Sharing the results from my latest Moth Trap Session. I have written posts about setting up a moth trap and on collecting the results if you want some more background info on how and why I use a Moth Trap
Date: 21st April 2023
Weather:
Its been 2 weeks since my last session. I didn't bother last weekend as the weather was very cold, but I'm hopeful of the better weather tonight. All week it has been slowly warming up during the day, and with the first flowers opening and plenty of bees flying around, Spring is well underway.
We did get some rain earlier today, but the rest of the week has been mostly dry. The wind is light and blowing from the East so it is a cold wind, but with cloud cover forming later it should help to keep some warmth around this evening. There is a slight chance of rain tonight, but only slight, and like last time I will be ending the session at midnight
at this time of year its not really worth staying up all night for the handful of moths I might get
Like last time, I'm not expecting a great deal, so I have gone with the smaller trap for tonight, but enough waffling... here we go!
Results: 3 moths of 3 species
Summary of Results:
Ah well, you can already see from the table above... there wasn't a great deal of action
The first one moth in.... Drum roll please.... a Double-striped Pug!
This was at 9pm, just after dark.
And then there was an hour of waiting until a Green Lacewing at 10pm was found fluttering near the trap.
And then that was it until midnight. I could see a White Shouldered House Moth loitering on a doorframe, and lots of flies (mostly small midges) around trap, but not much else.
12:30am: I was in the kitchen, stood looking out of the window, thinking of ending the session when I suddenly spot something fluttering near the trap... a moth?!
I raced outside to catch it. And couldn't find her anywhere. I looked inside the trap, behind the trap, along the fence... even under the bench. Nope, whatever she was.
I did find this large Caddisfly though!
I believe it was one of the Stenophylax species maybe?
don't quote me on that Caddisflies are hard to name
I decided enough was enough and to turn it all off. I turned off the power and unplugged the trap. I quickly wiped it down and brought it inside. And then when I picked up the extension lead... I found her hiding underneath it:
A Shuttle-shaped Dart!
Success at last, but that was hard earned!
And in the end, just like last time, I caught 3 species of moths. Two of them were different though, which brings me to 5 species for the year so far.
Things can only get better as the season moves along. I'm gonna give the trapping a miss this weekend as the weather looks rather wet out there, but hopefully the following weekend will be ok...
and once again, I'll take my chances, and who knows what we might see!
Notes on Pictures: Since I started moth trapping 5 years ago, I have been slowly building up collection of Library Images. The idea being that once I have taken a picture of a particular species of Moth, I don't need another picture of the same species a year later. It’s a waste of time and energy. I only take pictures of new species, or of moths that are difficult to ID, so I can get the records verified.
While in my care, all individuals are looked after, and after Photographs have been taken, they are all released safely outside.
All names confirmed and checked via Wikispieces
Further Research from UK Moths and NatureSpot
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unless otherwise stated.Check out my website for more of my work.