A Vestal finally makes it to Darley Dale

With the warm evenings persisting I've continued to run the moth trap in the hope of catching a migrant from the south. Last night it paid off with a single Vestal in the trap this morning. The mild southerly winds have carried large numbers to the south coast but they are scarcer inland and few get this far north.
It's the fourth record for my garden with one in 2011 and two in 2013.

The Vestal

Another Vestal!

I was very surprised to see this Vestal in the trap last night. Initially I wondered if it was the individual I released last week re-trapped but this is clearly a different individual, for one thing this is a male, you can clearly see the feathered (pectinate) antennae which distinguish it from the female caught last week. The dark cross marking on the wing are more pronounced and it is a little less worn.
The warm southerly winds have produced a significant influx on the south coast so it's appearance is not totally unexpected and it will be interesting to hear how many others have made it to Derbyshire.

Vestal - male

The Vestal

My second ever garden record of The Vestal last night. This small moth with a wing span of just over 2 cm breeds no closer than Southern Europe but, aided by the warm southerly air stream, has travelled over 1000 miles to Darley Dale. 
The colour of the adult has been linked to the temperature experienced by the pupae. High temperatures produce a lemon yellow ground colour with a vivid pink cross band. At lower temperatures the ground colour is a duller straw yellow and the cross band is brown or black which indicates that this individual is probably from the northern part of the breeding range.
All I need now is Crimson Speckled!

The Vestal

Migrant moths at last - The Vestal

At last migrant moths arrive in the Peak District, on the 11th I caught 2 Rusty-dot Pearl and a single Vestal. Amazing to think these have probably arrived from Southern Europe. Both species are scarce in Derbyshire although number vary. We had a power cut last night so limited trapping although it was very dark!

The Vestal