Alan Salter

I have the 6 clearwing set and the Emperor Moth lures on the premises but not actually available until the anniversary of my birth in a few weeks time. Have heard of the FUN lure- I’ll have a read up about it. 👍

19th species of the year just arrived in the fog-
Phlogophora meticulosa. Angle Shades.
Nice fresh colours. VC13 #TeamMoth

I’m new to pheromone lures. Which one are you using and to attract what?

Seem to be fine. The one I’m using now has been in for quite a few months. It is tricky buying them as sometimes they last much longer than others don’t they.
TBF when one goes it’s usually because I didn’t wait for it to be cold before moving it. Impatient to get into the trap.

I managed to get some from SW Clarke Electrical Ltd on EBay quite recently.

12/5 1NFY VC13 #TeamMoth
Orthosia incerta. Clouded Drab.

ObsIdentify suggested so. I had hoped it was going to be a really micro micro so was disappointed having potted for a photo to find a single pair of wings. ☹️

Not a moth. A Moth Fly.
Who knew such a thing existed!
#TeamMoth #TeamNotMoth

Conistra vaccinii.

17/10 1NFY VC13 #TeamMoth
Conistra vaccinii. Chestnut.
Milder conditions with very little breeze means I’m now starting to catch moth counts in double figures at last. 🙄

I’ve only caught it a couple of times before but only in the Autumn. This is my first Spring one after its Winter hibernation.

10/8 2NFY VC13 #TeamMoth
Alsophila aescularia. March Moth
Lithophane semibrunnea. Tawny Pinion

As my catch totals rarely exceed 60 moths I pot first. I’ve got 60 pots. Decent photos with key identifying features shown need to be done in an enclosed space imho. If I catch more than 60 moths there are certain to be large numbers of a couple of species so I just count and release those as I go.

Oh yeah - also don’t open pots outside. Indoors there’s a chance of escapees being recaptured.

If something has been tried and it works then pass it on. Very few ideas are truly original. Everything I know I learnt from others on #TeamMoth. I’m no expert. Still squash things by accident!

Small glass vials do mean sometimes you can photograph a micro while it is still captured in a pot. Any transferring is very risky.

Also never seen one. 🙄

You could try opening the pot onto a chilled surface rather than a room temperature surface. I have tried putting a slate piece into the fridge with the pot and using that. I believe that taking a chilled slate out of the fridge results in a little condensation which a micro moth finds interesting?

TBH I’m not sure I have the energy to go after my maximum trapping streak this year. Perhaps I’ll just concentrate on site variety this year? We’ll see.
Trouble is, if you get a run of success there’s a temptation to get carried away.

491 moth species here in the Barren Wasteland of my Sussex Garden since August 2020 so anything is possible with good habitat close by. Definitely very little decent habitat in my garden but long trapping streaks have helped.

Well you probably weren’t doing much night time birding anyway so any nighttime birds observations are probably a bonus?
I’m in the opposite camp really as birding would probably reduce the time I spend looking for day flying moths and butterflies.

Diurnea flagella. March Tubic or Early Reveller or March Dagger depending on which list you are referring to.

5/3 1NFY VC13 #TeamMoth
Not ideal conditions for trapping as it was quite cold and breezy but Diurnea flagella was one I’d only caught a couple of times before. Visiting the Gatwick Caravan&Motorhome Clubsite so plenty much bigger flying very close by.

I think the main difference was the almost complete absence of any breeze which had been plaguing me for weeks.

Anorthoa munda. Twin-spotted Quaker.

15/8 VC13 #TeamMoth 4NFY
Alucita hexadactylaTwenty-plume moth
Selenia dentaria. Early Thorn
Xylocampa areola. Early Grey
Anorthoa munda. Twin-spotted Quaker.

Nice early Early Thorn. Selena dentaria.
Just arrived #TeamMoth VC13

Orthosia cruda. Small Quaker NFY

6/5 1NFY VC13 #TeamMoth
Orthosia cruda. Small Quaker
Orthosia cerasi. Common Quaker x2
Biston strataria. Oak Beauty
Gymnoscelis rufifasciata. DSPug
Epiphyas postvittana. LBAM
Despite low numbers actually my best result so far this year. Early days.

I’m no expert but emergence of over 50% seems pretty successful to me. Impressive.

I’m hoping this one makes it but would definitely give it another try should an interesting moth leave me some eggs at some point. Probably would ideally want to start with more than five though as that doesn’t really seem like much chance of success.

A collection of caterpillar skins shed as five eggs hatched and the caterpillars progressed through the different instars. Just one left now in its 6th instar.

Today my Oak Eggar caterpillar shed another skin and moved to its next instar. Still eating after a couple of days of reduced activity while it prepared to move on a stage. #TeamMoth

Definitely. Put in the graft at home and then get mobile whenever possible.

Oak Beauty. Biston strataria.

#TeamMoth
Dragged species count up to
5 last night. However, given that this time last year I was on 2 I’m not panicking yet. It does look like I may need to go on a 200+ night trapping marathon again to beat last year plus getting the trap out and about a lot. First pheromone lures arrived today!