Tuesday 24 April 2018

Emperor Moth

Following Dave's suggestion I tried my new Emperor Moth lure out for the first time at Decoy Heath Berks, this morning even though the weather was a bit cold and cloudy. After a slow start I had 2 males at SU613633 and another at SU624635. I got the impression that the lure is less attractive to them than an un-mated female (which I have used in the past) as they were slower to arrive (the weather may have contributed to this perhaps) and seemed to find it harder to zero in on the lure. After flying around for 5-10 mins they left and never did land for a photo. I also tried Bucklebury Common for an hour without success, but it was a bit breezy there.
In the absence of any Emperor pics her is a photo of a Puss Moth that I had in my garden at Beenham (SU594689) on Saturday. Only my second ever.


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9 comments:

  1. Dave Wilton24 April 2018 at 17:09

    Hi Derek, glad you had some success! They do seem to fly in quite dull conditions sometimes (understandably so if they insist on being active this early in the year). For what it is worth, I find that I have more success in the afternoon, possibly because emergences seem to take place around lunchtime so fresh males will be out and about by then.

    I've not tried the lure so don't know how it compares with an un-mated female, but an interesting situation arose here on Sunday when I had no less than eleven females emerge together. I would normally have taken them out and about to try and get records from elsewhere, but we had family here so instead I put them all out in the garden in the same net cage along with an unmated female left over from the previous day. The combined pheromone power of those 12 ladies brought in no less than 18 "wild" males between 3pm and 6pm! The local bird population eventually got wise to the situation and I had to stand guard with a net after two of the arriving males became food for a Great Tit and a Robin, but the remainder were all enticed into the cage and they had quite a party with all of the females ending up mated!

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    1. Andy Newbold25 April 2018 at 15:49

      If anyone has a few spare Emperor Moth eggs l would really appreciate some to rear.

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    2. Mark Calway26 April 2018 at 08:55

      Hi Andy, I would imagine that Dave would be over run with eggs and may have already agreed to supply you. However, if not, I would be happy to give you some. I'm based near Reading. Kind regards, Mark. Chairman, Berkshire Moth Group.

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    3. Andy Newbold30 April 2018 at 08:08

      Mark, Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I have been away for the weekend. Is it realistic to post freshly laid eggs? If so my address is Wayside Cottage, Sibford Ferris, Banbury, Oxon OX15 5RG. Many years ago I collected Emperor moth caterpillars from a railway bank in Hertfordshire and raised several generations. I would love to have another go for my own interest and feel it would be a great activity to do with my grand-daughter.

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  2. Derek Brown24 April 2018 at 19:23

    Thanks for that,
    I think that the definition of that is an orgy rather than a party but perhaps you went to more interesting parties than me!?
    I will try in the afternoon in future. I certainly intend to visit more sites around here (West Berks) in the coming weeks. Greenham/Crookham Common should be prime habitat for them but I'm not aware of any records from there. Has anyone seen them there in the past?

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    1. Mark Calway26 April 2018 at 08:50

      Hi Derek, I was interested to read your experience with luring emperor moths this year. I too have used artificial pheromone in the past but this year I am using unmated females. I am surveying berkshire so i will watch your results with interest. You can see photos of arecent session on the berkshire moth group facebook site if you are interested. Today I plan to be in the greenham/ crookham area so our paths may cross. Mark 07512 209 730

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    2. Derek Brown27 April 2018 at 08:20

      Hi Mark, Unfortunately I wasn't able to get out yesterday. How did you get on at Greeham? Also do you know of any records for Bucklebury Common?

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  3. Mark Calway27 April 2018 at 08:32

    Hi, I was only at Greenham Common briefly. I parked in the carpark near to the "Estovers" building/sign. It wass very windy in the exposed part of the common so I hung a small netting cage in a sheltered spot in the car park. The first male arrived within 5-10 minutes. I'm afraid I don't have any info about Emperors at Bucklebury Common. Sounds like a good opportunity to check it out.

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    1. Derek Brown27 April 2018 at 09:15

      Hi Mark, It's good to hear that they are at Greenham. I will check out Bucklebury next week when the weather improves.

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