Frosties

I had Frosties for breakfast this morning, or to be more accurate a Frosted Orange Gortyna flavago. This long-awaited first for the garden was part of a very productive trapping session, yielding 84 moths of 25 species.

Frosted Orange Gortyna flavago

The more surprising garden first was this Dark Sword-grass Agrotis ipsilon. This is a migrant, which appears in varying numbers between years. Unlike some of our other migrants, it has never been reliably proven to breed in the UK. The black 'sword' mark through the kidney marking helps to give the species it's name.

Dark Sword-grass Agrotis ipsilon

Other welcome moths included the first Black Rustic Aporophyla nigra of the year. This stunning moth is a species of heathland and downland, the larva feeding on plants including heather (Caluna) and dock (Rumex).

Black Rustic Aporphyla nigra

After a couple of years absence, I was also reacquainted with The Anomalous Stilbia anomala. This moorland species is one the specialities I have caught in the garden, with the moth being enticed down from the slopes of the Long Mynd.

The Anomalous Stilbia anomala

A much more familiar species is the Silver Y Autographa gamma. Another migrant species, it has been a very productive year for Silver Ys in the garden, with this year heading for the highest annual total I have recorded.

Silver Y Autographa gamma