Close up of the eponymous 8 (or 80?!) on the wing of a Figure of Eight moth

All the 8s... 18/8 to the MV today of which TEN were Figure of Eights, a record count of this declining moth #salopmoths #teammoth #vc40

Delicate

Frosted Orange

Pink-barred Sallow

Sallow

With maybe only 4 or 5 Shropshire records, this Delicate was the clear highlight of this morning's haul. Lots of autumn colour otherwise 🍂 #teammoth #vc40 #loveautumn @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Lemon yellow Vestal with a vivid pink stripes in the Holly

Flushed this candy-striped Vestal off the drive in the sunshine after the thundery downpour this afternoon @migrantmothuk.bsky.social #vc40 #teammoth

A straw-coloured (locally bred?) Vestal on a rain-covered window

Two gorgeous Dark Sword-grass moths on the windowsill. Love em 😍

Was starting to wonder if I'd get a Vestal in this excellent migrant year, then this autumn-toned beauty appeared alongside 2 Dark Sword-grass and a Silver Y #teammoth #vc40 @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Bordered Straw on a silver birch leaf

Oak Hook-tip

A handful of Frosted Orange moths

Two Feathered Gothics in a jar

Another Bordered Straw at the wet and windy MV this morning along with Oak Hook-tip, 4 Frosted Oranges 😋 and a couple of Feathered Gothics #teammoth #vc40 @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Red Underwing portrait

Red Underwing

Scrobipalpa ocellatella - Beet Moth

Antler Moth

Always great to find a Red Underwing in the mothtrap, such charismatic creatures. Also got in on the ocellatella craze, and shook hands with a beautiful Antler Moth #teammoth #vc40

Scarce Bordered Straw portrait

Silver Y

Rusty Dot Pearl

Diamondback

The Scarce Bordered Straw was still present this morning with other @migrantmothuk.bsky.social of Silver Y, Turnip, Angle Shades, RDP and a few Diamondbacks. Not bad for cool northerlies #teammoth #vc40

Pale Eggar

Pale Eggar

Small Mottled Willow

Rush Veneer

Yet another Small Mottled Willow to the MV last night along with a couple of Rush Veneers, 7 Pale Eggars, 5 Chinese Characters, 115+ Common Wainscots... #teammoth #vc40 @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

White-point

Small Mottled Willow (right) with a Straw-dot and Brimstone

Four Ear moth agg.

Four Straw-dots showing significant pattern variation

White-point and another Small Mottled Willow were today's @migrantmothuk.bsky.social highlights along with yet more Ears (agg) and a selection of Straw-dot variations #teammoth #vc40

Small Mottled Willow

Oedemera femoralis, a nationally scarce species of false blister beetle

Black-tipped Ermine (Yponomeuta plumbella), one of three at the mothtrap

A tiny Parornix sp.

Another mothtrap full of interest this morning, with a @migrantmothuk.bsky.social Small Mottled Willow, a nationally scarce beetle Oedemera femoralis, and some photogenic micros #teammoth #vc40

One of the Ear Moth aggregation

True Lover's Knot

Poplar Grey

Rosy Rustic

A few smart NFY in this morning's #mothtrap including an Ear agg. at the same time as two friends caught their first for a few years, maybe hinting at a bit of a dispersal? #teammoth #vc40

Dark Sword-grass, a beautiful migrant moth that we don't get many of

Yellow Mayfly (Potomanthus luteus), a rare and very localised resident of the Rivers Wye, Usk and Teme, and doing well in none of them

Lime-speck Pug, a favourite because it's an easy pug for once!

Dusky Sallow

Lots of interest in the mothtrap this morning: migrant Dark Sword-grass and Diamondbacks, a rare Yellow Mayfly a long way from home, identifiable pugs(!) and a couple of Dusky Sallows #teammoth #mothsmatter #vc40

Bordered Straw moth perched on a cork

Another day, another Bordered Straw riding the heatwave 🌊 #migration #teammoth #vc40 @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Bordered Straw

Dusky Sallow

At last a migrant! Nice Bordered Straw on this morning's pre-work check of the mothtrap, and a lovely Dusky Sallow amongst others #teammoth #mothsmatter #vc40

An evening walk a few days ago revealed a nice surprise - two Acleris logiana adults resting on some birch trees. Not many other #vc58, and an NFY! Last I saw this was Nov 2023, when it was a first for #vc40.
#entomology #insects #moths #mothsmatter

This morning's surprise: Harpella forficella to light in our Shropshire garden. New to the West Mids, and not many nationally, it would seem 😲 #mothsmatter #vc40 #salopobs

Our second ever Tawny Pinion (and first since 2015) in the #mothtrap this morning and a couple of fantastic Shoulder Stripes #vc40 #mothsmatter

Full house! Thanks to a warm, wet night last night #mothsmatter #vc40

Always gorgeous, and still locally scarce, this Large Wainscot just blew in. Other large species more than welcome... #mothsmatter #vc40

We've always done well for them, but 92 Brimstones this morning was a record! 325 moths in total #mothsmatter #teammoth #vc40

After the storms: a heap of family favourites amongst 470 moths at #salopobs this morning #vc40 #mothsmatter #teammoth

That's better! Fistfuls of fun amongst 250+ moths this morning #mothsmatter #hawkmoths #vc40

Two Green Oak Tortrix and two Diamondbacks in the trap this morning. It's a start @MigrantMothUK #mothsmatter #vc40 #micromoths

Finally managed a 3-figure mothtrap last night including some family favourites and garden scarcities: second ever Obscure Wainscot and Alder Moth #vc40 #mothsmatter #365DaysWild

Wow! Today was our turn for the big blue one 💙 What a beast #clifdennonpareil #mothsmatter #teammoth #vc40 @Salop_Moths

Little brown jobs: Rusty Dot Pearl and Oak Nycteoline (thanks @mike_shurmer) from last night's mothtrap #mothsmatter #vc40

A busy night with over 600 moths last night, including 347/57 macros. Highlights: Cloaked Carpet, Bulrush Wainscot, Small Rufous, Dusky Sallow and a couple of big female Drinkers #mothsmatter #vc40

Even with a Tiger in the mothtrap, this morning's most popular visitor was this carrion beetle 𝘕𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴. Look at those thighs! #mothsmatter #mothbycatch #vc40 #365dayswild

Our first ever Blotched Emerald, a good record despite being a little worse for wear, was the highlight of last night's mothtrap #MothNight #mothsmatter #vc40

The always stunning Peach Blossom and our first Little Emerald from/on last night's mothtrap
#mothsmatter #teammoth #vc40