Wednesday 28th
At last we had a settled night so the traps could be set again, though far from good conditions being clear overnight and very cold at 4.4°C. 12 moths of nine species were in the Car Park trap with the obvious highlight of Cosmopolitan- our third ever record and yet the second this year!
Four portable traps were set in each of the Gullies and the Elms and had a combined catch of 33 moths of 15 species. Rusty Dot Pearl was the most numerous at seven.
Thursday 22nd
The trap was not set due to the forecast but there was still a Palpita vitrealis and a Rusty Dot on the wall by entrance light.
Wednesday 21st
The forecast didn't look promising but last night started as quite warm and muggy so the trap was set last minute. The payoff was 89 moths of 23 species of which 45 were migrants - 17 Rusty Dot Pearls, eight Small Mottled Willows, five Turnips, two Silver Ys and singles of Scarce Bordered Straw and Palpita vitrealis. A Blair's Shoulder-knot and a Radford's Flame Shoulder were also present.
Tuesday 20th
Trapping is less regular due to weather amongst other things. To make up for this three traps were operated last night. With a minimum of 12.5°C there was plenty of migrant activity despite the strength of the breeze.
Species Feeders Ringing Room Car Park
Silver Y 1 8 2
Small Mottled Willow 1 8 6
Rusty Dot 1 19 1
Palpita vitrealis 4
Scarce Bordered Straw 3 2
Diamondback 2
Total 10 88 48
Species 9 21 16
The numbers clearly show which trap was most exposed and which had some shelter.
The first November Moth of the year was recorded.
Monday 19th
A Yarrow Pug larvae found by the Chequers was a rare non-adult record of this species.
Friday 16th
Little Gully evaded trapping on the last big day so three LEDs were set to make up for it, having a respectable catch of 73 moths of 28 species. Two more fresh Least Carpets are clear signs of a late generation and could potentially mean even later records are possible. Migrants had a good showing with doubles of Vestal, Turnip and Diamondback, triples of Small Mottled Willow and seven Rusty Dot Pearl.
Wednesday 14th
Much colder going back down to 6.2°C although conditions were much more settled. Seven LEDs were placed around Restharrow Dunes, Jubilee Field, Waldershare Gully and Big Gully with a combined catch of 131 moths of 32 species. A Least Carpet was our latest record by six days and singles of Channel Island's Pug and Blair's Shoulder-knot were of interest. Green-brindled Crescent was the most common moth of the catch, though 16 of the 18 caught were in Jubilee Field.
The main trap held 105 moths of 29 species. The highlight was a Merveille du Jour It always attracts attention being such an attractive moth.
A Square-spot Rustic was a late record. Silver Y and Two Small Mottled Willows represented the migrant macro-moths.
Tuesday 13th
With overcast overnight conditions and a temperature not dropping below 14.7°C there were hopes for a big catch. Whilst the total was a couple more at 125 there were actually less species - 34. Migrants did increase with nine Small Mottled Willows, four each of Rush Veneer and Scarce Bordered Straw, six Rusty Dots and a Golden Twin-spot.
Most interest was on a possible Epinotia caprana a species which has not been recorded here since the 1950's. We will need to check further.
Monday 12th
It was an unsettled night with heavy showers. When the sky cleared the temperature went down to 5.7°C. There was enough cloud at times to encourage moths out and it was a good catch for this time of the year. There were 123 moths of 39 species. There is an interesting variety of late records - last night it was an Oblique-striped and a Flounced Rustic. The first Dotted Chestnut this autumn appeared. There were a variety of migrant related species - three Rush veneers, two Vestals, and singles of Diamondback, Small Mottled Willow, Beet Moth and Scarce Bordered Straw.
Sunday 11th
The wind dropped over night and it felt cool. The minimum was 7.2°C. The catch was 95 moths of 25 species.
The good run of Dusky-lemon Sallows continued with another two, there were also two Barred Sallows. There was the second Brown-spot Pinion this autumn. The migrants were three Small Mottled Willows, two each of Rush Veneer and Rusty-dot Pearl and a Dark Sword-grass.
Saturday 10th
Despite the start to the night, with rain and wind, there was a good selection of moths for the visitors to see. Two traps were operated at the Observatory and some LEDs in The Elms. Over 250 moths of 35 species were noted. The highlights were two third records for us, both from the Elms. One was a Blair's Mocha and the other the tortrix Acleris sparsana.
