[0782] Bryotropha senectella

Description :

Hexton Chalk Pit - Field Trip - 01/07/14Roger and myself ran 3 traps at Hexton Chalk Pit on Tuesday evening, with Steve turning up at dusk for some moral support and staying with us until midnight.The reserve is a lovely habitat with a multitude of wildflowers growing on the chalk grassland. There are patches of bare chalk, but there could be more, as Bramble is starting to take over certain areas of the chalk grassland.The day had been mild and breezy with a high of around 21 degrees, but by dusk the sky was still crystal clear and the breeze was on the cool side and coats were worn pretty much from the off in fact hats wouldn't have felt out of place! with a low of 8 degrees when I was on my way home at 3am we were totally blown away by what we did manage to catch...For starters I managed 3 new Macro moths for me, Grey Arches, Reddish Light Arches and Royal Mantle (previously seen in Slovenia for the first time).Even better were some of the Micro's that turned upFirstly we had two Agonopterix liturosa, which currently is quite scarce in Herts with a handful of records.Secondly we had I would say 20+ of the Pyralid, Paratalanta hyalinalis. I had two, but one escaped whilst photographing them, typically only a photo of a battered one. One is with Roger.No records since 1937, confirmed! And a very good moth indeed.Other notable species included Satyr Pug, Dark Umber, Shark and 5 Wood Carpets (Only having previously seen one before, to record 5 in a single trip is quite overwhelming).On the Pyralid front we got Paratalanta hyalinalis in great numbers, along with 5 Ebulea crocealis and 5 Sitochroa verticalis.To round this post off, the session was an incredible insight in to just how important this habitat is despite it's small size and relative remoteness.A micro-climate indeed... I shall be going back!Catch Report - 01/07/14 - Hexton Chalk Pit - Hexton - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap, 1x 160w MBT Robinson Trap & 1x 80w Actinic Suitcase Trap.Numbers below are approximate87 Macros and 44 Micros ( 131 species)Macro Moths3x Barred Straw1x Beautiful Golden-Y20+ Blackneck5x Bordered Sallow7x Bright-line Brown-eye5x Brimstone Moth5x Brown Rustic2x Brown Scallop4x Brown-line Bright-eye4x Buff Arches1x Buff Ermine1x Buff-tip3x Burnished Brass2x Cinnabar5x Clay10+ Clouded Border2x Clouded Brindle10+ Clouded Silver5x Common Carpet6x Common Footman1x Common Rustic2x Common Wainscot1x Common Wave6x Common White Wave15+ Dark Arches1x Dark Umber1x Dot Moth10+ Double Square-spot1x Double-striped Pug2x Dun-bar1x Dusky Brocade4x Dwarf Cream Wave7x Elephant Hawk-moth2x Fan-foot25+ Fern3x Flame1x Flame Shoulder1x Freyer's Pug1x Garden Carpet2x Green Pug1x Grey Arches [NEW!]3x Haworth's Pug2x Heart & Club20+ Heart & Dart1x Iron Prominent2x July Highflyer5x Large Yellow Underwing1x Lesser Yellow Underwing10x Light Arches5x Light Emerald3x Marbled Minor1x Marbled White Spot10x Mottled Beauty5x Mottled Rustic2x Peach Blossom6x Peppered Moth5x Pretty Chalk Carpet3x Purple Bar2x Reddish Light Arches [NEW!]7x Riband Wave2x Royal Mantle [NEW!]1x Ruby Tiger2x Rustic1x Satyr Pug15x Scarce Footman2x Setaceous Hebrew Character5x Shaded Pug1x Shark8x Shears4x Short-cloaked Moth1x Shoulder-striped Wainscot4x Small Elephant Hawk-moth2x Small Emerald4x Small Fan-footed Wave1x Small Phoenix1x Small Waved Umber1x Small Yellow Wave8x Smoky Wainscot5x Snout2x Straw Dot3x Swallow-tailed Moth2x Tawny Marbled Minor2x Tawny-barred Angle1x Turnip Moth10x Uncertain3x Valerian Pug2x Willow Beauty5x Wood CarpetMicro Moths2x Agonopterix liturosa [NEW!] 1x Bryotropha senectella [NEW!]2x Epagoge grotiana1x Stenoptilia pterodactyla5x Ebulea crocealis1x Marasmarcha lunaedactyla4x Udea prunalis1x Udea olivalis1x Metzneria metzneriella5x Celypha lacunana1x Paraswammerdamia nebulella1x Elachista atricomella2x Archips xylosteana2x Archips podana2x Eurrhypara hortulata2x Cnephasia sp1x Phycitodes binaevella1x Eucosma hohenwartiana1x Eucosma cana1x Cacoecimorpha pronubana3x Pseudargyrotoza conwagana1x Hedya pruniana3x Hedya nubiferana1x Coleophora sp3x Marasmarcha lunaedactyla1x Merrifieldia baliodactylus-leucodactyla?20+ Paratalanta hyalinalis5x Scoparia ambigualis1x Tinea semifulvella3x Acleris forsskaleana1x Dipleurina lacustrata 2x Ephestia parasitella1x Blastobasis lacticolella2x Ancylis achatana5x Sitochroa verticalis1x Phycita roborella1x Epiblema uddmanniana1x Epiblema trimaculana1x Agapeta hamana1x Agapeta zoegana5x Eudonia mercurella4x Chrysoteuchia culmella2x Pandemis cerasana2x Pandemis heparana