Smoky Wainscot

I made a few more adjustments and hopefully improvements to my 'Skinner' trap today, I've moved the perspex up so there's room inside for more egg trays and I've made the gap between the perspex sheets narrower so hopefully less moths will escape. Whilst mooching around in the loft recently for something unrelated I noticed a dusty old box that has been up there since we moved in and I had forgotten about it's contents which I think will come in very handy for moth trapping...a 3' X 4' stand alone projector screen from my days as an 8mm cine enthusiast.

It's a cold night so I didn't expect much, I left the trap out for 3 hours(10:30pm - 1:30am) and found only 3 moths in there, I then decided to place the projector screen behind the trap to see if things improved and before I had even walked away another 2 more moths had arrived. 1 landed on the screen while the other headed straight into the trap so I gently lifted the one off the screen and placed it in the trap. The screen doesn't let the light through like a sheet would but it reflects it better and will come in handy for blocking light in a specific direction should any of my neighbours complain when my MBT lamp arrives. I can see the screen clearly from where I sit in front of the PC so if anything lands on it I can get out there easily and put it in the trap(the advantage of living in a bungalow?). The trap(and screen) then stayed out there for another 3 hours and the final tally was 11 macro moths so first appearances indicate the screen could be helpful but I'll keep experimenting and share my findings in future blogs.

Tonight's log

2 Riband Wave

1 Swallowtail

1 Early Thorn

1 Angle Shades

1 Silver-Y

1 Bright-Line Brown-Eye

2 Uncertian

1 Smoky Wainscot(see photo above)

I find it strange that when I get a new species in the trap one night there is often another of the same species the following night even though they hadn't appeared in all of the previous weeks catches?