Gobsmacked!!

I published last nights blog, turned the PC off and got ready for bed(it was 5am!), I've started closing the curtains in this room so the light doesn't distract the moths going to the trap which is probably overly cautious considering the trap is 30ft+ from the window. Normally I leave the curtains closed when I go to bed but it was a little later than usual so it was getting light outside, I drew back the curtain and to my amazement sitting right in the centre of the frame above the small open window was a Pale Prominent!....I don't know if it was the same one that had been in the trap earlier but I did get a photo.

Fate or karma?

Never listen to good advice....!

As my dear old granny used to say "Never listen to good advice if it stops you having fun"! and tonight has been a prime example of how I should have listened to that gem of wisdom instead of listening to the 'experts'. 'It's going to rain at 10pm' said the weather girl on TV, 'it's going to rain at 10pm' said the BBC weather site....'it's going to rain at 10pm' said my wife after listening to the TV weather girl and looking at the BBC weather site....but did it rain?.....did it bo**ocks!!(Well not until after 1am anyhow).

I decided to beat the alleged rain by putting the MBT lamp on the inside of my window ledge so I could carry on working on the PC and keep an eye on the moths at the same time, it wasn't long before the Large Yellow Underwings were banging against the window trying to get in and they weren't alone. I counted 6 Silver-Y, a multitude of micros and at one point when I nipped out with a torch I found 2 Grey Dagger, 3 Copper Underwing, 1 Spectacle and about 20 assorted macros as well as a beautiful Sallow Kitten(see photo above) which was sitting on a leaf in a plant pot just outside my window.

Without the trap being used it was near impossible to keep track and guarantee a correct 'head count' so unfortunately tonight can't be logged....I'll have to get into town ASAP and find a suitable cover for the lamp so that I can put it out even when it's 'likely to rain'.

Rain Stopped Play

I knew it was going to rain at some point so I put the trap out and sat in a garden chair waiting for the first few drops to come.....I still haven't been able to find a suitable cover for the bulb so I put a large garden parasol above the trap and was ready to run and unplug if the rain started. The cloud cover kept the temperature high so the trap was busy and a pleasure to watch but it was only 2 1/2 hours till the rain came, a busy enough night anyway with 4 species new to my garden so well worth the effort.

The trap was out from 9:30pm to 12.05am

Tonight's Log

11 Large Yellow Underwing

6 Lesser Yellow Underwing

7 Silver-Y

3 Riband Wave

5 Common Rustic

3 Shuttle Shaped Dart

4 Dark Arches

3 Uncertain Moth

2 Willow Beauty

2 Grey Dagger

1 Magpie

1 Small Magpie

1 Iron Prominent(ID Thanks to Peter at Back Garden Moths)

1 Flame Shoulder(ID Thanks to Graham at Back Garden Moths)

1 Ruby Tiger

1 Heart & Dart

1 Brimstone

1 Brick Moth

1 Smoky Wainscot

1 Yellow Shell

1 Straw Dot(see photo above)

1 Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing(see photo above)

2 Copper Underwing(see photo above)

Thorny Subjects

A beautiful day turned into a beautiful evening followed by a mild night so plenty of moths around and after getting 9 species new to my garden last night I was hopeful that something else new might turn up tonight. Not long after I put the trap out a Dusky Thorn was sitting in it quickly followed by a Canary-Shouldered Thorn and it was still only 9:45!, of course the luck pretty much ran out there and I only got one other new species all night after the 2 Thorns but plenty of moths in total.

The trap was out from 9:20pm till 3:40am

Tonight's Log

8 Large Yellow Underwing

2 Lesser Yellow Underwing

3 Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing

3 Dark Arches

9 Common Rustic

4 Willow Beauty

4 Silver-Y

2 Brimstone

2 Shuttle Shaped Dart

1 Common Wainscot

2 Magpie

6 Riband Wave

1 Heart & Dart

1 Cloaked Minor

1 Spectacle

1 Cabbage Moth

1 Dusky Thorn(see photo above)

1 Canary Shouldered Thorn(see photo above)

1 Clay(see top photo above)

A new month brings new moths!!!

I spent today in a small Leicestershire village called Heather doing my bit for charity with my band, it poured down for most of the day(typical music festival weather!) but it had cleared up by the time I got home at 8:30 and it was warm too so out went the trap. Each time I nipped out to check the trap I noticed something new or unusual either in the trap or on the sheet under it so I was hopeful of a nice selection of 'new species for my garden' and I wasn't disappointed with no less than 9!(5 of which are pictured above - the others are in my web album - link below).

The trap was out from 9:30pm till 3:15am

Tonight's Log

5 Large Yellow Underwings

2 Lesser Yellow Underwings

3 Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwings

2 Dark Arches

1 Silver-Y

2 Willow Beauty

6 Common Rustic

3 Shuttle Shaped Dart

1 Grey Dagger

1 Smoky Wainscot

1 Cloaked Minor

5 Riband Wave

1 Campion

2 Spectacle(see photo above)

1 Flame Shoulder(see photo above)

1 Iron Prominent(see photo above)

Mixed Blessings

Bad weather and bad luck meant no trapping last night, I was dumb enough to have blown my MBT bulb whilst 'experimenting' with my shiny new portable generator yesterday afternoon so I was almost pleased when it rained because at least I wasn't missing out on an evening of quality trapping.

I rang around a few local lighting supply shops and got lucky....very lucky actually, one local warehouse had a box of 160w MBT bulbs in stock that have been there for quite some time and they are still selling them at the 'old' price of £6.95+VAT so just under £8 each which is excellent(I purchased 3....just in case!). They do have some left so if anyone is local to Derby and wants the details email me.

It was cloudy and cool tonight but there were a few moths around, I left the trap out from 9:30pm till 3:45am.

Tonights Log

1 Poplar Hawk

7 Dark Arches

3 Large Yellow Underwing

1 Lesser Yellow Underwing

3 Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing

1 Magpie

4 Riband Wave

2 Shuttle Shaped Dart

1 Grey Dagger

3 Silver-Y

1 Dun-Bar

1 Common Rustic

1 Cloaked Minor

1 Smoky Wainscot

1 Common Wainscot(see photo above)

1 ???(see photo above)

Scarce Footman?

I won a petrol powered generator on eBay tonight so I can get out of the garden and do some away from home trapping if the evenings warm up a little and I can talk the wife into sitting in the woods for a few hours occasionally?...I know the dogs will enjoy it that's for sure.

Another rainy evening turned into a mild but cloudy night and there were Large Yellow Underwings and Dark Arches jousting above the trap before too long, I didn't notice much else but I was busy watching eBay and playing with Excel in an attempt to do a spreadsheet of the moths I've trapped in the garden.....quite disappointed to find there have only been 43 different species of macro moth with positive identifications so far but it's only been 8 days since I got the MBT lamp so I suppose I'm not doing too badly.

I got a couple of 'new to my garden' species tonight as well as the usual bunch and a few old favourites.

The trap was out from 9:30pm to 3:15am

Tonight's Log

6 Silver-Y

3 Riband Wave

6 Large Yellow Underwing

3 Lesser Yellow Underwing

1 Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing

3 Shuttle-Shaped Dart

1 Heart & Dart

1 Smoky Wainscot

1 Campion

8 Dark Arches

2 Willow Beauty

7 Common Rustic

1 Scarce Footman(see photo above)