The recent mild weather has encouraged me to put the moth-trap out for two nights running. Tuesday night was a bit of a disappointment; no moths, one caddis-fly. Last night however was much more productive.
Initially all I could see in the trap was two caddis-flies, but two of the egg boxes turned up three moths. The highlight was my first
December Moth, a much more attractive moth than its rather dull name might suggest.
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| December Moth |
It was sharing its egg box with a Brick. This one was worn, but not as badly as the one last week. Another box contained a rather worn Barred Sallow.
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| Brick |
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| Barred Sallow |
Interestingly, the Brick became quite active within ten minutes of the egg box being removed from the trap, just like the last one did. This is not typical noctuid behaviour as most seem to remain fast asleep for hours, so assuming I've correctly identified this tricky species I wonder if this could be an "identification feature".
Some time after I put the trap away I went out to prune the buddleia and noticed I had overlooked a moth clinging to the fence. It was my third Red-green Carpet of the year.
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| Red-green Carpet |
So four moths in one session is the best return since September. The forecast suggests colder weather is on the way, but if mild conditions return it would be tempting to give it another go.
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