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
Well its been nearly a week since my last moth trap session, so its time to dig it out again and see if there is anything new to see...
Spoiler Alert - There was!
Date: 23rd March 2022
Weather:
There has been a huge improvement with the weather conditions. It was touching 16C which was good for the time of year. Full sunshine and no rain, which turned into a dry night with barely any wind.
Last week I had the trap out all night, and it was a struggle to get up early (before sunrise) to check the trap before I started work. This time I would stay up till midnight and then turn it off. There was still 5 hours of darkness so still a good opportunity to see something.
Results: 12 moths of 8 species
Summary of Results:
Well, you can see from that table above, I did much better than last week!
First up was a couple of Early Greys like I saw last week, and then a Light Brown Apple Moth appeared. That un-wieldy name often gets shortened to just LBAM, and I will probably see some of these every week until late Autumn, they are ridiculously common.
Hebrew Character - Orthosia gothica
When I popped back outside an hour or so later I found another common spring moth - a Hebrew Character. These are also very common but only during Springtime
Diurnea fagella
And then I got a surprise. I noticed this little moth in the corner of the trap, and when I potted him up to take a closer look, I immediately recognized it as Diurnea fagella. While filling in my spreadsheet of my records, I though I would check my Garden List. I had seen one of these before hadn't I?
To my astonishment it turned out I hadn't, and this species has become the 320th species of Moth I have recorded in the garden.
This alone made this session worthwhile...
Early Thorn - Selenia dentaria
...and then this photogenic Early Thorn (caught while tidying up at the end of the session) was the icing on the cake.
I've said it before, some insects are absolute amateur's in front of the lens wriggling and jumping and spoiling the photo. Moths however are nearly always calm, composed and dignified.
Bonus pictures for this week:
Angle Shades - Phlogophora meticulosa
The bonus for this week was the unexpected find of what I am 98% sure is an Angle Shades caterpillar. Everything seems to match (size, pattern, season) but the colour is a bit odd. It usually is a green or brown colour (2 colour forms), but this looks a weird yellow colour. It might just be a sign that it is ready to pupate (turn into a cocoon) as many species of caterpillar are known to change colour slightly at this stage.
I'll keep an open mind on this, and if I find out more, then I'll give you an update
Angle Shades - Phlogophora meticulosa
So all in all, it was a productive session, a lovely moth portrait, a chunky caterpillar, and a nice shiny new species to add to the garden list: Diurnea fagella
Don't forget to tune in next week to see what surprises are in store....
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
Further Research from UK Moths
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