Six Hardy Characters

I was sure the actinic trap in the garden would draw a blank last night, especially when I saw the frost around it this morning, but no, there were six hardy Hebrew Characters inside.  That means I managed to run the trap every night during April and got something for my trouble each time.

Westcott, 30th April

Following a Chocolate-tip on the 23rd, the only new moth for the garden list has been a welcome Early Tooth-striped on the 25th.  Since then, apart from a few examples of the caddis Stenophylax permistus and several of Martin's midges, the catch has been entirely of Powdered Quakers and Hebrew Characters (although the former wimped out last night!).

Early Tooth-striped, Westcott 25th April

Still, the year list currently stands at 63 species (42 macros) and, going back as far as 2010 anyway, that is exactly the average count here for the end of April (the extremes being 34 in 2013 and 92 in 2017).  It seems incredible now that another 550+ species could appear in the garden in what remains of this year!

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks