A Lunar eclipse...

We're obviously past the peak emergence of Small Quaker, so catch numbers are likely to reasonably low for a little while now. Well, until the Brindled Pugs peak! A decent variety last night though, in what was forecast as the last of the hot days (for a while). I got a few year ticks, including a reasonble scarcity in my garden, a Lunar Marbled Brown.

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3oth Mar:

25 Small Quaker

10 Common Quaker

4 Hebrew Character

4 Brindled Pug

3 Clouded Drab

3 Twin-spot Quaker

1 Oak Beauty

1 Early Grey

1 Double-striped Pug NFY

1 Early Thorn NFY

1 Lunar Marbled Brown NFY

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Lunar Marbled Brown

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Not at all related to last nights trapping, but I took a walk on a heathland near me yesterday, in the hope of getting my first good view of an Orange Underwing. After a bit of frustration, one came low enough to net. I'm glad I have added it to my moth photography list (despite it not being a particularly good shot)!

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Orange Underwing

shuttle service

My catches have been poor lately, despite the warm days, presumably due to clear skies at night and a full moon. But I'll put a couple of recent shots up for the record.

lunar marbled brown


shuttle-shaped dart

The Emperor of the Bowl

A few nights back I trapped in the garden, but as it was fairly cold, numbers were kept down. I did however get a Powdered Quaker and a new species for the garden - a Lunar Marbled Brown.

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Yesterday eclipsed that by quite a way, and I didn't even trap. I went for a daylight walk at the Devil's Punch Bowl, in fairly overcast conditions hoping to see a ornithological year tick or two (which I did - a Tree Pipit). But, I was walking along in the Bowl itself when something shot passed me. I was sure it was a butterfly, but it quickly dropped down into the Heather nearby. I managed to get it in my binoculars, and I was astonished to see a male

Emperor Moth! My first! I wonder how many I had actually seen before without realising it (I visit heathland often). It was a stunner, and i managed to get some shots on my video camera (all I had to hand), before it settled down to rest in the Heather as the s

un went in. I wondered whether it had smelt a newly emerged female, which is why it dropped into the heather. I had a good look around, but couldn't see one.

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Powdered Quaker

Lunar Marbled Brown

Emperor Moth

Summer in Spring

The weather has been glorious this last week (perhaps too glorious, as I found out for not wearing suncream!), and not just during the day. Cloud cover has been minimal, but the mild, almost summer like night temperatures have been keeping the moths coming. So far this April, highlights from the garden trap have included...

Lunar Marbled Brown- A fairly common mid-spring species in Surrey, caught on 8th...

The Streamer- A real stunner, and my first ever, taken on 7th. Possibly one of my new favourite moths!

Nut-tree Tussock- A more expected addition to the year list on 7th, although I have only ever had a fleeting glance at one, this time last year when one landed briefly on the trap just in time for me to identify it, before disappeared off into the night...

Esperia sulphurella- This one had me scratching my head when I first caught it on 8th, but thanks to the 500 odd micro photos covered on my newly acquired Chris Manley's Moths and Butterflies photographic guide, I managed to pin it down. A common and widespread species across the whole of Surrey...

Pale Mottled Willow- It was great to finally catch the first PMW of the year on 1st, but the novelty will soon wear off, and this can be one of the commonest species in the trap in throughout the spring, summer and autumn.

Early Grey- Caught on 1st, a first for me. The name doesn't really do the moth justice though, I think it looks quite smart.



Introducing me!

engrailed (above)

dotted chestnut (below)


Agonopterix alstromeriana


powdered quaker


emperor moth




yellow-horned





peacock butterfly

Lunar marbled brown

I'm Ken Noble. I live in the South-eastern corner of Surrey, under the Gatwick flight-path. (Wasn't the volcano a mercy?!)

I run a Robinson 125W trap but usually switch it off at bedtime, so I don't get the enormous catches that some people do. I started mothing about six years ago and my garden list is over 520 species now (I'm nearly up to 600 for Surrey). My main claim to fame was adding a tiny micro to the Surrey list - Argyresthia cupressella -though to be honest I wouldn't have known what it was if Graham Collins hadn't IDed it!

Trapping has been poor the last week or two because of cold nights, strong winds and lack of cloud cover. Last night I only had two lunar marbled browns, for instance. As this is my first post I'll put up one or two recent photos taken in my garden.

I enjoy photography - some of my efforts can be found on Mark Elvin's brilliant website: http://www.wildlife-galleries.co.uk/gallery2/main.php