A return to the Yellow-legged Clearwing Oaks on 15th June revealed 3 new exuviae, on parts of the trunk I had previously searched. I kept all three, so as to be able to monitor total production through the season. Another look on 17th June didn't produce any more, but I will keep checking. Attempts at luring an adult Clearwing were compromised by curious cows, but it was rather early in the day (09:30). I will try again.
The Clearwing lure in a small white bag hanging on the further tree.
A speculative search of two similarly old Oaks at Dinefwr, Carmarthenshire today (21/6) failed to reveal any clearwing exuviae.
Beating the Dingestow Oaks on 17th June also produced
Tortrix viridana (the first of this common moth that I have seen for several years!) and
Aliemma loeflingiana.
If I remember correctly Sam, I had my Carms yellow-legged clearwings both in the late morning and early afternoon on sunny days. I also showed Barry Stewart the colony - possibly I may have shown him after work (he was working at WWT at the time). I can`t recall the exact dates (but you`d have at least one in the vc44 database) but it was within the week following a sighting that we had at another estate with old oaks at Old Cilgwyn in south Ceredigion. I`m sure it was in EARLY June, so perhaps you are a bit late now?
ReplyDeleteGlad that you tried Dinefwr...I`m sure that there`s good `old wood moths` there, but it`ll take a lot of search and survey...