Small becomes big & a new one

I trapped for 2 hours (8.30-10.30) on the nearby Lound Lakes SWT reserve and it proved to be a very busy 2 hours with ideal conditions, thick cloud, no wind, 10 deg.                       Small Quaker at last appearing in large numbers with over 50 counted and similar numbers of D. flagella. Common Quaker the most abundant of the evening, just a few short of 100 counted with Clouded Drab, Engrailed and Hebrew Character just about reaching double figures. New ones for the year were Epiphyas postvittana, Double-striped Pug, Purple Thorn, Powdered Quaker and a new moth for me Ypsolopha mucronella. It is said of this moth that it overwinters in haystacks. The warden on the site has built several small haystacks, one of which was near one of the traps, to encourage grass snakes to overwinter in them. He will be quite interested to learn that a scarce moth is probably using them for the same purpose!                                                                                                     So an interesting evenings trapping with 25 species recorded and about 260 moths counted, best night so far this year.

Brian

Ypsolopha muconella

 

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