House guest

Graham wrote in his last post about how a change in power of bulb can lead to a change in moth numbers, with the the comparison of using a 125w vs 80w mercury vapour lamp. This is certainly true, and my catches with my 20w actinic bulb are often much lower than those down the road!

What I also find interesting is the different make-up of species that we catch at our different sites. Recently I have regularly been catching Mottled Greys and Red Chestnuts, which have not been recorded by Graham. Whilst Graham has been catching several Orthosia species that have not troubled the scorers in Batch Valley.

Checking the contents of the trap this morning showed this pattern again. I had a Mottled Grey and a Red Chestnut, along with two Oak Beauty and my first two Small Quakers. No sign of some of the other species that we have seen on Ludlow Road recently. It keeps it interesting and shows that only by trapping in several locations will we be able to record a truer representation of the moths of the area.

I also had a welcome house guest today. We rudely disturbed this Twenty-plume Moth from a coat in our utility room. A species that I have not seen since the late summer.

Twenty-plume Moth