Sunday 5 June 2016

Beddington Farmlands Public Summer Walk


 Common Blue on Plaintain
 Painted Lady, one by the Bedzed cafe today- good numbers are arriving in the country at the moment joining the Diamond-back Moth invasion. There was another swarm on Diamond-backs on the southern mound- so an estimated 200+ on site at the moment. 
 A picture-winged Fly
 Blood Vein
 Cornflowers, Corn cockles, Corn Marigolds and mustards flowering on the Northern Mound

Micros in the trap last night (some provisional ids- corrections welcome)
 Celypha lacuana
 Eudonia angustea 
 Eudonia pallida 
 Homoeosoma sinuella
 Blastobasis lacticolella - actually Platyedra subcinerea (Cheers Billy!  Surrey moths FB group) 
Ash bud moth Prays fraxinella (if correct id, new for farmlands) 
Cochylis atricapitana
 Coleophora sp? (maybe C.anatipennella- Pistol Case-bearer?) Surrey moths id as Aspilapteryx tringipennella. (cheers Mike!)  New for me. 
No idea? Surrey moths suggest Roeslerstammia erxlebella. (Cheers Philip)  or Prays rufinella or ruficeps (cheers Mike) 

4 comments:

Arjun Dutta said...

Its astounding the number of Diamondback moths that have been seen recently.
While refilling garden feeders on Friday I realized that there were a fair few around our garden. There were about 15 all around the garden!
Why are there so many around?

Lee Dingain said...

There must be a heck of a lot more than 200+ Diamond-backs on the farm at the moment? Surely you missed off a zero or three?

Peter Alfrey said...

Hi Arjun- I think it is related to hostile conditions on the continent. Presumably they are being forced out. ? Will be interesting to read the write up/analysis on this later.

Peter Alfrey said...

Going out today Lee to check the whole area - 200 is definitely an underestimate