Sharing the results from my latest Moth Trap Session. I have written posts about setting up a moth trap and on collecting the resultsif you want some more background info on how and why I use a Moth Trap
Date: 22nd September 2020
Weather: Scattered cloud, and a relatively New Moon is good. It has been warm all day with highs of 24C and as dusk falls it is currently 18C which is pretty good for the time of year. It is quite breezy out there which is not ideal but at least it is coming from the South which is a positive.
The Southerly wind is good as it means there is an increased chance of seeing rare migrant moths from Europe
Results: 28 moths of 16 species
Summary of Results:
I have mentioned in Previous Reports that I was going to be slowing down the trapping sessions, however tonight seems to be potentially interesting, so I have set it all up. In the end it was actually worth it!
Interesting finds included a Blair's Shoulder Knot and some Lunar Underwings, both of which I don't see very often. The Blood-vein was also nice to see.
The best bit was possibly seeing a Rusty Dot Pearl (Highlighted in Red). This is a potential new species for the garden, which would be great to see. I have been trapping in the garden for a few years now, and I don't see many new species now.
THere is a slight problem: It won't sit still for a photo, so I can't confirm the Identification yet. I am reasonable confident I am correct, but as it is new I want to double-check.
I'll update the post once I have it checked.
Here some images of some the species seen:
Lunar Underwing - Omphaloscelis lunosa
Blair's Shoulder-knot - Lithophane leautieri
Common Marbled Carpet - Dysstroma truncata
And a little bonus: some different colour forms of the Common Marble Carpet. It can be very variable, which can catch you out when trying to ID it.
Above you can see the 'dark' colour form of the Common Marble Carpet, and is the version I see most often here. This was the version I caught last night.
Below is a lighter version, which I don't see very often.
This 'orange' form is also not seen very often, which is a shame as it is by far and away the most attractive form (in my humble opinion at any rate).
Anyway All ID's have been checked and confirmed, and I have added details of the session to the spreadsheet. I will try again in a week or so if I get decent conditions, and see if I can catch anything more interesting. There are some beautiful moths to see in Autumn, but they are few and far between.
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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