Garden Moths

Numbers of moths trapped over the last week or so have dropped due to cooler overnight temperatures. I am still getting several Large Yellow Underwings per night and the occasional Lesser.


I've had several Silver y's (Autographa gamma) in the trap recently.

These are immigrant moths from mainland Europe which often nectar on flowers during the day.



Silver y and Green-brindled Crescent (Allophyes oxyacanthae)

Green-brindled Crescent appears in two forms - I think this is one is f. capucina Mill which doesn't have the green scales. This form is only known in Great Britain and is more common in industrial areas such as the Midlands.


Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestria c-nigrum)

Blair's Shoulder Knot or Stone Pinion (Lithopane leautieri)

First discovered on the Isle of Wight in 1951, the species has spread rapidly northwards and I've trapped quite a few individuals in recent weeks.


Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulous) - has to be one of my favourite moths :)

I rarely trap Sallow species here (usually only one a year), Black Rustic should be appearing soon and I live in hope of trapping the holy grail moth Merveille du Jour. There is a grove of 15 plus Oak trees about 1/8th of a mile away so its possible!

Bog Garden and a few signs of Autumn

This summer it became very apparent how overgrown the bog garden next to the pond had become. Sadly, we had also lost some of our favourite plants, many of which were good for wildlife.

So B has decided to weed and clear the area, replanting the irises and a few other plants. He has also ordered some seeds to replace plants we had lost - Water Avens, Ragged Robin, Marsh Marigold and Lady's Smock. The seeds arrived this morning - beautifully presented and with little information sheets on the plants and how to sew/grow them.

Here is the cleared bog garden (looking horribly empty) although I notice brambles are still scrambling over the fence. I was a bit concerned at the time of year he has decided to tackle this job in case the area was used by hibernating animals/amphibians/insects. But there are plenty of other places for them round the garden.

This is a photo of the bog garden in 2013 before it got quite so overgrown. I tried to find a picture from this summer but I've hidden it away in a photographic file somewhere and can't find it.

Thanks for your helps and tips re: lack of flowers on nasturtiums. They are finally flowering. I have come to the conclusion that I probably planted them far too late in the year.

I've put a few rotting apples on sticks around the garden to try and attract butterflies. We had a Comma butterfly a few weeks ago when it was warmer which spent hours on the one apple.

Michaelmas Daisies (one of my favourites) are in flower now. We still have a few white flowered ones round the garden but sadly, all the deep pink ones, seem to have disappeared.

Autumn Leaves on the pond

It looks like a good year for pyracantha berries which will be attracting blackbirds and wood pigeons any day now.

Grey Wagtail

A record shot (through a rather dirty kitchen window!) of a Grey Wagtail seen on the garden lawn last Saturday.

We had a further visit a few days later from two individuals.

We do get visits from Grey Wagtails occasionally - usually at this time of the year.


Garden Moths

I put the trap out last night - the first time for a couple of weeks.

Results were disappointing - just 12 Large Yellow Underwings and 1 Light Brown Apple Moth. Min Temp was 5.5 degrees centigrade.

Have switched the trap on again tonight - and hoping for better results!!