Can you help?
Every charity relies on its volunteers and we are no different. Our Treasurer is moving away from the area and so will be stepping down. We need a new treasurer. Bo has prepared a small manual to describe what is done and how it is done if this will help. Please contact treasurer@sbbot.org.uk if you think you might be able to help.
Saturday 28th
There were enough dry patches between the heavy showers to warrant putting the trap out. It caught 26 moths of 17 species, ten of these were migrants. These were five Rusty-dot Pearls and singles of Diamondback, Vestal, Gem and Palpita vitrealis. Unfortunately, although it remains mild, a lot of wind and rain is forecast which will make life difficult for the migrants.
Friday 27th
Showers again but not windy resulting in a catch of 20 moths of nine species. There were five more Rusty-dot Pearls and another Grey Shoulder-knot.
Thursday 26th
Having thought we had missed out on the influx into the South-west it was some surprise to kick up an Old World Webworm Hellula undalis by St George's Bushes in the afternoon. This is only our second ever record.
Monday 23rd
Unsettled at times and then clear with the temperature dropping to 5.7°C but at least we could put the trap out, which sounds unlikely for the next couple of nights at least. There were 32 moths of 13 species. Oak Rustic and November Moth agg. were new for the year and there were five Rusty-dot Pearls, a Pearly Underwing and a Silver Y.
Sunday 22nd
The rain persisted longer than expected before the cloud cleared and the temperature went down to 6.6°C. There were 51 moths of 20 species.
After the previous days brain failure with the Gem it was good to record our second ever record of Red-headed Chestnut. There was also another Radford's Flame Shoulder, eight Rusty-dot Pearls, two Delicates and a Silver Y.
Saturday 21st
After a few nights off due to winds and rain the sky cleared and the trap was back out at last. The wind and rain did return early morning but not before 79 moths of 19 species were caught. Due to the weather we missed a lot of the influx of Rusty-dot Pearls but there were still 12 last night. There were also three Rush Veneers, a Gem and a Silver Y.
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing types continued to show with yet another one. Six Mallows and 10 Large Wainscots were of note.
Wednesday 18th
Although windy it was dry and mild and so the opportunity was grabbed before the storm. There were 69 moths of 17 species. This included two very worn Rush Veneers. There was also a slight increase in Large Yellow Underwings with nine recorded.
Tuesday 17th
A stiff breeze removed any chance of frost and actually raised the temperature to 11.9°C. The strength of the breeze meant I had no great expectations for the trap contents. There were 43 moths of 14 species. This included two Delicates, a Silver Y and the first Diamondback for a while.
Monday 16th
Last night was clear and calm allowing the temperature to fall to 1.1°C and the first frost of the autumn to form. It was no surprise that the catch was just five moths- two each of Beaded Chestnut and Lunar Underwing plus a Red-line Quaker.
Sunday 15th
After a night off for stormy weather the trap was back out. However the cooler weather which had been forecast had arrived and the minimum dropped to 4.8°C.
There were 16 moths of six species. These were seven Lunar Underwings, two each of Delicate, Large Wainscot, Feathered Brindle and Green-brindled Crescent and a Beaded Chestnut.
Friday 13th
Although it was cloudy again, this time with the first rain for some time, which kept the temperature above 17.1°C there was also a brisk breeze. The catch went down to 127 moths of 27 species. The highlight was the fourth Radford's Flame Shoulder this autumn. Thirteen Rusty-dot Pearls were of note.
Thursday 12th
Overcast conditions helped keep the minimum to 15.6°C. This yielded an excellent catch of 420 moths of 48 species. There were lots of highlights including migrant related Golden Twin-spot (first for the year), Silver Y (2), Convolvulus Hawk-moth (2), Palpita vitrealis, and Rush Veneer.
Feathered Brindle was most numerous with 88 and Delicate reached 44. There were four Clancy's Rustics,16 Black Rustics and another Radford's Flame Shoulder.
