Thursday 26 May 2016

Woods and Gardens

Well, one of each really. Even so, worth making a post as I managed to attract a few new for year moths last night, with the 6W woodland trap and 15W garden trap.

The species in question included from the woods Pebble Prominent, Treble Lines (both traps), Tawny-barred Angle, Pale Oak Beauty, Common White Wave, Common Wave, Orange Footman and Brown Silver-line.

The garden added Mottled Pug to the year list. Also the first Yellow-barred Brindle and Flame Carpet for the garden year.

No pics, though, due to "camera issues".

Thursday 12 May 2016

A great night...

Ran a regular 6W heath trap in a local woodland for the garden moth scheme last night. There were 20 moths of 12 species, inlcuding 4 Great Prominents. (Also new for the year list were Scoparia ambigualis and Green Silver-lines).



I also ran my 15W skinner in the garden, and although the haul was only 8 moths of 7 species, one of these was a new for the garden Great Prominent (also nfy was a Light-brown Apple Moth).



Saturday 7 May 2016

Garden's picking up!

After 4 weeks of nothing in my garden trap, last night after a couple of warm days and nights, my GMS catch yielded a couple new-for-year and a few new-for-garden-year:

Most of the moths weren't actually in the trap, rather on the perspex and the wood, but they still count. Plus the few that I saw on my late-night check, but that had disappeared by the morning.

Clay Triple-lines (NFY)



Alucita hexadactyla (NFGY)
Waved Umber (NFGY)
Spruce Carpet
Shuttle-shaped Dart (NFY)
Esperia sulphurella



Brindled Pug
Hebrew Character
Early Grey
Least Black Arches (NFGY)
Emmelina monodactyla
Brindled Beauty (NFGY)
Double-striped Pug
Common Quaker (very tatty!!)

There's a very active Long-tailed Tit nest very close to my trap. No evidence that they're eating any moths, but I have seen potential future-moths disappearing inside!

Wednesday 4 May 2016

First Trip of the Year!

My first proper (ie not in the garden) trip of the year took place on Sunday night; the weather forecast showing overcast all night with a minimum of 9C (10C warmer than the previous night).

With two accomplices, we set up a range of MV, actinic and UV bulbs in an area containing scrubby woodland, old buildings and a bit of chalk grassland.

At the start of the evening we saw more bats than moths, although if there are bats, they must be feeding on something, so we hung on as the drizzle increased. There were moths, and we recorded 19 species before leaving at 11, all but one of the traps left on site until the morning.

Returning at 7:30, we were vindicated in the decision to leave traps as it was apparent there had been a lot more late night activity, as the traps revealed 83 moths of 34 species.

The largest number of individuals of any species was Clouded Drab (15) and there were a handful of Common Quakers and Hebrew Characters hanging on, but the warm weather had definitely encouraged emergences as there were some lovely fresh specimens, including Grapholita jungiella, Oak-tree Pug, Peppered Moth, Lesser Swallow Prominent and Streamer.

Peppered Moth

This is the start of my 3rd season trapping at this particular site, and yet there were 5 new species for the site list, including V Pug and Semioscopis steinkellneriana.

Other new for year included White Spotted Pug and 3 of the colour forms of Oak Nycteoline.

White-spotted Pug
Oak Nycteoline