17th July 2012: Gade Springs Watercress Beds, Hemel Hempstead, Herts

I decided to take an hour long drive to these site right across to the est side of Hertfordshire. I was given permission to run traps from the mains electricity point to see what the catch would yield. A fellow Herts moth group member, Roger Prue decided to join me in our quest for some new records for this superb site that runs alongside the Grand Union Canal. 3 Traps were set up and switched on at 9.30pm and run until 1am, a combination of 125w MV, 160w MBT and 22w/26w Compact fluorescent combo were used and spaced 50m apart from each other. The conditions were perfect and soon many moths were seen flying, some promptly netted before dusk. The list featured well over 100 species of moths in total and personal highlights for me were 2 new Macro Moth species, Wormwood Pug and Plain Golden-Y. Other good records included Barred Red, Platyptilia ochrodactyla and Recurvaria leucatella.

Numbers weren't counted so just species are represented.

Macro Moths Wormwood Pug [NEW!] Plain Golden-Y [NEW!] Dotted Fan-foot Silver-Y Barred Red Minor sp. Light Arches Heart & Club Nut-tree Tussock Fan-foot Small Emerald Burnished Brass Dingy Shears Garden Carpet V-Pug July Highflyer Common Footman Common Rustic Lesser Common Rustic (Gen det to be done) Double-striped Pug Mottled Beauty Scarce Footman Light Emerald Green Pug Buff Ermine Riband Wave Red Twin-spot Carpet Brimstone Large Yellow Underwing Elephant Hawk-moth Bright-line Brown-eye Willow Beauty Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing Common Carpet Clouded Silver Dot Moth Flame Heart & Dart Flame Shoulder Dun-bar Mottled Rustic Shaded Broad-bar Double Square-spot Buff Arches Scorched Carpet Round-winged Muslin Uncertain Leopard Moth Double Lobed Dark Arches Lesser Yellow Underwing Fern Drinker Common Wave Common White Wave Dingy Footman Dwarf Cream Wave Common Wainscot Smoky Wainscot Small Fan-footed Wave Snout Single-dotted Wave Yellow Shell

Micro Moths

Platyptilia ochrodactyla [NEW!] Pammene fasciana [NEW!] Argresthia sp. Phalonidia manniana Recurvaria leucatella Aethes rubigana Phlyctaenia coronata Elachista maculicerusella Batia unitella Eucosma cana Phycitodes sp. Coleophora sp. Cnephasia sp. Dichrorampha sp. Brachmia blandella Dipleurina lacustrata Hedya salicella Mompha ochraella Codling Moth Cydia pomonella Red-barred Tortrix Ditula angustiorana Bee Moth Aphomia sociella Agapeta hamana Agriphila straminella Bryotropha terrella Crambus pascuella Chrysoteuchia culmella Green Oak Tortrix Tortrix viridana Small Magpie Eurrhypara hortulata Mother of Pearl Pleuroptya ruralis Celypha lacunana Aleimma loeflingiana Yponomeuta sp. Phycita roborella Scoparia ambigualis Orthopygia glaucinalis White Plume Moth Pterophorus pentadactyla Cyclamen Tortrix Clepsis spectrana Gold Triangle Hypsopygia costalis Dark Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis heparana Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix Pandemis cerasana Bramble Shoot Moth Epiblema uddmanniana Bud Moth Spilonota ocellana Eudonia pallida Lobesia abscisana