First half of May - terrible for moth trapping

The weather during the first half of May has more or less continued where April left off, but without the frost, very variable with wet cool nights, therefore trap catches have been very poor indeed    We can only hope that things pick up soon - and here's a sobering thought - it's only just over a month away until the nights will start drawing out again!!

Updated chart attached below.

Just a reminder of the target species to look out for (below) and please remember you can join in with this challenge when ever you like, just let me know here, what you've recorded.

The target species added in May (or let me know if you’ve already have recorded one) are; -

9) Yellow-barred Brindle (1 point)

8) Tawny Pinion (2 Points)

7) Any migrant hawk moth – this might seem rather unlikely, but it does of course include the Humming-bird Hawk-moth, so everyone will have a chance to record one of these (3 points)

The target species to look out for which were added in previous months are; -

6) White-marked (1point)

5) Pine Beauty (2 points)

4) Oak Nycteoline (1 point)

3) Blossom Underwing (2 points)

2) Shoulder Stripe (1 point)

1) Small Brindled Beauty (2 points)

Peter.

What a shockingly cold April for our 'target species challenge'

 Hello Moth-ers,

The data for April in our ‘lockdown Target species challenge’ is now in  and can be viewed on our blog as well as our Facebook page. 

I think we can all agree that this April was about as bad for moth recording as it could be and one which should be consigned to history. I recorded 19 nights in the month where the temperature fell below 0c. Hopefully, May will give us some milder nights where we will once again see moths in our traps!

Please note the following 'Challenge' points: 

1) That all target species will remain active in the challenge (although some may have finished their flight time), so please let me know if you record one of these at any time and I’ll update your points on the table. 

2) Also, it may well be you’ve already recorded a species before I add it to the target list, that’s fine, just let me know and I’ll add the record to the main table.

3) This challenge is open to everyone without any restrictions and you can join in whenever you like, just let me know and I'll add your name to the chart.

The target species added for May are directly below and this time I have added a special third category (please let me know if you’ve already have recorded one); -

9) Yellow-barred Brindle (1 point)

8) Tawny Pinion (2 Points)

7) Any migrant hawk moth – this might seem rather unlikely, but it does of course include the Humming-bird Hawk-moth, so everyone will have a chance to record one of these (3 points)

The target species to look out for which were added in previous months are; -

6) White-marked (1 point)

5) Pine Beauty (2 points)

4) Oak Nycteoline (1 point)

3) Blossom Underwing (2 points)

2) Shoulder Stripe (1 point)

1) Small Brindled Beauty (2 points)

Good luck to all.