The Society’s annual moth-trapping night was held on Saturday 21st July at Withymead Nature Reserve, on the north bank of the Thames between Goring and South Stoke. Norman Hall was unable to come on the Saturday night. Instead, he stayed overnight on Friday 20th July and ran 3 traps in the area around the Visitor Centre. Norman had more than 90 different species of moth in his traps and most of the micro-moths in the combined list were identified by him. Highlights of Norman’s catch included Green Arches, the large pure white White Satin moth and an impressively large Privet Hawkmoth.
On the Saturday night, Roy Dobson ran a mercury light over a sheet by the Visitor Centre and a light trap in the nearby orchard. Roy’s catch included Common, Scarce and Dingy Footman moths. Peter Holland ran a trap with a blended bulb near the Visitor Centre and a Heath trap on the boardwalk through the reedbed. This is where he took the star moth of the night, a Dotted Fan-foot, the first recorded specimen for VC23 Oxfordshire. Dotted Fan-foot is a moth which is currently expanding its range into our region from the south-east. The first Buckinghamshire specimen was recorded in the east of the county near Chorleywood in 2009. The first Berkshire specimen was recorded in Windsor Forest in 2010, followed by 2 more records from a Maidenhead garden in 2011.
Jan Haseler ran 3 lights. The first was a mercury vapour light over a sheet at the south-west corner of the boardwalk through the reedbed. The second was an actinic light on a Skinner trap on a platform above the north-west corner of the boardwalk, overlooking the adjacent even bigger area of reedbed which stretches towards South Stoke and is owned by one of the Oxford Colleges. The third was a mercury vapour light on a Robinson trap under a big oak in the adjacent woodland. The catch included several Large Twin-spot Carpets and a single Balsam Carpet. The former were noticeably larger, while the Balsam Carpet had a smooth basal edge to the central cross-band. The Balsam Carpet is another moth which is expanding its range from the south-east. We await information about its status in Oxfordshire from the County Moth Recorder. The Crescent, a reedbed specialist, was another highlight here.
Next morning, a few members came along to view a selection of the moths. They sat in the sunshine outside the Visitor Centre and were able to compare the different Footman species and the various Carpets. The Poplar and Privet Hawkmoths posed obligingly for photographs on the adjacent Rosebay Willowherb flowers. Warden Keith Tomey then kindly led a walk round the reserve, during which the reedbed moths were released at the trapping site. We would like to thank Keith and Dorothy Tomey for their hospitality (especially the coffee and cakes!).
Pictures by Peter Holland and Jan Haseler
| Code | Taxon | Vernacular | Quantity |
| 464 | Plutella xylostella | 1 | |
| 640 | Batia lunaris | 1 | |
| 642 | Batia unitella | 1 | |
| 874 | Blastobasis lacticolella | 1 | |
| 966 | Cochylis atricapitana | 1 | |
| 1001 | Lozotaeniodes formosana | 1 | |
| 1020 | Cnephasia stephensiana | Grey Tortrix | 2 |
| 1063 | Celypha striana | 1 | |
| 1076 | Celypha lacunana | 2 | |
| 1115 | Ancylis achatana | 1 | |
| 1201 | Eucosma cana | 1 | |
| 1205 | Spilonota ocellana | 1 | |
| 1210 | Rhyacionia buoliana | Pine Shoot Moth | 3 |
| 1293 | Chrysoteuchia culmella | Garden Grass-veneer | 56 |
| 1294 | Crambus pascuella | 2 | |
| 1304 | Agriphila straminella | 5 | |
| 1305 | Agriphila tristella | 3 | |
| 1316 | Catoptria falsella | 2 | |
| 1329 | Donacaula forficella | 1 | |
| 1338 | Dipleurina lacustrata | 3 | |
| 1344 | Eudonia mercurella | 2 | |
| 1376 | Eurrhypara hortulata | Small Magpie | 8 |
| 1378 | Phlyctaenia coronata | 1 | |
| 1392 | Udea olivalis | 1 | |
| 1424 | Endotricha flammealis | 3 | |
| 1439 | Trachycera advenella | 1 | |
| 1452 | Phycita roborella | 3 | |
| 1461 | Assara terebrella | 1 | |
| 1481 | Homoeosoma sinuella | 1 | |
| 1640 | Euthrix potatoria | Drinker | 10 |
