New county record of a Scar Bank Gem

When I opened the trap this morning I had a moth which resembled a Silver Y, but it looked somehow different, I potted it and cautiously hoped that I might be a Ni Moth, however when I checked through the reference books it turned out that I’ve recorded a Scar Bank Gem, a migrant species which is found in south-west Europe, Africa and Asia (the small light brown, tear shaped mark in the middle of the outer edge of the wing is diagnostic). It was first recorded in the UK at a house call 'Scar Bank', near Swanage, Dorset. It's much more rare than the Ni Moth and from what I can tell this species has only been recorded 15 times before in the whole of the UK and never in Wales – Needless to say I’m quite animated with this excellent record this morning. 

I've already had requests from moth-ers to view and photo this moth, so I'm going to set aside tomorrow afternoon (Friday 31/10/14) for this and I’m going to ask everyone who turns up to donate £2.00, which will go towards the running costs of the Montgomeryshire Moths website.

All viewings must be by prior appointment only, my contact details can be found on the Montgomeryshire Moths website.

With an air flow from a south-westerly quarter and temperatures picking up over the next few days it is quite possible that we could have an influx of migrant species across the county, so keep those traps fired up and good luck to you all.

Peter.