Vapourer

Another cool clear night with a bright moon, not a lot of moths around but some interesting finds in the trap including my first Vapourer moth and my first Least Yellow Underwing(albeit rather scruffy looking examples of both). The Vapourer is usually a day flier so I wasn't expecting to find it in the trap.

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

Tonight's Log

22 Large Yellow Underwing

2 Lesser Yellow Underwing

3 Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing

1 Least Yellow Underwing(see photo above)

5 Willow Beauty

11 Riband Wave

2 Spectacle

3 Silver-Y

1 Gold Spot

1 Sallow Kitten

1 Brimstone

1 Common Rustic

2 Ruby Tiger

1 Vapourer(see photo above)

3 Lempke's Gold Spots

It turned out to be a little cooler than expected tonight with a clear sky and a bright moon which apparently isn't good if you want to trap moths?, the lethargic calm of the Large Yellow Underwings was nice though and they didn't appear to have disturbed any of the more 'interesting' species so I was more than happy with tonights catch...specially the 3 Lempke's Gold Spot moths which are a new species to my garden and beautiful to behold.

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

Tonights Log

17 Large Yellow Underwing

3 Lesser Yellow Underwing

3 Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing

9 Common Rustic

7 Riband Wave

4 Willow Beauty

3 Shuttle Shaped Dart

3 Lempke's Gold Spot(see photo above)

2 Dark Arches

1 Flame Shoulder

1 Cloaked Minor

1 Common Wainscot

1 Spectacle

1 Ruby Tiger

1 Iron Prominent

1 Canary Shouldered Thorn

1 Peppered Moth(see photo above)(ID thanks to Dean)

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)