Over 1,200+ species of moth have been recorded at Sandwich Bay including local and coastal specialties such as Bright Wave, Rest Harrow, White Colon, Forester, Oblique-striped, and Cynaeda dentalis. Why not pay us a visit? Our comfortable accommodation on site is perfect for trapping on our reserves or for using as a base to explore other areas nearby. See sbbot.org.uk/accommodation/ for details.
Sunday 30th
The sky cleared and the temperature dropped to 4.1°C. There were not many moths- just 10 of eight species. Three of these were new for the year - Pale Prominent, Muslin and best of all a Lesser Swallow Prominent. We do not catch many of the latter and they are nearly all second generation individuals.
Saturday 29th
The temperature did not fall into single figures as the minimum was 10.1°C. This was not enough to impress the moths and there were only three. Rush Veneer is thought of as a migrant and it must have wondered what was going on. Brindled Beauty was also new for the year and the third moth was a Common Quaker.
An Emperor Moth was pheromone lured during the pleasant, sunny, morning.
Friday 28th
The night warmed up a bit with a minimum of 9.7°C. It seems it will take a bit more to activate moth activity as there were eight moths of six species. Chinese Character was new for the year.
Wednesday 26th
The cold breeze dropped a bit but the temperature still fell to 3.1°C. A bit of cloud later helped go up to 12 moths. Two Shuttle-shaped Darts were new for the year. There were also four Clouded Drabs, two Hebrew Characters, three Powdered Quakers and a Swallow Prominent.
Saturday 22nd
The terrible conditions for moths on the coast continue. At least the nagging easterly dropped last night but the temperature was down to 3.5°C. There were only seven moths - one Common Quaker and six Hebrew Characters. The number of species is well down on last year so far. Roll on the arrival of spring!
Sunday 16th
Last night was calm and clear allowing the temperature to drop to 2.1°C. The warmth of the day seems to have counteracted this a bit and 18 moths were caught. It was the usual suspects - six Hebrew Characters, three each of Common Quaker, Clouded Drab and Angle Shades, two Red Chestnuts, and an Early Grey. Although it is mostly going to be dry this week a keen easterly was mentioned and that will suppress activity.
Tuesday 11th
The breeze was much stronger last night and the catch reduced to 25 moths. This did include another Dotted Chestnut and the first Angle Shades this year for the main trap.
Monday 10th
It was warmer last night with a minimum of 8.1°C The moths responded by increasing to a total of 45 of 7 species. These were 13 Clouded Drabs, 12 Common Quakers, 11 Hebrew Characters, four Red Chestnuts, two each of March Moth and Early Grey plus the first 'micro' for a while an Epiphyas postvitana.
There were also five Great Silver and one Great Diving Beetle.
Sunday 9th
Fairly calm overnight and the temperature kept above freezing with a minimum of 4.9°C. Moths increased to 21 with singles of three kinds of Chestnut - Dotted, Red and The Chestnut.
There was also a Great Silver Diving Beetle and a Great Diving Beetle.
Saturday 8th
It was cold and clear last night and the temperature went down to -0.1°C. There were a few moths, 14 in total, of the expected hardy type. They were six Clouded Drabs, four Hebrew Characters, two Common Quakers, a March Moth and a Red Chestnut.
Friday 7th
Once the unexpected heavy rain cleared the sky cleared and the temperature reduced to 3.5°C. There fore it was not surprising there were only seven moths- three each of Hebrew Character and Common Quaker plus a Clouded Drab.
Wednesday 5th
A repeat of yesterday but with even lower temperatures, getting down to -1.7 at one point. Most traps had only a few Hebrew Characters and Clouded Drabs.
Tuesday 4th
There were cold easterlies overnight and clear moonlit skies. The mv traps in the carpark and by the bird feeders fared poorly with just a few Hebrew Characters each. The actinic in The Elms was better though with around 30 moths, mostly Hebrew Character, but a few Clouded Drabs, Common Quakers, and singles of Red Chestnut and March Moth.