Number of species:
This month: 6
Saturday 31 January 2009
Weather: Cold (steady 3°C throughout), partly overcast, brisk wind.
Last night represented little more than a desperate attempt to give January’s records a slightly rosier glow, after all, we managed nine species in January ’08. This year though, I’m afraid we’re going to have to settle for just the six after last night’s dismal no-show.
With the outlook for the first week of February’s not looking too bright I think it’ll be a little while before the opportunity comes along to see another moth - roll on spring…
Thursday 29 - Friday 30 January 2009
Too cold and too wet.
Wednesday 28 January 2009
Weather: Mild (about 5°C), overcast with drizzle later, little or no wind.
Oh Lordy! Another moth! That’s two now since 15 January! Given the conditions and that yesterday was predominantly fine and sunny, I had a hunch we might see a bit more this morning, a Small Quaker, for example, not to be though.
Noctuidae
- 1 Satellite Eupsilia transversa Hufn.
Tuesday 27 January 2009
Weather: Cold (0°C more or less all night) clear and calm.
Oh dear, yet another no-show.
Monday 26 January 2009
The rain persisted throughout the day on Sunday and well into the evening, not that, in all likelihood, there would have been any point in putting the trap out anyway.
Sunday 25 January 2009
Weather: Between 18:00 and 23:00 the temperature rose from -2°C to 6°C, starting clear, becoming overcast and then very wet and fairly windy.
With the prospects for the remainder of January not looking that bright last night represented what could be the last opportunity to get the trap out this month. As it happened it got another soaking but it was all in a good cause - the first moth for ten days.
Geometridae
- 1 Spring Usher Agriopis leucophaearia D. & S.
Saturday 24 January 2009
Weather: Cold end of mild at first (5°C), partly overcast and relatively calm but clearing and becoming much colder (down to -3°C) and frosty.
This is starting to get quite unfunny, we were not only mothless but the still slightly damp egg-trays had frozen to the inside of the trap!
Thursday 22 - Friday 23 January 2009
Too cold, too wet, and far too windy.
Wednesday 21 January 2009
Nothing doing on the trapping front - the temperature fell to about -3°C last night so there seeed little point. There is some interesting news though, which lifts the gloom somewhat. Martin Honey at the Natural History Museum has had word from Dr Ole Karsholt at the University of Copenhagen regarding the Blastobasis Sp. that we trapped on 15 November. He says: "Comparing the nice photo of the genitalia of the Blastobasis specimen with our paper and genitalia slides in our collection I am rather convinced that it is B. vittata Woll. Martin, if you compare this specimen with Wollaston’s type you may wonder if they can really be conspecific, but B. vittata is the most variable Blastobasis in Madeira." Martin goes on to say that as soon as the collections are back in place in South Kensington he will compare this specimen with their type specimen and let me know.
This news raises some rather interesting issues. Firstly and most importantly, Blastobasis vittata isn’t even on the British list which makes me wonder whether it’s ever been recorded in Britain before? Good news if it does prove to be that species and this is the first record from these shores but a bit of a pain in the posterior as far as this site is concerned - I have based an awful lot of the functioning of the site on the, not unreasonable, presumption that any species trapped will have its very own Bradley & Fletcher number and thanks to Jim Porter’s little book, a vernacular name. I might have to make one up for it just so that it can appear in the list - all the other Blastobasis are "Something Dowd" so maybe "Drab Dowd", "Brown Dowd", "Dingy Dowd"? I really did think the system would be fool-proof… Secondly, it would appear the curious Madeira connection has been re-established - will have to give more thought to that. Thirdly, and for the time being finally, this species has a synonym: Blastobasis lignea(!) and this is the reason for the reclassification of what is now called Blastobasis adustella, what used to be called Blastobasis lignea was apparently, a misidentification.
Tuesday 20 January 2009
Weather: Cold (1°C at 08:00 this morning), mainly overcast heavy rain around dawn, windy.
Oh dear! I’m starting to get the idea that January isn’t the most prolific of months. It wasn’t that much better this time last year either but there were one or two species beginning to show themselves that, as yet, we are still to see. It’s looking like it might be a little milder and more settled later in the week - here’s hoping.
