Musotima nitidalis
L-album Wainscot
Feathered Ranunculus
Agonopterix nervosa
Blossom Underwing
Beautiful Marbled
Lampronia fuscatella
Gravitarmata margarotana
Perittia obscurepunctella
Black-spotted Chestnut
Cydia pactolana
Last week I flew
out to Limoges with Roger and Steve and then drove south for just over two
hours and arrived at Las Descargues in the Midi-pyrenees just in time for the
first night's moth trapping.
The weather was
warm and muggy when we landed and the further sout we drove, the cloudier and
darker it got when all of a sudden the heavens opened and a monsoon was
experienced just at the crucial time of trying to find the supermarket for our
week's shop!
With the rain
came wind and plummeting temperatures, in fact the first night's temperature of
17 degrees was to be the highest until Sunday where we managed 19.5c at lower
altitude.
Most days we
were really up against the elements, with persistant rain, wind and even hail
the size of 5 pence pieces.
Some days the
temperature didn't get above 14 degrees, ridiculous to say the least and with
lows of 9 we weren't holding out for much.
Sods law was
that the previous weeks temperatures were between 28 and 37 degrees!
Nevertheless we
were there to catch Moths, observe Butterflies and watch Birds and on some days
when the weather was too grim we enjoyed a good sweep around the grass for
Crickets and Grasshoppers!
The best nights
were the first night that we turned up, completely shattered from travelling
and the last night before we had to travel back, not ideal but we just had to
make do.
Some beautiful species
were observed at the traps and we made two trips out (It would have been more
had the weather been better, but risk of lightning strikes and electrocution
from the wet was too much of a risk) one to the Causse at Dolmen de la Pierre
Martin and another to the Verdal Gorge.
Robin and Sue
were great hosts throughout the whole week and I urge people to book up and
have an amazing wildlife experience that is there to offer.
I enjoyed it so
much that I will be returning very soon.
Below are the
Macro Moth highlights and some pictures of the traps, weather and scenery.
The list
currently stands at 192 species of Macro Moth recorded with the best moth an
Arctiidae species Dysauxes punctata which we recorded at the Causse and is a
very rare moth in the Midi-pyrenees with just records from this single site.
More can be
found on my flickr site https://www.flickr.com/photos/33398884@N03/
Species in red
are new to me.
Alchymist
Atypha
pulmonaris
Barred Hook-tip
Bird's Wing
Black Arches
Black v moth
Blair's Mocha
Blood-vein
Bordered Beauty
Bright Wave
Brimstone
Brindled White
Spot
Broad-bordered
Yellow Underwing
Brown-tail
Buff Arches
Buff Ermine
Buff Footman
Buff-tip
Burnished Brass
Campion
Caradrina
aspersa
Chequered Wave
Chinese
Character
Clay fan-foot
Clouded border
Clouded Silver
Common Carpet
Common Emerald
Common Footman
Common Heath
Common Rustic
Common Wave
Common White
Wave
Coronet
Cream Wave
Cyclophora
lennigiaria
Dark Arches
Dark Umber
Dark-barred
Twin-spot Carpet
Delicate
Dewick's
Plusia
Dingy Footman
Dot Moth
Double
Kidney
Drymonia
querna
Dun-bar
Dwarf Cream Wave
Dysauxes
punctata
Elephant
Hawk-moth
Engrailed
Fan-foot
Feathered
Beauty
Festoon
Fiery Clearwing
Flame
Four-spotted
Footman
Frosted Orange
Frosted Yellow
Garden Carpet
Garlic Mottled
Goat Moth
Great Oak Beauty
Green
silver-lines
Grey Dagger
Grey-pine Carpet
Guernsey
Underwing
Handmaid
Heart and Dart
Heart Moth
Herald
Hoary Footman
Hoplodrina
Respersa
Horse Chestnut
Hummingbird
Hawk-moth
Idaea Deversaria
Idaea
subsaturata
Idia Calvaria
Iron Prominent
Isle of Wight
Wave
Jersey
Emerald
Jubilee Fan-foot
July Highflyer
Kent Black
Arches
Knot Grass
Lackey
L-album Wainscot
Lamprosticta
Culta
Large Dagger
Large Emerald
Large Yellow
Underwing
Latin
Latticed Heath
Least Carpet
Least Yellow
Underwing
Lesser Yellow
Underwing
Light Arches
Light Brocade
Light Crimson
Underwing
Light Emerald
Little
Thorn
Lobster Moth
Lunar
Thorn
Lunar-spotted
Pinion
Map-winged Swift
Marbled Minor
Marbled
White-spot
Minor Shoulder
knot
Mottled Rustic
Mouse Moth
Muslin Footman
Mythimna sicula
Nut-tree Tussock
Nyctobrya
ravula
Oak Hook-tip
Oak Nycteoline
Olive Crescent
Orache
Orange Footman
Orange Moth
Pale Mottled
Willow
Pale Oak Beauty
Pale Shoulder
Passenger
Peacock moth
Pearly Underwing
Pebble Hook-tip
Peppered Moth
Pine
Processionary
Plum Lappet
Poplar Hawk-moth
Privet Hawk-moth
Purple Bar
Red-necked
Footman
Rhodostrophia
calabra
Rhodostrophia
vibicaria
Rosy Footman
Rosy Marbled
Rustic
Sandy Carpet
Scarce Bordered
Straw
Scarce
Chocolate-tip
Scarce Footman
Scarce Hook-tip
Scarce
Silver-lines
Scarlet Tiger
Scorched Carpet
Scorched Wing
September Thorn
Setaceous Hebrew
Character
Shark
Shears
Silver-Y
Single Dotted
Wave
Small Black
Arches
Small Dusty Wave
Small fan-footed
Wave
Small Marbled
Small Mottled
Willow
Small Phoenix
Small
purple-barred
Small Ranunculus
Small White Wave
Snout
Southern
Buff-tip
Spanish
Character
Speckled Footman
Speckled Yellow
Spotted Sulphur
Spurge
Hawk-moth
Sub-angled
Wave
Swallow
Prominent
Sycamore
Tawny Wave
Tephronia
cremiaria
Three-humped
Prominent
Toadflax Brocade
Treble bar
Treble Brown
Spot
True
Lover's Knot
Turnip Moth
Uncertain
Vapourer
Varied Coronet
V-pug
Waved Umber
Weavers Wave
White Satin
White
Speck
White-point
Willow Beauty
Yellow Shell
Yellow-tail
 |
| Alchymist |
 |
| Beautiful Yellow Underwing |
 |
| Cyclophora lennigiaria |
 |
| Dewick's Plusia |
 |
| Drymonia querna |
 |
| Dysauxes punctata |
 |
| Scarce Hook-tip |
 |
| Spurge Hawk-moth |
 |
| True Lover's Knot |
 |
| Las Descargues view from the decking |
 |
| The Verdal Gorge - Stunning! |
 |
| One of the traps on the decking |
 |
| Trap in the side garden |
 |
| Stormy skies at the Causse |
 |
| The Causse |
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