On Friday 25th August I decided to take my 125w Robinson trap and another 125w Skinner trap away from my usual trapping site of the garden in search of other species on the reserve. I decided to try a known site for Ashworth's Rustic, though a little late in the season, and see what else would turn up.
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| Ypsolopha parenthesella |
Conditions appeared good and midgies were bearable. I was able to pick up a few early species flying around the area, starting off with
Flame Shoulder and
Pinion-streaked Snout. A close look at the ragwort revealed several
Ypsolopha parenthesella nectaring and later a nice
Bordered Beauty.
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| Bordered Beauty |
It was noticeable early on that geometridae species were going to be the most numerous with
July Highflyer, Dark and
Common Marbled Carpet and
Devon Carpet being very noticeable. They also included
Blue-bordered Carpet, Tawny Speckled Pug, Chevron and
Purple Bar.
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| Neglected Rustic |
Though noctuidae were low in quantity there was a good variety with highlights being
Neglected Rustic, Barred Chestnut, Anomalous, Autumnal Rustic, Flounced Rustic and the only migrant of the night, the
Silver Y.
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| Anomalous |
Micros gave a good showing with at least 15 species recorded including
Catoptria margaritella, Acleris variegana, Hypatima rhomboidella, Agonopterix ocellana, Pyrausta purpuralis and Gracillaria syringella.
Overall a good night with a total of 37 macros and 15 micros, sadly no late Ashworth's Rustic but a nice variety.
Hi Gavin,
ReplyDeleteYes, looking at the latest date that the Ashworth's Rustic had been recorded in the county, which was the August 15th, it would seem that it was likely to be an unfruitful quest on your part, but you never know, these earliest and latest flight dates are there to be challenged whenever the conditions are favorable, so it's always worth having a go - anyway, it's good to hear that you had a excellent evening's trapping for late August, despite not getting your target species.
Peter.