Reasonable Catch Despite the Wind

[melbellingham]

Despite very blustery conditions when the trap was put out last night (04/10/2019 – 11.5C min), the winds dropped in the early hours and the result I thought was a reasonable tally.

51 moths of 18 species including Yellow-line Quaker 2 and Red-line Quaker both NFY.

Also recorded were Large YU 4, Lesser YU 5, Angle Shades, Red-green Carpet 3, Common Marbled Carpet 4, Black Rustic 3, Blair’s Shoulder-knot 3, Barred Sallow, Lunar Underwing 2, Shuttle Shaped Dart, Willow Beauty 2, Light Brown Apple Moth 2, Eudonia angustea, Phyllonorycter messaniella, Garden Rose Tortrix and Tachystola acroxantha 13. This latter species has been my most common micromoth for a few years now.

Earlier in the evening, while checking the ivy I found Yellow-line Quaker, Lesser YU and Angle Shades, but presume these were the individuals found in or near the trap this morning.

Mel.

Yellow-line Quaker

Red-line Quaker

[SteveH]

Reasonable Mel??

I'd be jumping through hoops for 18 species in October

Cheers,
Steve

[melbellingham]

Hi Steve,

I know what you mean, as in October some years I have been down to low single figures of both species and numbers.

It is just that this year in particular, many of the moths that I normally record were missing. There are some of the autumn fliers that are 'late' but hopefully could still appear.

Perhaps 'reasonable' was an unreasonable phrase, and I should be more appreciative of what I am still recording. At the end of the year, when I complete an analysis, it will show whether the year has been good, average or bad, but species are definitely down, and numbers seem to have been down.

Mel.