta)
2   Hebrew Character (Othosia gothica)
1   Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi)
1   Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta)
1   Grey/Dark Dagger (Acronicta psi/tridens)
micos
4   White-shouldered House Moth (Endrosis sarcitrella)
2   Garden Pebble (Evergestis forficalis)

Regards

Nick Greatorex-Davies
Mr J Nick Greatorex-Davies
(Butterfly Monitoring Scheme co-ordinator)
Institute of Terrestrial Ecology
Monks Wood
Abbots Ripton
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire PE17 2LS  UK

Tel: (+44) (0) 1487 773 381
Fax: (+44) (0) 1487 773 467
E-mail: n.greatorex-davies at ite.ac.uk