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: 19th May 2023
Weather:
If you recall my last post, I mentioned I was on holiday this week, and hopeful of making the most of the chance to run a trapping session mid-week. As it happened, on the Monday my partner came home, on Tuesday I had physio (and promptly ached all over). On Wednesday night, I had just finished setting the trap up when we promptly had a very short, and yet very heavy, thunderstorm... 20 minutes later, I gave up and brought it back in.
So tonight appears to be 4th time lucky.
Its been warmish, and mostly sunny too although it looks like the temperature will plummet once again as darkness arrives. However it is currently dry, so better late than never, I might as well get on with it!
Results: 8 moths of 6 species
Summary of Results:
And as summaries go... this gonna be quite quick. It is just so quiet out there, with very little activity around the trap. Of the 6 species seen, 3 were New For Year (NFY) which means it is the first time I have seen them this year.
These are shown below:
Brimstone Moth - Opisthograptis luteolata
Spruce Carpet - Thera britannica
Treble Lines - Charanyca trigrammica
Brown Rustic - Rusina ferruginea
But yes, as already mentioned (both tonight and in previous reports). There is not much too see. The 4 NFY shows that new species are coming through as the season progresses, but there are still many that I would expect to see which are still missing.
Last year I ran a session on the 14th May 2022 and that had much better results with 27 moths of 14 species:
The difference is obvious. 8 of those mentioned above still haven't appeared this year and the 'Heart & Dart' is a species that is incredibly common and numerous across the country... I haven't seen any here this year at all!
So there you go... another session, and another poor set of results. The records still count and they will still be sent the local recorder for Data purposes. Poor Data is still as important as Good Data, as it helps to build a picture of the presence (or lack off) of moths here.
All I can do is try again next time, and hope for something a little more interesting and exciting....
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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