Friday 9th
It was breezy and clear to start with and the temperature went down to 6.1°C. Extra traps were set in preparation for Saturday. Despite the conditions there was a nice variety of moths caught. The ringing room trap added a smart Dewick's Plusia to the variety.
Four LEDs were set in the Elms providing some cover against the wind and rain. 81 moths of 32 species was the catch. Brick and Red-line Quaker were the most numerous at seven of each, migrants consisted of four Rusty Dot Pearls, three Rush veneer, two Small Mottled Willow and a Vestal. An Acleris kochiella was only our fifth record. Two Barred Sallows were of note.
The feeders MV faired less well though produced our first Blair's Shoulder-knot of the year.
Thursday 8th
No moth trap last night due the strength of the northerly. As soon as the sun warmed things up today there was a Hummingbird Hawk nectaring along Sandown Road.
Wednesday 7th
Despite some forecasts it was warm last night with a minimum of 15.1°C. This gave good conditions for moth activity and the trap held 228 moths of 26 species. There was an emergence of Small Mottled Willows with 73 counted, mostly very fresh and clearly marked. Lunar Underwing was next with 58, followed by 23 Large Wainscots. Other migrants were six Rusty Dot Pearls, four Rush veneers and singles of Silver Y, Bordered Straw and Palpita vitrealis. There were no wasps.
Tuesday 6th
It was a bit warmer with a minimum of 10°C. The number only went up to 232 but the variety increased to 36 species. A very fresh looking Convolvulus Hawk-moth was the best along with a couple of Pinion-streaked Snouts. There were two Scarce Bordered Straws and one Bordered Straw.
Monday 5th
The night was cooler with a minimum of 7.6°C but there is hardly any moon and so moths are still active. There were 216 moths of 28 species. Dusky-lemon Sallow reached four and amongst the migrants were six Rush Veneers, four Vestals, three each of Rusty Dot, Small Mottled Willow and Scarce Bordered Straw plus singles of Gem, Palpita vitrealis and Radford's Flame Shoulder.
An indication of the evening dampness is the regular appearance of Great Silver Diving Beetles. Thankfully there was no repeat of the number of wasps.
Sunday 4th
Calm and clear again with a minimum of 8.6°C. It was another good catch of 168 moths of 32 species. After a quiet summer there were also a lot of wasps in the traps. Lunar Underwing totalled 79 and there was the first Feathered Thorn of the autumn. Feathered Brindle continued their good show with another 17. Migrants included four Small Mottled Willows, three Vestals and singles of Scarce Bordered Straw, Palpita vitrealis and Four-spotted Footman. The feeders trap added five Vestals, three Small Mottled Willows, two Rush Veneers and two Feathered Brindles of note.
Saturday 3rd
Essentially ideal conditions to the previous night being a very calm, clear night. There were 163 moths of 24 species in the main trap with half the catch being Lunar Underwing. A fresh Dark Spectacle was five days away from being our latest record, Feathered Brindles did well with ten, and migrants involved three Small Mottled Willow, two Scarce Bordered Straw, a Vestal, a Turnip, a Pearly Underwing and a Palpita vitrealis.
The feeders trap added three Rusty Dot Pearls and an extra each of Small Mottled Willow and Scarce Bordered Straw.
Friday 2nd
The sky cleared and the temperature went down to 7.7°C. The catch reduced accordingly but there was still a nice variety including some migrants. The first Brown-spot Pinion was the best moth as we did not get one last year. Large Yellow Underwing was down to just two.
Migrants included eight Rusty Dots, four each of Rush Veneer and Small Mottled Willow. The feeders trap added three more Small Mottled Willows, four Rush Veneers and a Vestal.
Thursday 1st
Last night was mild and humid with a minimum of 13.6°C It was an interesting catch with 196 moths of 39 species.
Lunar Underwing just beat Small Mottled Willow 41 to 35. Oak Rustic (of the white-marked form) was a first for the year. Musotidia nitidalis (Golden Fern) seems to be settling in the area and there was a first one for the main trap. There were also two Dusky-lemon Sallows, a species which is part of a recovery project we are participating in.
Migrants included three Palpita vitrealis , seven Rusty Dot Pearls, ten Rush Veneers, two Vestals and a Diamondback.
On the non-moth side there were two Western Conifer Bugs.