I would like to cite lack of time due to football and personal injury as the main reason for the lack of performance.
On 13th December 2018 I snapped my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in my left knee whilst conducting a demonstration at football training and didn't manage to get in to have it operated on until 17th May. Clearly, the lack of mobility hampered my progress with regards to the emptying of traps etc. But at least now it balanced the ACL on the right knee that I snapped in 2009!
On the plus side, I managed to coach two football teams in 2018-19 season and passed my UEFA B License in early May! Hopefully 2020 is going to be far less eventful.
In 2019, I recorded a total of 481 species. There were 265 Macros, only the 6th best in the last ten years and 216 Micros, this was the 4th best.
But undoubtedly, the biggest milestone this year was topping 800 species for the garden, despite 'throwing out' the 3 Small Ermine species (padella/malinellus/cagnagella) and replacing them with Yponomeuta agg. I also removed my 'unsafe' record of Dark Twin-spot Carpet, a species that can only be reliably identified via Gen det.
The year ended with an all time garden total of 392 Macros and 412 Micros.
Year Macro Micro
2018 281 241
2017 274 207
2016 276 230
2015 256 199
2014 289 213
2013 304 218
2012 241 161
2011 253 207
2010 240 135
Recording days/Trap nights: 218
Records: 5277
Most abundant species in 2019-
63.115 Acentria ephemerella Water Veneer 1832
73.342 Noctua pronuba Large Yellow Underwing 1301
73.291 Mythimna pallens Common Wainscot 1180
73.325 Agrotis puta Shuttle-shaped Dart 1034
73.359 Xestia c-nigrum Setaceous Hebrew Character 960
73.317 Agrotis exclamationis Heart and Dart 753
73.244 Orthosia cerasi Common Quaker 748
73.319 Agrotis segetum Turnip Moth 672
63.095 Agriphila geniculea 632
73.099 Hoplodrina ambigua Vine's Rustic 613
63.080 Chrysoteuchia culmella Garden Grass-veneer 560
Micros
There were 12 new species recorded and one reclassified. Ephestia woodiella is now an option on my updated version of Mapmate. I have previously been recording this as E. unicolorella and before this, E. parasitella with the foot note 'Ephestia agg.'. Either way, the group requires gen dets, so 2019 was the first year I had a sample checked. I would like to thank Andy Banthorpe (AMB) for his assistance with Gen dets.
40.006 Mompha jurassicella 1- 30th March- 6th VC30 record- Gen det AMB
37.099 Coleophora striatipennella 1- 1st May- Gen det AMB
15.063 Phyllonorycter maestingella 1- 11th May- Gen det AMB
02.006 Eriocrania cicatricella 2- 16th May- tenanted Mine in Birch
49.309 Dichrorampha plumbana 1- 25th May- 11th VC30 record- Gen det AMB
62.065 Ephestia woodiella 4- 1st June- Gen det AMB- Newly classified
37.013 Coleophora siccifolia 1- 23rd June- 8th VC30 record- Gen det AMB
62.061 Vitula biviella 1- 22nd July- 12th VC30 record- Gen det AMB
62.021 Oncocera semirubella 1- 25th July
49.110 Agapeta zoegana 1- 30th July
27.001 Oegoconia quadripuncta 1- 5th August- Gen det AMB
63.054 Cydalima perspectalis Box-tree Moth 1- 24th September
15.081 Phyllonorycter nicellii 1- 23rd October- Mines in Hazel
Eriocrania cicatricella
Ephestia woodiella
Coleophora siccifolia
Vitula biviella
Oncocera semirubella
Agapeta zoegana
Oegoconia quadripuncta
Cydalima perspectalis Box-tree Moth
