Not as good a night here as anticipated with the weather forecast not that accurate and the wind not getting into the East at any point. Consequently the traps much quieter than the previous night with only 3 moths in one of the traps. Still made a total of 14 species the best of them being Epermenia chaerophyllella. 2 Rusty-dot Pearl, 1 Silver Y, 2 Diamond-back and 2 December moth.
8 November, a busy night here for migrants which made up the bulk of the catch. 2 Silver Y were noticed at the living room window at 8.30. A further 16 were trapped in the 2 mv along with a Gem, 2 Dark Sword-grass, 2 Rush Veneer and 12 Diamond-back. A Western Conifer Seed-bug was active in the house. 18 Moth species were trapped. The majority were in 1 trap which was placed in a moth hotspot I found this year on the property, ideally sheltered to provide high numbers of moths when the wind has an easterly bias. The majority of Silver Y and Diamond-back were in this trap along with the Gem, Rush Veneer and DSG. Optimum trap placement is crucial for getting the best results ! It was good to see Rush Veneer as the last record here was on 30 Oct. 2009. prior to that date they were a frequent catch. Traps will be out again tonight!
As an introduction: I was an enthusiastic moth-er in my youth and restarted on 12th Oct following early retirement. Light trapping in my garden at Hollesley rapidly reignited the enthusiasm. To date, notable catches have been:- Silver-striped Hawk 15th Oct (already noted on the blog by Matthew Deans), Scarce Bordered Straw 27th Oct, Rush Veneer 29th Oct, Dusky-lemon Sallow 20th Oct, regular Udea ferrugalis (5 on 30 Oct), Common Quaker 27th Oct, Dark Arches 4th Nov and Rustic (yet to be confirmed by genitalia prep) 28 and 30th Oct. I see the ‘micros’ are easier these days with good on line sites. Look forward to meeting some of you at forthcoming events.
Was working late so thought I might run the traps for a few hours despite not especially good conditions. Checking the traps at 9.30pm, 8 species including my first December moth of the year, several November moths ( plenty of those this year) Also single Rusty-dot Pearl and Diamond-back and two Large Wainscot, the 9th species turning up at gone midnight was Feathered Thorn. Some good potential for any migrants later in the coming week for the East Coast. Fingers crossed !
Here are some details for this meeting in January 2012 in Birmingham. There’s normally a good selection of speakers talking about various mothy matters. It has been fully subscribed in the past so if you are interested then I’d suggest booking a place sooner rather than later.
National Moth Recorders’ Meeting 2012
The date for the second National Moth Recorders’ Meeting is January 28th 2012 at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, central Birmingham. The programme for the day has been drawn up and the line up features both amateur moth recorders and academic researchers. We are really pleased to have Professor Gareth Jones from the ‘Batlab’ at Bristol University speaking about how bats and moths try to out-wit one another in their predator/prey relationship. The draft programme for the day is available on the Moths Count website (www.mothscount.org). This year there is a £5 (per person) registration fee for attendees. This includes morning and afternoon tea/coffee and a buffet lunch all subsidised from Butterfly Conservation budgets. It has been necessary to impose a charge this year as we no longer have Heritage Lottery Funding to cover holding such an event. Advanced booking is essential, to book your place please contact info@butterfly-conservation.org or telephone 01929 400209.
Just a single migrant in the trap this morning, an Udea ferrugalis. Probably more interesting and unexpected was a Spring usher! I see a Hebrew character was also caught elsewhere in the UK too, what a mixed up season it is!
A few other moths of note – Streak (16 – having a good year here), November moth agg. (27), White point, Scarce umber (first for year) and Diurnea lipsiella (2). 19sp in total.
With the winds coming up from the south for the next few days, there may be a chance of a few migrants turning up, as they are starting to appear in southern England at the moment. So get those traps out!
A bit breezy again but three moths in the trap – Merveille du Jour, Barred Sallow and Yellow-line Quaker.
National Moth Night will return in 2012, with a slightly different format – running over three days in the warmer months and records to be submitted via an online recording system.
Future National Moth Night dates for your diary
Tony
Just three moths in the trap last night – Large Wainscot, Yellow-line Quaker and Red-line Quaker. Monday night was even worse with just one brave Green-brindled Crescent braving the gusts.
