Day 4 - #30DaysWild - a day with moths - oh and a shieldbug!

Last night Mr S set up our moth trap in our garden, this morning when I woke at 6.45am Mr S was already up and out sorting the trap, this is not unusual, I just roll out of bed to take the photos, Mr S does the hard work of emptying, identifying and recording. I can now recognise quite a lot of the moths after four years of trapping though I have to say that small brown moths are and probably will always be just small brown moths to me! they have to have a bit of colour or character for me to take any interest! so here are the moths that caught my eye today! - there were quite a lot! ...

Pale Tussock (male)

Pale Tussock (female)

Peppered moth

Chinese Character

Small Magpie

Oblique Carpet

Clouded Silver

An early group photo

Gold Spot

group photo - some moths didn't want to hang around for the group photo and flew off but these obligingly stayed!

Silver-y

Pebble Prominent

White Ermine

Oak Hook Tip

Ingrailed Clay

Buff Ermine

Brimstone

hawk moths - Poplars and Elephant

Scorched Wing

Later on we had another pyralid moth,the tiny mint moth, flying around our garden.

Mint moth 

and then Mr S spotted this stunning shield bug which we have since identified as  a Woundwort Shield bug

Woundwort shieldbug

Woundwort shieldbug