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whetstoneskev.bsky.social
Amateur naturalist. Leics. & Rutland VC55 CMR. Moths; all taxa PSL; reformed twitcher; LCFC; known to dabble with synthesizers. All photos/videos I post are my own unless stated. https://skevsblog.blogspot.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@Skevdig
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A few more from last night, ones that weren't sitting nice and still for a by-the-trap snap. #vc55moths #teammoth

It was nigh on impossible to photograph stuff in and around the traps last night with so much activity, almost every time I pointed the camera the subject got jostled or scarpered. I managed to snap the two main targets though, Four-spotted and Concolorous. List will be big! #vc55moth #teammoth

Absolute chaos, one of those nights that are brilliant, frustrating and horrible in equal measure. So many moths, beetles, caddis, craneflies, midges etc that getting near enough to see or count anything meant being covered in ento-mass! Now to empty garden trap and go to bed. #vc55moths #teammoth

Out and about in the middle of nowhere; this dirt track has wide species-rich verges and has turned up some cracking VC55 records in recent years. 26° now, forecast dry and 20° at midnight, though breezier than hoped. Good luck all! #vc55moths #teammoth

A quick shot, these are both from my Whetstone Leics. trap last night. Note the distinct lack of a red sharpie spot on the thorax and forewing as sported by the one I released from Friday night (no trapping on Sat night). #vc55moths #teammoth

Got around to transcribing my list for last night, here in a small suburban garden in the south Leics. eco-desert. x3 NFG macros & x1 NFG micro in a frankly outrageous 509 of 128sp. And there are x3 sp. pending inc. a possible VC55 first so potentially 512 of 131sp. #vc55moths #teammoth

Another NFG, and will be another new to VC55 too - or at least it will be if my provisional det is confirmed when the bits are checked (I have it potted). Monochroa arundinetella I reckon. #vc55moths #teammoth

Trapping the same garden for years (this is the 27th), NFG macros are always welcome but usually few and far between. x3 last night is exceptional! Treble Brown Spot, Clay Triple-lines and a spanking Four-spotted Footman were unexpected. Also have a number of micros to check. #vc55moths #teammoth

Feels like the garden trap *could* be bonkers tonight: already potted a NFG macro (Treble Brown Spot), a small NFG tort (when I've ID'd it), several nice NFY inc. Scarlet Tiger, Blue-bordered Carpet, Barred Straw and Leopard Moth, and - pertinently - trap is alive with beetles. #vc55moths #teammoth

Amongst some dissections this afternoon I've added a couple more new species to my Whetstone garden list: Coleophora albidella from 10/06, and a knackered Noctuid from last night that I was fairly sure was Purple Clay but checked to confirm. #vc55moths #teammoth

In case it's been missed, this is the ideal moth feed setup c10months ago. Team Moth collects all posts with #teammoth #mothsmatter and #migrantmothuk. Will not pick up anything that just mentions eg 'moth', all posts will have at least one of these x3 explicit hashtags. bsky.app/profile/did:...

I'm sure there are others already here or soon to come - shout up to be added. go.bsky.app/UBxQxe3

A quick general question to #teammoth users: are there any posts coming through that you'd rather not be seeing, any particular tags that perhaps should be muted? At the moment the feed is set to pull in posts that include #teammoth #mothsmatter #migrantmothuk with nothing configured to be excluded.

Put the LUN lure out in my garden this morning after emptying the light traps [ran two last night for a change]. At 8:30am when I checked a Lunar Hornet Moth in the trap. They always arrive here c8 - 9am, and using the lure out and about c9am - midday seems to be the best time. #vc55moths #teammoth

I love it when a domestic task leads to making a record: a stop at the local Co-op for my wife to use the postal box thing lead to me mooching over a cultivated Hypericum [Rose of Sharon - ish] and finding a couple of tenanted mines of Fomoria septembrella. #vc55moths #teammoth

Here's a track I put together a few weeks ago, which mainly uses the Behringer Wasp Deluxe, hence the title: Vespula vulgaris. It likely sounds annoyingly repetitive and a bit buzzy, like a wasp trolling your personal space ..... #synths #electronica youtu.be/gDJ3p9WrO5I?...

I know there are moths with a more colourful 'wow' factor, but there is something about the more monochrome spp. that I very like. Broad-barred White and Varied Coronet amongst a handful of NFY here in Whetstone Leics. last night, along with the brown but funky Luquetia lobella. #vc55moths #teammoth

Orange-tailed Clearwing was for a long time the 'rarest' clearwing in VC55 Leics. & Rutland; first recorded in 2005 virtually on the border with South Lincs. and Northants, and known only from this site until 2019. Since then it started appearing all over VC55. Garden NFY today. #vc55moths #teammoth

The garden bee hotel is still busy, with leaf cutters now moving in as well. Thought I'd spotted an interesting new wasp loitering around, but it was a male Sapyga quinquepunctata - I've only noted females previously. Also good to see Wool Carder Bees back in the garden. #hymenoptera #bees #wasps

Pretty low numbers here again last night, my garden tends to suffer whenever there is more than a light breeze. I'm expecting things to ramp up after the weekend though. Here's a few that I pointed the camera at, details in alt text. #vc55moths #teammoth

1/2: My garden trap has been out the last couple of nights, wasn't out in the week as I was not up to it. A decent mix of species but nothing outstanding, just a fair few NFY as would be expected including the following (see alt text). #vc55moths #teammoth

I've been rearing a larva that I beat from oak back on 04/05/2025. I was pretty sure it was Black Arches (Lymantria monacha) but now it's a lot bigger it's certain. #vc55moths #teammoth

A casual find this evening here in Whetstone Leics. on Field Maple [Acer campestre]; this is the larva of Heterarthrus wuestneii [Hymenoptera, Symphyta] mining the lobe tip. #hymenoptera #sawflies #symphyta

I stumbled on this pair of Anaglyptus mysticus this afternoon during a casual family walk, always great to see these. #coleoptera

Pleased with this one, both that I dissected it without messing it up, and that I confirmed my putative ID: it's a female Coleophora otidipennella. #vc55moths #teammoth