Friday 1 May 2020

An excellent first moth month!

We put the trap out last night more in hope than expectation! Only two moths, but one NFY; Green Carpet. It was also the first time for the home made trap in real rain. The bulb and both moths were fine!

The first month has been great. The trap has been out on 15 nights, catching 180 moths of 28 species. We've really enjoyed the challenge of identifying them; 47 pugs on the Berkshire list .... I'll never fret about separating butterflies again! 

Another highlight has been photographing them, after years of photographing butterflies it's a revelation to have at least some moths that sit still for more than a few moments!

Moth highlights have been Iron Prominent, Poplar Kitten, Muslin Moth and Hebrew Character; the latter may been the most frequent record with 48 caught, but It's a fine looking creature!






2 comments:

  1. Hi Andy
    I'm not sure about your Poplar Kitten. The photograph is taken very close -up. It may be tempting to do this but often it makes the image too 'grainy'. Also I'm not convinced that the black in the edge of the band is thick enough. Do you have any other photos?

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    1. Hi Martin, yes we considered Poplar vs Sallow for a while. It didn't seem a "classic" Poplar due to the thickness of the black edge. But the edge seemed smooth rather than jagged. I'll post the other images and see what people think. This was a moth that sat still!! Andrew

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