Sharing the results from my latest Moth Trap Session. I have written posts about setting up a moth trap and on collecting the results if you want some more background info on how and why I use a Moth Trap
Date: 21st April 2023
Weather:
Its been 2 weeks since my last session. I didn't bother last weekend as the weather was very cold, but I'm hopeful of the better weather tonight. All week it has been slowly warming up during the day, and with the first flowers opening and plenty of bees flying around, Spring is well underway.
We did get some rain earlier today, but the rest of the week has been mostly dry. The wind is light and blowing from the East so it is a cold wind, but with cloud cover forming later it should help to keep some warmth around this evening. There is a slight chance of rain tonight, but only slight, and like last time I will be ending the session at midnight
at this time of year its not really worth staying up all night for the handful of moths I might get
Like last time, I'm not expecting a great deal, so I have gone with the smaller trap for tonight, but enough waffling... here we go!
Results: 3 moths of 3 species
Summary of Results:
Ah well, you can already see from the table above... there wasn't a great deal of action
The first one moth in.... Drum roll please.... a Double-striped Pug!
This was at 9pm, just after dark.
And then there was an hour of waiting until a Green Lacewing at 10pm was found fluttering near the trap.
And then that was it until midnight. I could see a White Shouldered House Moth loitering on a doorframe, and lots of flies (mostly small midges) around trap, but not much else.
12:30am: I was in the kitchen, stood looking out of the window, thinking of ending the session when I suddenly spot something fluttering near the trap... a moth?!
I raced outside to catch it. And couldn't find her anywhere. I looked inside the trap, behind the trap, along the fence... even under the bench. Nope, whatever she was.
I did find this large Caddisfly though!
I believe it was one of the Stenophylax species maybe?
don't quote me on that Caddisflies are hard to name
I decided enough was enough and to turn it all off. I turned off the power and unplugged the trap. I quickly wiped it down and brought it inside. And then when I picked up the extension lead... I found her hiding underneath it:
A Shuttle-shaped Dart!
Success at last, but that was hard earned!
And in the end, just like last time, I caught 3 species of moths. Two of them were different though, which brings me to 5 species for the year so far.
Things can only get better as the season moves along. I'm gonna give the trapping a miss this weekend as the weather looks rather wet out there, but hopefully the following weekend will be ok...
and once again, I'll take my chances, and who knows what we might see!
Notes on Pictures: Since I started moth trapping 5 years ago, I have been slowly building up collection of Library Images. The idea being that once I have taken a picture of a particular species of Moth, I don't need another picture of the same species a year later. It’s a waste of time and energy. I only take pictures of new species, or of moths that are difficult to ID, so I can get the records verified.
While in my care, all individuals are looked after, and after Photographs have been taken, they are all released safely outside.
All names confirmed and checked via Wikispieces
Further Research from UK Moths and NatureSpot
If you have any thoughts or opinions on this article then I'd love to see your comments.
And if you really like the content then maybe you would like to upvote or re-hive it.
Check out my website for more of my work.
Wow, that was a cool read!
Are some of those sitting on a glass table or something? AMAZING shots!! 👍
As you say, it must be tricky to get good ones of them, really well done! 😀
Thank you! Check back in a couple of months and I'll have more moths to actually write about! Here is a post from June last year featuring over 50 species...
As for those photo's, the black surface used to be glossy black card, and more recent shots actually use my bathroom scales as the top is black glass, gives a great reflection with the right lighting.
More on my insect photography project here if you fancy a read :-)
😮 I've only found time to take a quick glance!!
I will have a closer when I got more time, that's amazing stuff!
Thank you!
Here are the moth traps again !LUV what a brilliant pictures you're making of them!
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Yep yep! I can't wait for 3 or 4 weeks time, when there will be lots more to see
Spring is definitely my favorite season, with each day that passes, there is more and more to see :-)
I'm pleased that you !LUV the pictures ;-)
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Up to date, I've seen here at my place only one Green Lacewing (or maybe it was a Common L.) and a few common fly's. no butterflies, moths, beetles... and blooming magnolias. Congrats with an early harvest!
really?! Not even any bees buzzing aound? is that normal for what you would expect to see for this time of year?
To be fair, Russia is a pretty big place, I'm sure there is a huge difference from one side of the country to the other!
(Almost) no flowers - no bees. Funny thing, a while after I made my comment, a big buzzing bumblebee flew into the window of my room - nature itself sends reproachful signs to me that I'm not totally correct :)))))
!LOLZ
Actually, it is warm now, day by day everything around is an explosion of growing greenery.
thanks for sharing
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What an interesting thing to do! And those are some great photos.
We get lots of moths on the pale walls of our back terrace because we have a strange of lights out there, and I often photograph them and record them. Never really thought about building an actual moth trap, though.
Thank you! It started years ago when my partner started recording butterflies, so I decided to explore the world of moths. Moth traps are pretty simple to build, you just need a bright light source next to a box, and the moths fly in and struggle to fly out again.
all moths are released by the way, either during the night or sometimes the following evening if I'm struggling to name them
If you google light traps, or moth traps you should get some ideas
Here is a post on Moth Traps if you are curious to what I use, although in the summer months I hang a white sheet nearby, and that allows me to see loads of species of moths and also other insects.