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.

#3 Rusty Dot Pearl Udea ferrugalis

#4 Silver Y Autographa gamma

#5 Shuttle-shaped Dart Agrotis puta

#6 Feathered Ranunculus Polymixis lichenea

#6 Another Feathered Ranunculus Polymixis lichenea

#6 And another Feathered Ranunculus Polymixis lichenea

#7 Turnip Moth Agrotis segetum

#8 Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa

#8 Another Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa

#8 And another Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa

#9 Straw Underwing Thalpophila matura

#10 *Lesser Yellow Underwing Noctua comes

#10 Another Lesser Yellow Underwing Noctua comes

#11 Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella. I have seen many Rush Veneers since July, but this is the darkest form I have ever seen.

#12 Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba

#12 Another Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba

#12 And another Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba

#13 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Noctua janthe

#14 Small Mottled Willow Spodoptera exigua

#15 **Pied Grey Eudonia delunella

#16 Garden Rose Tortrix Acleris variegana

#17 Vine's Rustic Hoplodrina ambigua

More on:

#15 Pied Grey Eudonia delunella UK Moths here and Dorset Moths here.

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Also in the trap was a lone beetle and a wasp.

A Rosemary Beetle Chrysolina americana. This is the first one I have seen this year. In.....

...........previous years I have found this beetle on the Lavender in the back garden.

Basket-cocoon Parasitoid wasp Meteorus pulchricornis

Ivy Flowers Means Ivy Bees

And right on cue, as the Ivy Hedera helix flowers begin to flower, so the Ivy Bees Colletes hederae emerge. These "seasonal" bees have to be one of my favourite bees of all time. They appear late August/early September and by the end of the October/early November disappear until the following year, when the next batch appear and the cycle begins all over again.

This bee was first seen in the British Isles, in Dorset 2001, having arrived from continental Europe. For me this is a real stunner of a bee and a species that is solely dependent on Ivy flowers and is the reason why it can only be seen in Autumn. The longer the flowers remain, the longer these bees are about.

Here is a very informative video narrated by Aaron Bhambra called "The Tale of the Ivy Bee: A New British Species" and published by the Biological Recording Company here.

Below are a few photos and a videos of one of the Ivy Bees I came across along Old Quarry Lane and Wakeham Meadows this afternoon.

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Birds Recorded:
Herring Gull

Wood Pigeon

Collared Dove

Dunnock

Robin

Blackbird

1 Common Whitethroat

2 Blackcap

4 Chiffchaff

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Wren

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Jackdaw

Starling

House Sparrow

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

There were plenty of Wood Pigeons about as per usual, and an empty egg shell from one pair, left in the middle of the seeds of a Wild Clematis Clematis vitalba

Skulking in the bushes was this Common Whitethroat.

I think it's clocked me!!

Butterflies Recorded:
6 Large White Pieris brassicae
3 Small White Pieris rapae
1 Speckled Wood Pararge aegeria
3 Red Admiral Vanessa atalanta
1 Painted Lady Vanessa cardui
5 Common Blue Polyommatus icarus

A Painted Lady Vanessa cardui........................

.......................in Wakeham Meadow

A male Common Blue Polyommatus icarus on Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris

Another male Common Blue also on Common Ragwort.

And another male Common Blue

And on the seed head of a Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra is a female Common Blue.

Moths Recorded:
5 Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum
8 Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella
1 The Vestal Rhodometra sacraria

One of 5 Hummingbird Hawk-moths Macroglossum stellatarum seen nectarine on Buddleia Buddleja davidii. Blink and you will miss it.

Another Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum

And another Hummingbird Hawk-moth Macroglossum stellatarum

A Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella

And another Rush Veneer Nomophila noctuella

Having seen my first ever The Vestal Rhodometra sacraria 3 days ago in my moth trap...........

...................I came across this one in Old Quarry Lane.

Bees Recorded:
3 Buff-tailed Bumblebee Bombus terrestris
2 Common Carder Bee Bombus pascuorum
5 Honey Bee Apis mellifera
20+ Ivy Bee Colletes hederae

Wasps, Ichneumon Wasps, Parasitic Wasps and Gall Wasps Recorded:
4 Wasps Vespula sps.
4 Mossy Rose Gall Wasp Dipoloepis rosaea 

A Robin's Pincushion on a Dog Rose Rosa canina. It is a gall caused by the larvae of a tiny gall wasp, Dipoloepis rosaea. More on this wasp Here.

Hoverflies Recorded:
Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax
Dead Head Hoverfly Myathropa florea
4 Hornet Plumehorn Volucella zonaria
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus
Pied Hoverfly Scaeva pyrastri

Dead Head Hoverfly Myathropa florea

 Hornet Plumehorn Volucella zonaria

Another Hornet Plumehorn Volucella zonaria

Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus

A Pied Hoverfly Scaeva pyrastri. AKA White-bowed Smoothwing

Flies, Craneflies, Gnats and Midges Recorded:
Many unidentified flies
Blue Blowfly Calliphora vicina
Greenbottle Lucilia sp.
Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria

Greenbottle Lucilia sp.

A Yellow Dung Fly Scathophaga stercoraria

Bugs and Beetles Recorded:
8 Dock Bug Coreus marginatus
1 Swollen-thighed Beetle Oedemera nobilis

The Wild Clematis in Wakeham Meadow.......................

......................... was a favoured spot for at least 8 Dock Bugs Coreus marginatus

Crickets and Grasshoppers Recorded:

Long Winged Cone-head Conocephalus fuscus
Meadow Grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus

I took two photos of this..........

...................Long Winged Cone-head Conocephalus fuscus and still managed to cut off its antennae.

Meadow Grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus

Another Meadow Grasshopper

Lacewings and Scorpionflies Recorded:
1 Common Green Lacewing Chrysoperla carnea


Slugs and Snails Recorded:
1 Garden Snail Cornu aspersa


Spiders Recorded:
None

Froghoppers Recorded:

1 Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius

A Common Froghopper Philaenus spumarius. More on froghoppers here.

Plants:
Bramble Rubus fruticosusa
Buddleia Buddleja davidii
Common Knapweed Centaurea nigra
Common Ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris
Common Teasel Dipsacus fullonum
Cotoneaster Cotoneaster sp.
Dog Rose Rosa canina
Elder Sambucus nigra
Field Bindweed Convolvulus arvensis
Hawthorn Crataegus monogyna
Hemp Agrimony Eupatorium cannabinum AKA 'Raspberries and Cream'
Honeysuckle Lonicera periclymenum
Ivy Hedera helix
Large Bindweed Calystegia silvatica
Provence Rose Rosa gallica
Scarlet Firethorn Pyracantha coccinea
Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus
Wild Clematis Clematis vitalba AKA Travellers’ Joy and Old Man’s Beard.
Wild Fennel Foeniculum vulgare