Wednesday, 10 April 2013

Hopeful Signs

Yesterday morning there was an Oak Beauty resting on the outside reveal of my kitchen window and so with a daytime high of 10.50C I decided to run the trap overnight. The minimum overnight temperature, last night, was 3.10C, but I still had by far the best catch of the year so far, with 35 moths of 9 species.

Shoulder Stripe x 1
Mottled Grey x 2
Brindled Pug x 7
Small Quaker x 8
Common Quaker x 4
Clouded Drab x 5
Twin-spotted Quaker x 5
Hebrew Character x 2
Early Grey x 1

No Oak Beauties or Yellow Horned, which was a little disappointing, especially the latter, as I haven't recorded one since 2009 and time is running out for this year too.

5 comments:

  1. I can't match that Mark, but I did have 4 species in my trap this morning - my first moths in the trap for over a month:

    Common Quaker 1
    Dark Chestnut 1
    Double-striped Pug 1
    Emmelina monodactyla 1

    George (Llandaff North)

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  2. Me neither!
    Down here in Hertfordshire, just this little lot.

    1x Common Quaker [NFG]
    1x Early Grey [NFG]
    3x Hebrew Character
    1x Oak Beauty
    5x Small Quaker

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  3. Hmm... Interesting. I shouldn't be too ungrateful, I suppose. I doubt very much whether I'll get get anything like that sort of catch on Friday, for the GMS.

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  4. And the tally for Rhoose Point last night was:
    - Oak Beauty 1
    - Early Thorn 3
    - Common Quaker 5
    - Early Grey 1
    - Hebrew Character 3

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  5. I imagine it was a lot breezier down there at the coast, Adam, whereas up here in the valleys, we had patchy rain.
    What we need now are some mild nights without rain, so that we can get out trapping beyond our gardens. I can't see any such nights in the near future for us in the west, though you might fare better over there in Herts, Benny.

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