A large gathering of moth-hunters decended on Bawdsey hall for this evening, part of the Moth Night 2015 event. In all I think at least 23 traps of various designs were deployed, there were so many I may have missed some! Forecast looked promising with warm conditions and a South east wind blowing, although this was a bit strong out in the open so most traps were placed in more sheltered areas.
A check round the lights after a few hours showed a few moths coming in, including a Small mottled willow at one trap. Some of us almost tripped over one of the resident Badgers on the way round, it was so engrossed with feeding on the bait put out for it that it didn’t notice people approaching until the last minute! Most people then topped up their generators and bedded down for the night to await the morning in anticipation of a good catch.
Come morning, a check of all the traps revealed that some had done better than others, but most still added a few new species to the ever-growing list. Final total I believe was just over 100 species for the night, not bad at all really for the time of year. Most interest in the catch were the migrants. Species of note included: Brick (first for year for most), Gold spot, Agriphila latistria, Gem, Vestal, L-Album wainscot, Lunar yellow underwing, Anania crocealis, Scarce bordered straw, Dark spectacle, Pearly underwing, Convolvulus hawk, Red-green carpet (first for year for most), Eudonia angustea and Crocidosema plebejana.Thanks must go to Matthew and all the folk at Bawdsey hall for hosting this event and keeping us fuelled up with Teas, Coffees and Bacon baps!
Neil