MOTHer's Day

 In common with many birders I have taken up moth-trapping. I first started in 2012 with an actinic trap and moved on to a mercury vapour Robinson type, which I constructed myself so as to not divert too many funds from birding and travel. I've never got really in to it, I don't dissect, I bought the ingredients to try some sugaring about two years ago but have never got round to it, and I only bother with micros if I (or obsidentify). can i.d. them quickly.

My enjoyment comes from the potential to trap new moths, and I have done some at other locations when travelling. I took the actinic trap to Shetland last October and recorded exactly two moths, although the chalet I stay in isn't ideally located. I fully expected to be getting bored by now, but last year was incredible from the point of view of new moths to my back garden. I know the potential as we have a strip of brambles, nettles etc. running along our fence at the edge of a farmer's field, we've recorded about 17 species of butterfly and currently three hundred and ten macro-moths. That's without intensive trapping, usually once or twice a week. When I started there was obviously much looking through books and, as with birds, several stuck in the mind as being highly sought-after.


I suppose the current "purple patch" really started in 2022, when after ten years of trapping a single Merveille du Jour arrived, in fresh plumage. Two days and several photos later it sat outside the trap in the morning and the colours had visibly faded, although still beautiful. Although I was out of the country a lot in 2022, catching up after Covid, I still managed six new species. But 2023-wow! It started with a Chamomile Shark and Brindled Beauty in April/May, then in June, along with the anomalous Bird's Wing came a rarity, Four-spotted. Unfortunately I initially dismissed this as a micro so the photos left a little to be desired, but identification is quite clear. I had a total of twelve new moths, including one which was on the wall outside our bedroom window, a Goat Moth. My year finished with a moth I couldn't identify, on uploading it to the Lincolnshire Moths Group on FB it was eventually identified as a Brindled Ochre, a first for my part of the county!


I usually do quite well with Hawkmoths, and 2023 was no exception. However, Ann and I went to Tadoussac in Canada to see Belugas, and one day on the white wall opposite our hotel veranda was a Bedstraw! Never seen one in the UK. I've only ever trapped one Pine Hawkmoth here, but all the other common ones occur, last year I had 5 Privet, a Lime, four Poplar, two Eyed, 5 Small Elephant and 47 Elephant, all numbers being estimates as some are undoubtedly the same moth being trapped more than once. Most are tame and you can carry them around on your finger to show people. Oh, and three Hummingbird Hawkmoths, they always appear on the Hardy Plumbago at some stage. But just when I thought it was all over, a moth I haven't seen since Matthew Deans was ferrying one to a twitch to show everyone back in the last century (quite fun to be able to use that expression!). On release it sat on the honeysuckle all day, a Convolvulus Hawk.

A couple of days before I was due to go to Shetland, another moth I had always wanted to trap, a Clifden Nonpareil. These seem to be expanding their range and are not uncommon now in Lincolnshire during migration, but after the Merveille-du-jour it was my most wanted moth. Next I suppose is Oleander Hawkmoth, you never know!

When I travel abroad I don't set up traps, but always have a look round lights etc. out of interest. Ann and I have seen some fantastic moths, including Madagascar Moon Moth, Hercules Moth, and many more, but we can't get in to foreign mothing, there's too many birds left! Perhaps a few photos on my next blog.


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