Thursday 13 August 2015

Mursley Moths

A few species new to the garden that I'd like to check.
8 August - Udea prunalis
10 August - Udea lutealis
- White-spotted Pug?
- Hedya salicella?
- Argyresthia goedartella?

12 August - Red Twin-spot Carpet? Or is it the red form of Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet?
- Flounced Rustic?
13 August - Double-striped Pug?

And finally...introducing my new trap. After concerns about upsetting the neighbours by placing my Skinner trap in the best bit of the garden, I decided to try a black light. I ordered a 25W compact flourescent black light from NHBS, then set about building a trap around it a couple of days ago. Plastic box and lid, plastic funnel, outside light fitting from Homebase, some wood offcuts and cable I already had - total cost just under £20, slightly less than the bulb! I tried it last night, as you can see here, and I think I did almost as well as with the Skinner. No more worries about lighting up the neighbourhood now!
Cheers
Mick Jones



3 comments:

  1. My my Mister Jones, you are getting good. Correct on all (including Red Twin-spot Carpet). I like your trap. How do you stop it all getting puddled on the lid in the wet?

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    1. I am working on a small modification to deal with that eventuality...after all, it's hardly rained in Mursley for weeks!

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  2. As Peter says, it looks really good for a fair-weather trap! I use an 84 litre "Really Useful Box" (...other brands are available!) with a circular hole cut on the lid to replace my Robinson base when I'm expecting very large catches. It provides far more space and can take the large square egg-trays, but has the drawback of having a flat top which simply becomes a giant puddle if it rains.

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