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: 8th May 2026
Weather:
It has been 2 weeks since my last trapping session. Results from the first 2 sessions were ahem poor... so far I've recorded a single species in each. It has been cold, and it is still early in the season...but still I'd hope for better than this.
Roll forward to today... its been warm and dry and sunny for today (and has been for the past 2 days)... more importantly the cold wind from the North has stopped blowing, tonight we have a slightly more mild breeze blowing from the South
I was poking round in the garden the other day, and was admiring the small purple flowers on this bush/plant thing. I didn't recognize it, but I shared pictures with my partner and she reliably informs me that this is known as Bittersweet. It's from the same family as the Deadly Nightshade and is poisonous, but I don't plan to eat it so its ok!
I also spotted a tiny little moth flitting about in the sunshine yesterday...
this is one of the Mint Moths - Pyrausta aurata - Picture taken a couple of years ago, but this was what I saw
Technically speaking I'm now up to 3 moths recorded for the year, although only 2 moths have appeared in the trap. This does leave me feeling a little more optimistic than the past few weeks
Anyway, enough waffle...
Lights on, pots at the ready... Here. We. Go!
Results:
Summary - Part 1
Yes, look! some actual moths appeared! I turned the moth trap light on at 7pm, and left it alone while it got dark. At 10pm I went out and checked it, and was able to see 2 of these Shuttle-shaped Darts resting near the trap.
UK Moths website - source
Ridiculously common, and now that they have emerged, I'll be seeing this species from now until early Autumn, but doesn't matter, they still get added to my list. Also seen was a Light Brown Apple Moth on a leaf of a nearby plant. I could see something bouncing back and forth inside the box, but decided to lave it to settle and hide underneath the egg trays, and I'll hopefully find out what it is later on this evening
11:30pm - back out again...
I spotted another couple of Shuttle-shaped Darts near the trap, which takes me up to 4 at least. I opened the box to see what was rattling around in there, and found a big chunky beetle - a Common Cockchafer
Common Cockchafer - Melolontha melolontha
These big clumsy beetles are an absolute menace, crawling and trampling and generally being a nuisance to any other insects in the trap, I picked him up and rehomed in on the other side of the garden.
I also spotted a tiny little Ichneumon Wasp
Ophion minutus
Most of these species are difficult to tell apart, but this one is easy to name, due to its small size (hence the Latin name - minutus)
It's approaching midnight, and sunrise is at 5am. I might as well head to bed now, and then I'll be up early in the morning to see if there are any other nice mothy surprises (and hopefully no troublesome beetles!!)
Summary - Part 2
I got up in the morning to have a look...
considering this is 5am, it is already much lighter than I expected it to be! Ideally I want to be getting up while it is still just about dark, with light on the horizon.
When I opened the trap, I found the same 4 Shuttle-shaped Darts in there from last night, but there WAS a bonus moth... a chunky brown thing.
It looked like one of the 'prominents', but the name escaped me
It is a very distinctive shape though so I had a quick look through one of my moth books and found it - a Coxcomb Prominent
I've only seen this species once before in my garden, so it is really cool to see it again. Last time I took a 'proper' portrait shot of it, as shown below
Coxcomb Prominent - Ptilodon capucina
So in total, I saw 7 moths of 3 species. Still not brilliant, but at least it is better than the last 2 sessions. It was also good to see some other insects out at night, with various flies and midges and wasps (but just the one beetle for now!). So I guess I'll give it another couple of weeks, and then I'll try again
What will happen next time? Will it be busy and chaotic? Will it be quieter? Will I find something new to record?
Well, once again, there is only one way to find out!
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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