With more cool and wet weather predicted for the middle part of June, we took the opportunity when the weatherman forecast dry weather on the 11th – 12th June to put out our moth trap. It was a cool night and there was a decent breeze about.
Despite conditions not being great we did have some success. In particular attracting two previously unrecorded moths to the Garden. The full list of moths recorded was as follows;
Willow Beauty (x5), Eudonia lacustrata (x2), Rustic Shoulder Knot (x1), Heart And Dart (x3), Common Marbled Carpet (x1), Buff Tip (x1), Heart And Club (x1), Buff Ermine (x2), Setaceous Hebrew Character (x1), Clay Triple Lines (x1) and finally Metalampra italica (x1).
The final two species listed are the new garden records. Clay Triple Lines, or more accurately Cyclophora linearia, is relatively common in the South of England at this time of year (its first brood). Its larva feed on beech.
Clay Triple Lines: It is a member of the family Geometridae, and is the third species of the genus Cyclophora recorded in the Garden to date. The others being Maidens Blush (C. punctaria) and The Mocha (C. annularia).
The second new species, Metalampra italica, is interesting in that it was only first recorded in the UK 2003 in Devon but reports seem to suggest it has been spreading ever since. It’s a rather attractive little micro moth belonging to the Family Oecophoridae, which is the same family to which Brown House Moths belong.
Metalampra italica: According to the UK Moths Website this species, also known as the Italian Bark Moth, is associated with oak deadwood.
We do hope to moth trap more this summer, but with the weather looking very unpredictable for the next week or two we may have to wait a little while.
DC:14.06.2024
Wildlife Garden 