Some species that we have not seen for a few weeks also reappeared such as Copper Underwing, Burnished Brass and Common Rustic agg.
Wednesday 11th
Although the night started breezy the wind dropped a bit and thick cloud gathered helping keep the minimum to 13.6°C. This resulted in another good catch of 312 moths of 43 species.
Grey Shoulder-knot was a first for the year and is scarce here. There were ten Rusty-dot Pearls, two each of Clancy's Rustic, Scarce Bordered Straw and Rush Veneer plus singles of Vestal, Dark Sword-grass and Pearly Underwing.
An indication of how mild it is is the continued presence of Hummingbird Hawk-moths. There were singles nectaring on Verbena bonarensis at the Obs and on Salvia along Sandown Road.
Tuesday 10th
It sounds as if the calm, mild, spell is drawing to a close but last night was still good with a minimum of 11.8°C. There were 353 moths of 37 species. There was a second Radford's Flame Shoulder, another Convolvulus Hawk-moth, nine Rusty-dot Pearls, two each of Vestal and Rush Veneer plus a Scarce Bordered Straw and a Clancy's Rustic. They will keep going until the weather breaks.
Monday 9th
The calm nights continue and although the minimum was lower at 10.3°C, there was a good catch of 345 moths of 42 species. The highlight was the first Radford's Flame Shoulder of the year. Other notables were four Vestals, two Silver Ys, two Scarce Bordered Straws, a Pearly Underwing, and the tiny but very attractive (black, orange, and silver), Cosmopterix pulchrimella.
Saturday 7th
With the temperature only falling to 14.8°C and the air feeling humid it was an excellent night for moth trapping. Four hundred and seventy eight moths of 42 species were caught. With mention of air coming up from the Sahara close attention is being paid for migrants. A Dewick's Plusia and five Vestals and a Scarce Bordered Straw may well have been associated with this. Such is the change in climate these days that it is difficult to know if the Convolvulus Hawk-moth and two Clancy's Rustics were actually local progeny. The stunning Merveille du Jour was new for the year. Lunar Underwing (154) might be expected to be numerous but 83 Feathered Brindles and 43 Delicates were notable counts. A Red Underwing, a Copper Underwing and a Heart and Dart were all late records.
Friday 6th
After a night off the trap was back out. The thermometer went down to 10.9°C, probably because of the breeze and clearness of the sky but it did feel humid. There were 272 moths of 31 species. Lunar Underwing reached 97 but 51 Feathered Brindles were notable. Other moths of note were singles of Scarce Bordered Straw, Pearly Underwing, Clancy's Rustic and Palpita vitrealis. A Dark Chestnut was the first of the autumn generation.
Wednesday 4th
The sky was clear overnight allowing the temperature to go down to 9.2°C. The catch reduced to 133 moths of 23 species. There were four Delicates and Convolvulus Hawk-moth made a welcome reappearance.
Tuesday 3rd
A cloudy night with a cooler breeze arriving for early morning. The temperature did not fall below 14.8°C and the catch was 261 moths of 35 species. One Dark Sword-grass was the only suggestion of moth migration but five Western Conifer Seed Bugs were new insect arrivals. Blair's Shoulder-knot was new for the year. The very red form of Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing put in its first appearance this year, we wait to hear if this is a new species or not.
Monday 2nd
The night started with a clear sky and bright moon but it was humid. There were 140 moths of 31 species. Green-brindled Crescent was new for the year. Feathered Brindle was second most numerous with 20. There was no evidence of migration except possibly a Clancy's Rustic.
Sunday 1st
It was not as warm as forecast to start with and the temperature still reduced to 8.6°C.
The catch still increased to more than 100. The highlight was our second Uresiphita gilvata. Two Dusky-lemon Sallows, two Brown-spot Pinions a Vestal and a Barred Sallow were the supporting cast.
Good news about the very worn Porter's Rustic type from earlier, it has been confirmed and is our first record.