| 1651 | Cilix glaucata | Chinese Character | 3 |
| 1699 | Idaea rusticata | Least Carpet | 3 |
| 1702 | Idaea biselata | Small Fan-footed Wave | 9 |
| 1705 | Idaea fuscovenosa | Dwarf Cream Wave | 2 |
| 1708 | Idaea dimidiata | Single-dotted Wave | 4 |
| 1713 | Idaea aversata | Riband Wave | 13 |
| 1721 | Xanthorhoe biriviata | Balsam Carpet | 1 |
| 1726 | Xanthorhoe quadrifasiata | Large Twin-spot Carpet | 3 |
| 1738 | Epirrhoe alternata | Common Carpet | 2 |
| 1742 | Camptogramma bilineata | Yellow Shell | 2 |
| 1758 | Eulithis pyraliata | Barred Straw | 1 |
| 1777 | Hydriomena furcata | July Highflyer | 5 |
| 1887 | Lomaspilis marginata | Clouded Border | 11 |
| 1906 | Opisthograptis luteolata | Brimstone Moth | 5 |
| 1919 | Selenia tetralunaria | Purple Thorn | 1 |
| 1922 | Ourapteryx sambucaria | Swallow-tailed Moth | 4 |
| 1931 | Biston betularia | Peppered Moth | 4 |
| 1937 | Peribatodes rhomboidaria | Willow Beauty | 3 |
| 1947 | Ectropis bistortata | Engrailed | 1 |
| 1955 | Cabera pusaria | Common White Wave | 1 |
| 1956 | Cabera exanthemata | Common Wave | 2 |
| 1958 | Lomographa temerata | Clouded Silver | 1 |
| 1961 | Campaea margaritata | Light Emerald | 2 |
| 1976 | Sphinx ligustri | Privet Hawk-moth | 1 |
| 1981 | Laothoe populi | Poplar Hawk-moth | 6 |
| 1994 | Phalera bucephala | Buff-tip | 3 |
| 2000 | Notodonta dromedarius | Iron Prominent | 1 |
| 2003 | Notodonta ziczac | Pebble Prominent | 1 |
| 2030 | Euproctis similis | Yellow-tail | 2 |
| 2031 | Leucoma salicis | White Satin | 1 |
| 2035 | Thumatha senex | Round-winged Muslin | 4 |
| 2044 | Eilema griseola | Dingy Footman | 11 |
| 2047 | Eilema complana | Scarce Footman | 31 |
| 2049 | Eilema depressa | Buff Footman | 1 |
| 2050 | Eilema lurideola | Common Footman | 60 |
| 2061 | Spilosoma luteum | Buff Ermine | 4 |
| 2068 | Callimorpha dominula | Scarlet Tiger | 1 |
| 2069 | Tyria jacobaeae | Cinnabar | 3 |
| 2077 | Nola cucullatella | Short-cloaked Moth | 1 |
| 2089 | Agrotis exclamationis | Heart and Dart | 3 |
| 2098 | Axylia putris | Flame | 1 |
| 2107 | Noctua pronuba | Large Yellow Underwing | 17 |
| 2109 | Noctua comes | Lesser Yellow Underwing | 4 |
| 2110 | Noctua fimbriata | Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing | 1 |
| 2111 | Noctua janthe | Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing | 8 |
| 2112 | Noctua interjecta | Least Yellow Underwing | 1 |
| 2126 | Xestia c-nigrum | Setaceous Hebrew Character | 2 |
| 2128 | Xestia triangulum | Double Square-spot | 8 |
| 2138 | Anaplectoides prasina | Green Arches | 1 |
| 2160 | Lacanobia oleracea | Bright-line Brown-eye | 7 |
| 2192 | Mythimna conigera | Brown-line Bright Eye | 4 |
| 2193 | Mythimna ferrago | Clay | 2 |
| 2197 | Mythimna straminea | Southern Wainscot | 4 |
| 2198 | Mythimna impura | Smoky Wainscot | 10 |
| 2199 | Mythimna pallens | Common Wainscot | 4 |
| 2278 | Acronicta megacephala | Poplar Grey | 2 |
| 2280 | Acronicta leporina | Miller | 1 |
| 2291 | Craniophora ligustri | Coronet | 3 |
| 2305 | Euplexia lucipara | Small Angle Shades | 1 |
| 2314 | Parastichtis ypsillon | Dingy Shears | 1 |
| 2318 | Cosmia trapezina | Dun-bar | 10 |
| 2321 | Apamea monoglypha | Dark Arches | 29 |
| 2341 | Mesoligia furuncula | Cloaked Minor | 1 |
| 2343x | Mesapamea secalis agg. | Common Rustic agg. | 15 |
| 2352 | Eremobia ochroleuca | Dusky Sallow | 2 |
| 2368 | Celaena leucostigma | Crescent | 4 |
| 2381 | Hoplodrina alsines | Uncertain | 33 |
| 2382 | Hoplodrina blanda | Rustic | 16 |
| 2387 | Caradrina morpheus | Mottled Rustic | 5 |
| 2425 | Colocasia coryli | Nut-tree Tussock | 5 |
| 2434 | Diachrysia chrysitis | Burnished Brass | 1 |
| 2474 | Rivula sericealis | Straw Dot | 3 |
| 2477 | Autographa gamma | Silver Y | 1 |
| 2450 | Abrostola tripartita | Spectacle | 3 |
| 2473 | Laspeyria flexula | Beautiful Hook-tip | 1 |
| 2477 | Hypena proboscidalis | Snout | 9 |
| 2489 | Zanclognatha tarsipennalis | Fan-foot | 1 |
| 2493 | Macrochilo cribrumalis | Dotted Fan-foot | 1 |