Norfolk moths: Rockland St. Peter garden, 14 October 2013

After a week of cold, wet and windy weather, the night of 14 October was rather more congenial to moths. It was overcast and calm with a dusk temperature of 8.5°C at 18h30 and a similar 8.9°C when I turned off the trap at 06h45. Checking the light at 21h00 and 22h00, I could see no moth activity at all, so this morning I was pleasantly surprised to find that all the egg cartons within the trap were occupied. This is the first night without a Large Yellow Underwing and may have been the first without a new species for the trap. However, three sublime Merveille du Jours - one on gravel outside the trap, one buried deep within the egg cartons, and the other hanging on to the perspex entrance slit - made up for that.

Merveille du Jour Dichonia aprilina   

Macro-moths (70 moths of 11 spp.); no micros:-

Larentia clavaria	Mallow	2
Chloroclysta truncata	Common Marbled Carpet	1
Epirrita sp.	November Moth agg.	4
Aporophyla nigra	Black Rustic	2
Allophyes oxyacanthae	Green-brindled Crescent	4
Dichonia aprilina	Merveille du Jour	3
Dryobotodes eremita	Brindled Green	1
Agrochola lota	Red-line Quaker	4
Agrochola macilenta	Yellow-line Quaker	2
Agrochola litura	Brown-spot Pinion	3
Agrochola lychnidis	Beaded Chestnut	44