Birds, Leps, Observations & Generalities - the images and ramblings of Mark Skevington. Sometimes.

Thursday 24 February 2011

If the moths won't come to me .....

The garden trap last night (23rd) was pants. Singles each of Agonopterix heracliana, Early Moth and Hebrew Character. Tonight I've got both the actinic/tungsten combo trap out and a 125W MV - a better night weatherwise so here's hoping.

Seeing as the conditions tonight were promised to be good by the weatherman, I decided to head out with a sheet and a couple of traps. Always good to get out early in the season - if nothing else it proves you still have working gennies .......

The kids are on half-term week, so Josh and Alex joined me as we left the house at dusk and were up and running with lights on at Charnwood Lodge by 18:30. Almost immediately we were inundated with Tortricodes alternella, and a good few Dotted Border, March Moths and Pale Brindled Beauty.

Had a dodgy moment after an hour and a half when a car unexpecetdly arrived in the wood (via the padlocked gates) - turned out to be local mother Graham Finch out for a bit of the same. Even later on, another local turned up - Keith Tailby. They had plans on looking or female Spring Usher - good luck to them. I find checking the trunks fascinating and tedious in equal measure - tonight I found a female Dotted Border, but got sidetracked by other stuff like Tinder Fungus.

Anyway - total for the night at light for me was 382 of 11sp. as follows:

1025 Tortricodes alternella 168 (NFY)
1044x Acleris ferrugana/notana 1 (NFY)
1659 Yellow Horned (Achlya flavicornis) 28 (NFY)
1663 March Moth (Alsophila aescularia) 46
1926 Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria) 33
1930 Oak Beauty (Biston strataria) 17 (NFY)
1932 Spring Usher (Agriopis leucophaearia) 28 (NFY)
1934 Dotted Border (Agriopis marginaria) 38
1947 Engrailed (Ectropis bistortata) 2 (NFY)
2256 Satellite (Eupsilia transversa) 2 (NFY)
2258 Chestnut (Conistra vaccinii) 19

Can't explain the complete lack of Orthosia spp.

Plenty of stuff to photograph - look out for a bumper spread tomorrow.

3 comments:

Stewart said...

Good Grief Mark, thats the way to do it. I though I was doing quite well until now....

Broom Birder said...

.....and I thought 7 Small Brindled Beauties and 1 Spring Usher were good, how little I know!

Amazing catch.

Skev said...

Stewart - usual story, once you get out into woodland it's a whole different ball-game to garden mothing (unless your garden annexes woodland of course!). I actually thought the overall catch was a bit low - complete paucity of noctuids being the reason.

Matt - trust me, if I'd of caught 7 Small Brindled Beauties this would have been a fantastic night. Still a very scarce and localised species here - the only place I have reliably recorded it in VC55 is right over on the Rutland/Lincs. border at Pickworth Great Wood.