Overcompensation..?

I skipped a night. A night mothing that is. Being social, for a friends party, so I went out drinking instead of running the garden trap.
It was very unfortunate that that night was one of the best nights for immigrants this year, with several good moths turning up all over the place. So, I had to make up for it. Best way to make up for it, was to visit Portland Bill.
They had had some good moths there, and while they still had the Egyptian Bollworm there from a few days previous, they had some other life-ticks for me.

In their fridge they had various species which were new for me, Cosmopolitan, Flame Brocade, Dusky-lemon Sallow (an immigrant down my way), as well as 3 or so Beautiful Gothics, and micros included Uresiphita gilvata & Antigastra catalaunalis, both rare immigrants.
Other rarities which I have had occasionally in the garden which were present included the White-speck, which I had once last year, as well as several Delicate & a Convolvulus Hawk.

Beautiful Gothic - A Red Data Book species restricted to the southern coasts.

Flame Brocade - a rare immigrant to our shores.

So I had managed one Red Data Book species this week, didn't think I'd manage another one, but I was wrong.
So yeah, got invited out, and went to a known site for a second Red Data Book species, the Blair's Wainscot. The cold, cloudless sky blared down at us, while my misty breath spread into the beam of my head torch, rendering me temporarily blind. I did manage to net one myself in the end, though there was very little on the wing, and we managed to find a total of about 6, including a fantasticly fresh female, which we decided to leave so she could find a mate.

Blair's Wainscot - Red Data Book species No. 2

 

 

The third and final Red Data Book species of the week came as a surprise to me. I don't know why it was a surprise, but hey, won't complain. It was a Bloxworth Snout, in my garden trap, but it shouldn't surprise me, as they are breeding in the garden, and I've had them every year (about 6 this year!), but it was nice.

The final highlight of the week, the icing on the cake, as it were, was given to me by a friend. It was the utterly amazing Arctiid that is the Crimson Speckled. Another rare immigrant to us, I have been walking the coast a fair old amount these last few weeks trying to kick one up, but to no avail, so I was very happy to be given this one.

Crimson Speckled - Just wow..

 

And now, the weather has turned for the worst - with rain, wind and coldness spreading across the coast.. I can start picking my moth highlights of the year now.. With over 600 moths to choose from, it will be a hard choice..