3 weeks of trapping on the Isles of Scilly from mid-September produced 3 species new for me and this site: Eupithecia oxycedrata is FIRST FOR BRITAIN. It was retained as a small and somewhat unusually marked probable Cypress Pug - but worth checking. The actual ID was a very pleasant surprise. Agonopterix cnicella is FIRST FOR CORNWALL & IOS. I did retain it because I suspected this identification, but was still quite surprised when I confirmed it (I fully expected it to be A.heracliana). Diasemiopsis ramburialis (Vagrant China-mark) (presented in the September blog) is a more regular Scilly vagrant that has never graced my traps before. I trapped an astonishing 41 Convolvulus Hawkmoths and 3 Death's-head Hawkmoths along with a good selection of other rarities including 4 Uresipheta gilvata (Yellow-underwing Pearl), 4 Hellula undalis (Old World Webworm) and a Blair's Mocha. | And the Red-footed Booby, which had been showing quite reliably before we arrived but not at all during the 3 weeks of our intended stay, turned up on the day we were due to return home - but, thankfully, after we had decided to stay for an extra weekend. |