The Confessions of a Beginner

"My mothing area lies south of Chiddingfold and almost in sight of the Sussex border. I started trapping  a couple of years ago because once the butterflies had disappeared I was faced with several months with nothing to see before they returned with the spring.  There is only so much excitement that can be generated by the sight of a solitary Red Admiral on a sunny winter's day.

Exactly a year ago I took 220 Small Quakers (Orthosia crudain) in my Heath trap with a 20w actinic bulb and over 100 in a Robinson. So far this year I've managed to take just 1 in about 10 nights trapping. 

Several of the usual suspects have appeared, the micro moth Tortricodes alternella commonly turns up, always making me think that at least one of the specimens taken should be something else and no matter what I do always too lively to pose for a photograph. Maybe for this photo of a Yellow-Horned (Achlya flavicornis) I should have taken a head-on police mug shot but he showed every indication of also wanting to escape.

I have a soft spot for the Brindled Beauty because it is the first moth that I ever photographed in its natural setting and so much more colourful in daylight  (Lycia hirtaria)

Small Brindled Beauty (Apocheima hispidaria)

But a more frequent visitor to the trap in January was the Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria)

There have been a smattering of rather worn Chestnuts (Conistra vaccinii) the darker forms of which tempt me to identify them as Dark Chestnut (Conistra ligula). Maybe I'll be lucky enough to have one of each one night so that I can see the difference in the wing shape. The March Moth (Alsophila aescularia) has appeared in small numbers on several nights.

With a little luck and if the forecast is to be believed I might get another night suitable for trapping before the end of the month and  now that the Field Guide to the Micro moths of Great Britain and Ireland has been published as well as the Smaller Moths of Surrey, I almost look forward to a micro moth or two"

John R

Many thanks to local trapper, John, for sharing his brilliant early season catches. 

Pouring and Prominents

What appaling weather we've been having.  I haven't trapped since March!  I thought it was worth trying last night after a reasonably warm day, although I was sure to fit the rain guard!  I got a nice selection including a new species for the garden.  Unsurprisingly, all but one were year ticks.  The new one was a Swallow Prominent.  I'm used to getting Lesser, but it was nice to get both together.  Unbelievably, despite it being quite a diverse (or be it not that numerous) catch, I didn't get a single Noctuid!

8th May:

5 Brindled Pug

3 Lesser Swallow Prominent NFY

1 Swallow Prominent NFG

1 Brimstone NFY

1 Red Twin-spot Carpet NFY

1 Waved Umber NFY

1 Peppered Moth NFY

1 Great Prominent NFY

1 Grey Pine Carpet NFY

1 Purple Thorn NFY

1 Currant Pug NFY

1 Maiden's Blush NFY

1 Brindled Beauty NFY

I also got loads of Twenty-plume Moths and this micro, Plutella porrectella:

Plutella porrectella

Brimstone

Swallow and Lesser Swallow Prominents

Brindled Beauty

Currant Pug

Great Prominent

Maiden's Blush

Purple Thorn

Peppered Moth

Waved Umber

I got my best catch for some time last night with plenty of cloud cover. I got an incredible catch of 17 Brindled Pug, as well as 11 Common Quaker, 9 Hebrew Character, 4 Clouded Drab, 1 Powdered Quaker, 1 Small Quaker, 1 Nut-tree Tussock (new for the year), 1 Iron Prominent (new for the year), 1 Brindled Beauty (new for the garden), as well as 1 Twenty-plume Moth, and 2 Black Burrying Beetles (Nicrophorous humator).