Three autumnal moths

I think autumnal moths are my favourites! I love the colours which I always think are mimicking the colours of the dying leaves on the trees.

This is a Barred Sallow

This is a Sallow

And this is the wonderfully named Lunar Underwing – so called because of the crescent moon shape on its uunderwing

All three species are common and all only appear as adults in the autumn.

Three more autumnal moths

The nights are definitely drawing in now and there is a chill in the air once the sun has set. There are now fewer moths in the trap each night – here are some highlights from the past few nights.

This is a Feathered Gothic – an autumn moth which flies in late August and September – its caterpillars feed on grasses

This is a Rosy Rustic which is on the wing from August to October

This is the Sallow – which flies in September and October – as it’s name suggests the caterpillars feed on the catkins of willows/sallows

A rare moth and some attractive ones

I caught a couple of L-album wainscots in my moth trap on Saturday night. A strange name! L refers to the L-shaped marks on the forewing and album is the Latin for white.

The wainscot moth with white L shapes

This is a Nationally Scarce moth in the UK – it was first recorded here in 1901 when it was thought to be a migrant species. By the 1930s it had been established that it bred in South Devon

It is largely a coastal species (the inland records are probably migrants) – it lives along brackish marshes (like the one at the bottom of my garden in Exton) and the caterpillars feed on a variety of grasses.

The trap also contained this green-brindled crescent – a rather smart moth – caterpillars feed on various shrubs such as blackthorn

There were also these rather pretty ‘sallows’ – the one on the left is the Barred Sallow whilst the three on the right are all the same species ‘The Sallow’

Some autumn moths

As Autumn kicks in the moths in the moth trap change. Here are three species I always associate with September and October.

This is the Canary Shouldered Thorn

It is my favourite moth – it is on the wing wing from late July to mid October but I tend to see it when the nights really start drawing in. The larvae feed on various shrub species including birch, willow and hornbeam

What a cuddly cross-eyed chap!

This is the Sallow – the caterpillars first feed on willows but then drop off the tree and start feeding on a variety of other herbaceous plants

And this is the lunar underwing – note the dark crescent shaped mark on the forewing – a late species appearing only in September on and October – the caterpillars feed on various grasses