Bovingdon Brickworks - Hemel Hempstead - Field Trip - 18/09/14

I enjoyed a trip over to Hemel Hempstead once again and I was joined by David, Roger and Steve.

We decided to trap at Bovingdon Brickworks in the small village of Bovingdon to the South-West of Hemel Hempstead and owned by the Boxmoor Trust.
This site is very important for wildlife and moths are no exception! The unimproved grassland and mixed woodland intersecting the previously excavated pits offers a unique habitat and trapping experience.

We thought about positioning the traps in an area that we had not run the traps before, and so we went about setting up all four traps in a crossroads position so they were all out of site of each other.

The weather was absolutely perfect minus some cloud cover but with a minimum temperature of a sweltering 16 degrees all night, it was still 23 whilst we were arriving and there was no moon to contend with.

It did take a while after dark for moths to start turning up, all four of the traps got inundated with Crane-flies and 3 of the traps had a small Hornet presence as well.
First moths in were Brimstones, Square-spot Rustics and Lunar Underwings then some better species started coming in, Pink-barred Sallows, Sallows and Dusky Thorns.

Throughout the night we were so surprised at how late some species were still flying, and some fresh broods in the mix as well, species such as Light Emerald, Oak Hook-tip, Green Carpet, Small Phoenix, Straw Dot and Pretty Chalk Carpet and then after seeing these I commented 'We will get an Elephant Hawk-moth next!' and blow me down, on the egg tray of one of the traps was a mint example of a female.

The Macro's weren't the only highlights, the Micro's had a very good innings indeed with nearly as many species including five species of Acleris and four species of Ypsolopha making it 9 already. Late ones were also amongst these with Cochylimorpha straminea, Crambus pascuella, Pyrausta aurata and even more shocking was Pseudargyrotoza conwagana and Acleris forsskaleana.

Probably the rarest moth of the night was a fresh example of Pandemis cinnamomeana, a local moth in most parts of the Country where it is found.
Best moth for me was a Plume that Roger potted up from David's trap, it was confirmed after a little bit of scrutiny that it was indeed a Platyptilia gonodactyla, a completely new Plume for all of us, despite it listed as common in the books, but then our County database tells a different story with one record from 1900 to 2005! Though I am sure someone has seen one from then until now.

Catch below in no particular order.

More pictures to come, when it stops raining!

Catch Report - 18/09/14 - Bovingdon Brickworks - Hemel Hempstead - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap, 1x 160w MBT Robinson Trap, 1x 40w Lucent Suitcase Trap & 1x 80w Actinic?26w CFL Suitcase Trap.

40 Macros & 32 Micros

Macro Moths

10x Square-spot Rustic
3x Pink-barred Sallow
5x Lunar Underwing
40+ Brimstone Moth
2x Brindled Green
4x Snout
5x Light Emerald
9x Sallow
3x Lesser Yellow Underwing
3x Flame Shoulder
4x Oak Hook-tip
6x Common Marbled Carpet
10x Dusky Thorn
6x Copper Underwing
1x Svensson's Copper Underwing
5x Large Yellow Underwing
4x Common Wainscot
1x Rosy Rustic
1x Beaded Chestnut
1x Maiden's Blush
1x Pretty Chalk Carpet
2x Barred Sallow
1x Angle Shades
1x Southern Wainscot
1x Feathered Gothic
1x Burnished Brass
1x Small Square-spot
2x Willow Beauty
1x Brown-spot Pinion
3x Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
2x Small Blood-vein
2x Green Carpet
2x Suttle-shaped Dart
1x Turnip Moth
2x Straw Dot
1x Small Phoenix
2x Red-green Carpet
5x Centre-barred Sallow
2x Grey-pine Carpet
1x Elephant Hawk-moth

Micro Moth

1x Platyptilia gonodactyla [NEW!]
2x Archips podana
2x Epinotia ramella
2x Acleris rhombana
2x Acleris emargana
2x Acleris variegana
1x Acleris forsskaleana
1x Monopis laevigella
1x Cochylimorpha straminea
1x Carcina quercana
1x Crambus pascuella
10+ Epinotia nisella
1x Pandemis cinnamomeana
2x Pyrausta aurata
2x Plutella xylostella
1x Elachista sp
1x Phyllonorycter harrisella
2x Phyllonorycter messaniella
1x Cydia pomonella
1x Blastobasis adustella
2x Celypha lacunana
1x Elophila nymphaeata
2x Agonopterix arenella
1x Ypsolopha sequella
1x Ypsolopha parenthesella
1x Ypsolopha sylvella
1x Ypsolopha scabrella
8x Eudonia pallida
1x Eudonia angustea
2x Epiphyas postvittana
2x Cameraria ohridella
1x Pseudargyrotoza conwagana

Cochylimorpha straminea

Elephant Hawk-moth

Eudonia pallida

Platyptilia gonodactyla