It's been cold overnight for a few days here so not much has been happening. I did have this nice Small Seraphim (Pterapherapteryx sexalata) though which is a fairly uncommon moth and might be a new record for my borough.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Do you all have fancy traps to attract and then identify these moths? I find the ones here all move about too fast to get a clear visual ID, let alone a photo.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Do you all have fancy traps to attract and then identify these moths? I find the ones here all move about too fast to get a clear visual ID, let alone a photo.
This is mine. In it's basic form it's just a cheap UV lightbulb suspended over a box. The moths fly to the bulb and drop down into the box. The lid works like a funnel to keep them trapped inside. If you're willing to loose some sleep then you can just use the bulb and a white sheet to attract them and either catch them in small containers or take photos to identify them from later.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
There may be a local moth group near you that would "Have a go" in your garden. I was amazed by what turned up to a couple of trappings 2 years ago. Then last year when we had the hot weather and the trailcam recording the foxes looked like something out of star wars opening sequence, I bit the bullet and bought a collapsible type with an actinic bulb. It doesn't seem to trap like the one I borrowed though, so I've gone and ordered a robinson trap with a 125W mercury vapour lamp. That should light up the neighbourhood.
Trouble is you start with the basics, then see what some others are getting , so you upgrade. Then you get the moth books, then you find that some of what you think of as macros are in the micros book, so you get that.
Then some use pheromone lures to get the clearwings and the emperor moth that don't come to light.
Now photographing them and storing the Photos to identify them meant an upgrade on computer requirements. and so it goes on.
It was really exciting when we got a privet hawkmoth though.
The trap was full this morning but a lot of moths were very keen to leave and flew off as soon as I opened the lids. There were a few nice ones in there but nothing new. This was the highlight for me though. The darkest Peppered Moth I've seen so far. Hopefully it's just a melanistic oddball and not a reflection of local air quality.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
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Who knew?!?! 😲
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.