Home and Away: Windy Night

The forecast, for last night, was for the wind to drop by the morning. Which it did, but what I didn't know was that the moderate westerly wind, would be accompanied by very strong gusts. I'm sure that wasn't mentioned!

I think it was in the early hours, that I was woken by the sound of the bedroom curtains flapping around the open window and the sound of the trees creaking at the front of the house.

My main concern was that the moth trap, in the entrance to the gazebo, would be blown off the table it was on. However, having checked the camera looking down the back garden, it was quite obvious the trap was holding fast and looking very bright on the screen.

So what was in the trap. Well unsurprisingly there were fewer, than the last time the trap went out 5 days ago and there was a minimal number of micro moths. Moths do not like windy conditions.

In total there were 51 moths of 17 species, including just 1 first for the year and 1 lifer.

*First for year
**Lifers

2026 Moth List Here.

Moths recorded:

#1 Elbow-striped Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea x5

#2 Box-tree Moth Cydalima perspectalis x1

#3 Rusty Dot Pearl Udea ferrugalis x2

#4 Silver Y Autographa gamma x1

#5 Shuttle-shaped Dart Agrotis puta x6

#6 Feathered Ranunculus Polymixis lichenea x3

#7 Turnip Moth Agrotis segetum x3

#8 Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa x4

#9 Straw Underwing Thalpophila matura x5

#10 *Lesser Yellow Underwing Noctua comes x3

#11 Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella x4

#12 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba x6

#13 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Noctua janthe x2

#14 Small Mottled Willow Spodoptera exigua x1

#15 **Pied Grey Eudonia delunella x1

#16 Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana x1

#17 Vine's Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua x2

#1 Elbow-striped Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea

#1 Another Elbow-striped Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea

#1 And another Elbow-striped Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea

#1 One more Elbow-striped Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea

#1 And one more Elbow-striped Grass-veneer Agriphila geniculea

#2 Box-tree Moth Cydalima perspectalis. This very distinctly marked moth, even from looking at its underside is every gardeners and horticulturalists nightmare.......................

.........................especially if you grow Box-trees (Buxus). This is of course the Box-tree Moth Cydalima perspectalis. The moths themselves only drink water and nectar, but the caterpillars of this accidentally introduced species, can cause devastation to boxwood plants. More on this moth here.