I was very active in moth trapping in the late 90' and early 00's but then, with work, marriage and a child I gradually gave up. This spring my 11 year old expressed an interest so I dug out a Robinson and ran it in the garden for him. This rekindled my interest and I've been actively trapping in the garden since late March. The result? 5329 records of 448 moths identified to species level.
Highlights for me were the new macros. Clifden Nonpareil and Gypsy Moth were both rare migrants when I was last trapping so I was delighted to add them both from the garden. They took my UK macro list to 707.
I've also been trying to do micros this year with the highlight being a single Cydia Illutana but really there have been too many highlights amongst the micros to list them all here. At the end of the season my UK micro list stands at 310 for a combined macro/micro list of 1017. Hopefully I'll add many more micros over the coming season as there is lots more room for new discoveries.
Hi Adrian,
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff - I'm very glad you've managed to rekindle your interest! For the benefit of everyone else, it is always good to give a rough location in your posts so that we know whereabouts you are trapping. We do cover such a large area in our three counties, with many different habitats.
I'm between Ashampstead and Hampstead Norreys on the downs north of Newbury. Large garden surrounded by arable fields
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