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
As I mentioned in the last couple of posts, I have very recently come back from holiday near the Lake District. We had a great time, and saw lots of cool stuff, but one of the best bits was that I took my Moth Trap on holiday with me. The main idea behind this is that due to it being a different location on the other side of the country it has a different habitat and that means a chance of seeing different species to what I would find back home.
Date: 9th June 2021
Weather:
For the 2nd day of trapping, the weather is different. It has been warm and muggy all day. The same high temp as yesterday with 22C but feels much warmer due to the overcast conditions. Rain had threatened all day, but nothing materialised until 6pm when 'heavy drizzle' started falling. It eased off at around 8pm, so I put the trap out in the same position as the previous night.
Thick cloud cover remained, with lows of 16C predicted and only a slight wind... conditions are better than last night so lets see what happens.
Results: 30 moths of 16 species
Summary of Results:
The trap was turned on at 10pm, and surprisingly within 10 minutes a Large Elephant Hawkmoth had appeared inside the trap
Large Elephant Hawkmoth - Deilephila elpenor
I love these moths, with the colours so bright and vibrant! It is a different species to the Small Elephant Hawkmoth I had seen last night, and I kinda of wished I had kept a hold of it now so I could do a picture with them both in.
Oh well, it was unlikely that I would get a Small Elephant 2 nights in a row...
Next in was a Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta), and then a couple of Garden Carpets, nothing overly interesting until...
Ingrailed Clay - Diarsia mendica
...aha! Here is something interesting! This is an Ingrailed Clay, a species that is common and abundant and widespread across the UK, and yet in my 5 years of looking at home I had neve seen it... it was great to finally tick it off.
Pale Tussock - Calliteara pudibunda
There were 3 of these Pale Tussocks seen that night. A lovely chunky moth, and always a pleasure to see each year.
Small Elephant Hawkmoth - Deilephila porcellus
And then the best moment of the session. After seeing the Large Elephant Hawkmoth earlier, I was ecstatic to see a Small Elephant Hawkmoth resting by the trap near the end of the session. Truly the Moth Gods were blessing me that night!
And this meant I could get a comparison shot:
Comparison shot of the Large and Small Elephant Hawkmoths. Note the different patterns on the wings, and on the abdomen the Large one has a pink dashed line, whereas the Small one doesn't.
Poplar Hawkmoth - Laothoe populi
Crikey! The Moth Gods hadn't finished yet! Right at the last minute, just as I was preparing to turn the light off, one more moth appeared, and it was another Hawkmoth!
Content and happy with two days of moth trapping, and seeing lots of interesting species, I turned of the trap and packed it away.
Bonus pictures for this week:
The bonus for this session was this shot of all 3 Hawkmoths in one frame. I had never seen more than 2 species of Hawkmoth in one session so this was a great moment. It also gives me a chance to see the three of them side by side
Two nights of trapping done, and as you can see, it was well worth squeezing the trap in the car and bringing it on holiday with us. When I do these sessions, I never know what I am going to get. Sometimes it can be disappointing, but it is always worth it when I get nights like these. Absolutely fantastic.
Notes on Pictures: Since I started moth trapping 4 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
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