Micro?

This tiny little creature (4mm) unfortunately came in on some washing from the garden and was accidentally killed. Is it possible to tell from the photo what it is?

Thanks, Tammy

Public mothing event at Pont Logel SSSI

Hello Moth-ers,

This Saturday, ^19th August, the MMG (Montgomeryshire Moth Group) is holding a public mothing event at Pont Llogel SSSI, situated just north of Llangadfan, in the north of the county. This excellent riverside site has produced some superb species lists for us over the years, so please come along and join for what promises to be an tremendous evening’s mothing.

Full event details are:-

Venue: Pont Llogel SSSI

Target species: Barred Chestnut

Event Date: Saturday 19th. August

Meet Time: 8:00pm onwards at the bridge car park.

Directions: On the A458 just north of Llangadfan take the B4395 which passes through Pont Llogel, the car park is next to the river bridge.

Grid Reference: SJ032154

Montgomeryshire Moth Group (MMG) is an independent voluntary group of people interested in moths. All ages are welcome to attend events whether experts or beginners.

This year all the events are light trapping events. We set up the light traps at dusk to attract moths and then release them after identification.

As with all our evening events, please bring a torch and wear suitable outdoor clothing.

You are welcome to join us for as much of the evening that suits you, we are likely to stay for several hours. However, in case of cancellation, due to poor weather or unforeseen circumstances, always ring or e-mail to check the event is on before joining us.

Peter.

Identifying the 'autumn thorns' - PDF

As we near the end of summer, the orange-coloured thorn species become common across the county. Identification is not always straightforward and in 2014 I made a PDF highlighting the best ways to separate this group. It is available to view here.

It is one of a number of ID documents available in the 'Articles & reports' section of the website.

Cors Dyfi - 07/08/17

One of three Rosy Marsh Moth

I headed to Cors Dyfi reserve on Monday night; armed with 7 traps, which I spread across the car park and boardwalk.

I recorded just shy of 100 species. This included the 5th county record of the 'Red Data Book' Rosy Marsh Moth, a species associated with bog myrtle that is probably breeding at the site. Another good macro was Dog's Tooth: the 3rd county record and the first since 2004.

There was a good selection of wetland species including Round-winged Muslin, Crescent, Bulrush Wainscot, Southern Wainscot, Marsh Oblique-barred, Bactra lacteana, Chilo phragmitella and Orthotelia sparganella. The heath traps did very well with Oblique and Devon Carpets.

Images from the site and some of the moths caught, along with the species list can be found below:

Cors Dyfi - 07/08/17

Report: moth event at Centre for Alternative Technology - 22/07/17

View over the quarry

The Centre for Alternative Technology (www.cat.org.uk) in the far west of the county owns a significant area of land, much of which is managed with biodiversity in mind. Following successful events in the past, we descended on the site last Saturday with eight traps. The trapping area is mostly mixed mature woodland, and is adjacent to a disused slate quarry, which offered some stunning views as the sun set.

As well as gathering valuable records, events are an excellent way to raise awareness about moths and it was, therefore, great that many of the 27 people who turned up were completely new to moths. We caught an excellent selection of 'crowd-pleasers', including Black Arches, Rosy Footman, Elephant Hawk-moth, Buff Arches and Large Emerald, which I'm sure represented an excellent introduction to moths.

Barred Carpet (photo: GO)

Shortly after turning the lights on, I potted two Nationally Scarce species from the white sheet: Barred Carpet and Devon Carpet. At an event held at the site in 2015, we found the former to be very common with over 10 individuals being caught. We recorded similar numbers this time, and mused it could be one of the best sites in the county for this particular species.

Due to clear skies, the temperature quickly dropped (low of 10°c), however, moths continued to readily come to the traps for the first few hours of darkness. Notable macros found during this time were Satin Beauty, Satin Lutestring, Oak Nycteoline, Dark Marbled Carpet and Tissue, the latter of which we have found hibernating in caves at the site during previous visits. Micros were a little thin on the ground, however, we did record 15 species. Scoparia ancipitella, Agonopterix conterminella and Hypatima rhomboidella were among the most notable. The full list of species seen is available here.

We began to pack up the traps at around 12:30, and were able to add a flurry of species to the list, including Garden Tiger, Northern Spinach, Dotted Clay and Slender Pug. Despite the cool conditions, we recorded a total of 76 species. One can't help but wonder what interesting species might have come to light had it been warmer - we'll just have to return again!

The link below contains more photos from the event:

CAT MMG moth event - 22/07/17

Douglas.

Public mothing event at Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) 22nd July

Hello All,

This Saturday, 22^nd July, the MMG (Montgomeryshire Moth Group) is holding a public mothing event at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), situated just north of Machynlleth, in the west of the county. Once again we are trapping above the quarry which has now got walkways throughout, very spectacular. We first trapped at this particular site at CAT two years ago when we found a breeding population of the rare Barred Carpet, so fingers crossed that we’ll do equally as well at this event. So please come along and join us at this very under-recorded site for what promises to be an excellent evening’s mothing.

Full event details are:-

Venue: Centre for Alterative Technology (CAT)

Event Date: Saturday 22^nd. July

Meet Time: 8:30pm onwards. Park in car park.

Directions: From Machynlleth head north on the A487 for about three miles: CAT is signposted and the centre is on the right hand side of the road. Once you enter the CAT main car park please drive up to the car park at the top of the North Drive (the North Drive can be found to the left of the ticket office as you enter the main car park), where it will be signposted to the trapping area above the quarry.

Grid Reference: SH754044

Montgomeryshire Moth Group (MMG) is an independent voluntary group of people interested in moths. All ages are welcome to attend events whether experts or beginners.

This year all the events are light trapping events. We set up the light traps at dusk to attract moths and then release them after identification.

As with all our evening events, please bring a torch and wear suitable outdoor clothing.

You are welcome to join us for as much of the evening that suits you, we are likely to stay for several hours. However, in case of cancellation, due to poor weather or unforeseen circumstances, always ring or e-mail to check the event is on before joining us.

Peter

Posting on the blog

Just a quick reminder that the blog is for everyone to use. Please feel free to share anything you think may be of note; this might include unusual records, photos, mothing stories, annual reports, etc. The blog can also be a place for discussion if you have an ID query, question or a general point to raise.

If you're not already set up as a blog author, the process is very simple and only requires a Google account (the chances are you already have one). Please just drop me an email - my address on the sidebar.

Douglas.