Monday 19 January 2009
Weather: Cold (4°C), calm and clear at first with heavy rain and strong winds later on.
I had no idea that the weather was set to change so abruptly - didn’t make a spit of difference though, we didn’t catch anything - again!
Sunday 18 January 2009
Gale force winds and heavy rain were forecast and duly arrived.
Saturday 17 January 2009
Weather: Mild (around 8°C all night) one or two light showers, very windy.
Complete no show. The temperature was, for the time of year, as good as can be hoped for but I’m afraid it must have been just too windy - no point wasting energy when there’s absolutely no chance of detecting those pheromones, let alone pin-pointing their source.
Friday 16 January 2009
With a cold clear night forecast it seemed like a good opportunity to give the moths a break.
Thursday 15 January 2009
Weather: Cold and still at first, becoming a little milder and breezier later (4°C at 08:00), mostly overcast.
With the cold (about 0°C) start to the night I really wasn’t expecting very much so, I guess, four moths counts as a fairly decent return. The catch was as follows.
Geometridae
- 1 Pale Brindled Beauty Phigalia pilosaria D. & S.
- 1 Mottled Umber Erannis defoliaria Cl.
Noctuidae
- 2 Satellite Eupsilia transversa Hufn.
Wednesday 14 January 2009
Spring Usher - Agriopis leucophaearia
Weather: Cold (-3°C at 08:00), overcast at first clearing, light wind.
The night started fairly mild (about 5°C) but became very cold and frosty. Despte this, we managed three moths in the trap (well one was on the outside) including the first, optimistically named Spring Usher of the season. The catch was as follows.
Geometridae
- 1 Spring Usher Agriopis leucophaearia D. & S.
- 1 Mottled Umber Erannis defoliaria Cl.
Noctuidae
- 1 Satellite Eupsilia transversa Hufn.
Tuesday 13 January 2009
Sallow Button - Acleris hastiana
Weather: Mild (7°C at 23:00), overcast, heavy showers, very windy.
Pretty much the same conditions except for the rain which I wasn’t going to let stand in my way. Worth it too, that’s four moths, four species so far! The catch was as follows.
Tortricidae
- 1 Sallow Button Acleris hastiana Linn.
Geometridae
- 1 Mottled Umber Erannis defoliaria Cl.
Monday 12 January 2009
Satellite - Eupsilia transversa: The year’s first moth.
Weather: Mild (8°C at 23:00), overcast, damp, very windy.
Up and running! After a very sudden change in the weather, last night’s temperature was about 18°C warmer than Friday Night’s and during the day on Sunday it was (comparatively) warm and sunny, so I dusted of the trap and fired it up. Remarkably, despite the wind which was pretty strong, we caught two moths! The Light-brown Apple Moth was particularly pleasing as we have now recorded that species in every month of the year. The catch was as follows.
Tortricidae
- 1 Light-brown Apple Moth Epiphyas postvittana Walker
Noctuidae
- 1 Satellite Eupsilia transversa Hufn.
Thursday 01 - Sunday 11 January 2009
Saturday 10 January 08:30 am
Well, here we are, year 3 of this project… and welcome to the slightly re-fangled website. Let’s just hope this year brings some better weather than what we’ve sadly all become used to. Things haven’t had a particularly auspicious start though with the south of England’s coldest January night for more than twenty years recorded on the night of 9 January - the photo above was taken at 08:30 in the morning! No surprise then that there has been very little "trapping action" so far then. At least there’s been plenty of interesting bird-life in the garden to keep an eye on instead - don’t have to go outside to see it either!
I have had some interesting moth related news though from John Langmaid. Firstly, the unusual looking Epiphyas Sp. that we caught back in October has been positively identified but sadly only as postvittana on the bright side it is of a form, as yet unnamed, of which there have only been two other known records. John feels it should be called muldoonana after Peter Cook’s "The Ballad Of Spotty Muldoon" - hope it sticks! The other piece of news that I had from John was that the possible Clepsis Sp. trapped in early December is in fact an unusual black form of Acleris hyemana (Heath Button), yet another heathland species to add to the list (where are they coming from?) - rather puts paid to the possible Madeira connection though.
