Bank Holiday Blues

After having scouted round a few of the blogs I follow, I'm going to start off with a recurring theme...that of the weather being so poor that I haven't really done much at all. But this does give me time to update the blog with the results from the trapping session at Carr Wood on Saturday and then back in the garden last night (despite the rain!).

Carr Wood trapping was not exactly a thrill a minute, but it was certainly very interesting. It was the first time that I'd trapped by myself (but I had help from my non-mothing brother and my very-eager-moth-er son) and all went very smoothly, although it was generally agreed that carrying the generator to the same spot next time was not going to happen! The thing is so damn heavy that I'm going to either need some wheels or invest in my own (smaller) genny. Other than that we had no bother. One guy did walk his dog past us, and after watching him cast his eyes over the wooden boxes, petrol can, sheets and then across to us three stood round looking sheepish I assumed that he'd ask us what the hell we were up to. But he just said "Hello" and carried on past!

On to the moths...We ran 1 x 80W MV and 1 x 15W Actinic/20W CFL combo and the MV lost by 6 moths to 9. Not a great total, but the temperature dipped from 10C to 7C by 2200hrs, at which point it started to rain so we decided to pack up at 2230hrs. 15 moths in just under 2 hours isn't that bad going for a new site. And I'm confident that some warm weather and a bit more growth will bring us a much bigger haul.

Moth list was:
Common Quaker x 6
Hebrew Character x 2
Clouded Drab x 1
Twin-spotted Quaker x 1
Chestnut x 2
Diurnea fagella x 1
Agonopterix heracliana/ciliella x 1
Agonopterix arenella x 1



Twin-spotted Quaker

Diurnea fagella



Agonopterix arenella (new for year)

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8th April 2012 - Garden

Due to the imposing rain clouds, and predicted downpours, I decided to run the Actinic/CFL combo (and also because it out-performed the MV last night!) and not risk blowing my new MV bulb up. I left it out all night, and crossed my fingers that it wouldn't rain too badly before 6am. But it did, quite a few millimetres actually but fortunately the hardy bulbs didn't give up and I ended up with a very bedraggled 7 moths.

Hebrew Character x 3

Early Grey x 2

Twin-spotted Quaker x 1 (did it follow us home from Carr Wood?)

Agonopterix heracliana/ciliella x 1

Looks like there won't be much action this week either as the temperatures are set to stay pretty low during day and night! Well, just have to look forward to sunnier times. After all we're ready for this rain (that's what my parents keep saying anyway!)

Moth update for end of August and beginning of September

This is just gonna be a quick round up of new species and highlights since my holiday. It's hanging over me, and I refer you to my previous about not having the time, blah, blah blah!

So 28th August came and went with not too much to shout about, although a Mouse Moth was new for the garden (and has turned up in most traps since). The underwings continue to make up most of the trap, but I have only caught singles of Setaceous Hebrew Character this year, unlike last year when I had double figures on some nights. Other highlights included this Angle Shades (top right) and Agonopterix arenella (right)

 
 The following night gave pretty much the same results, with 53 moths of 18 species. Garden Rose Tortrix started to arrive tonight and surely the last Dark Arches of the year gave a final fling. Sallow was also new for the year and only my second caught. Other goodies were Gothic and Old Lady (now looking a bit battered!)

Last day of the month and conditions were looking good. Temperatures were relatively warm, winds were dropped and it was fairly cloudy. As an extra incentive to my winged friends I got hold of a clip-on bulb holder and a compact fluorescent bulb. Given this idea by Skev it turned out to be a good idea, presumably the extra visible light spectrum introduced by the CFL attracts some extras (can't wait to try this method in the summer!). The results were a fairly impressive 120 moths of 31 species including plenty of micros. 4 of these were new for the garden, Epinotia nisella, Eudonia angustea, Acleris emargana and Zeiraphera isertana. Brilliant! New for the year came in the form of Centre-barred Sallow and other goodies included Flame Carpet, Orchard Ermine, Small Dusty Wave and Acleris forsskaleana.

Into September and the combo trap continued to produce the results, although the great conditions helped a lot! 3rd September results were 154 moths of 35 species. Again micros predominated with new for garden in the form of Bucculatrix ulmella, Ectoedemia louisella and Ancylis badiana. New for the year were Straw Dot and Pyrausta aurata (right). Other highlights included Rosy Rustic, Mouse Moth, Brimstone (!), Meal Moth and Caloptilia syringella.

With temperatures cooling slightly towards the weekend, the trap on the 8th September wasn't quite as spectacular, with 60 moths of 24 species. New for garden was Firethorn Leaf-miner and Lobesia littoralis (right). Highlights included Skin Moth, another Bucculatrix ulmella, Eudonia angustea, Mouse Moth and Silver Y.

The following night 9th September gave slightly better results, partly due to the cloudier conditions I think, with 84 moths of 31 species. Highlights were Spruce Carpet, another Firethorn Leaf Miner, Marbled Beauty (another species that hasn't appeared in as many numbers as last year) and another Silver Y.