White gate Pools event on 24-09-22

This was the first time we have held an event at this small nature reserve (and surrounding area), so we had no idea of what might turn up – it was a case of fire up the traps and see. The nature reserve is very closed in and protected by many species of shrubs and trees from all sides, just the right sort of site for an early autumn event.

During the day we had some showers, but these were fading away, so we looked forwards to a dry, if cool evening, but actually, early on we had some good cloud cover which held the temperatures up and this proved very good for us with many moth species on the wing.

We set out 5 Skinner type traps and the white sheet, all of which were using 125w mv bulbs, the traps were fired up at 7:30pm and it wasn’t too long before the first species came to the table, a Small Dusty Wave, which is actually quite an uncommon species in the county with a status of ‘C’, this was quickly followed by a Beaded Chestnut and the very common Large Yellow Underwing.

Small Dusty Wave

Very soon more species followed, and these included the Barred Sallow, Dusky Thorn, Pine Carpet and the Brimstone Moth.

Pine Carpet

Micro moths were quite thin on the ground with only four species being recorded; Blastobasis decolorella, Epiphyas postvittana, Acleris sparsana and Plutella porrectella which along with the Small Dusty Wave was probably the moth of the evening.

Epiphyas postvittana

Plutella porrectella

Blastobasis decolorella

As the evening moved on more new species were potted, Angle Shades, Lesser Yellow Underwing and a fabulous Black Rustic, such a smart moth.

Angle Shades

Black Rustic

Soon after 10:30pm the skies cleared and the temperature dropped, and moth activity dropped away, so we decided to call it a night and started to pack up the kit, one last species was potted, a Brindled Green. For a full species list please click here.

Thank you to all those who attended the event (16 of us), which included three new faces via Facebook (social media is good for some things!) and to the events team who organised and ran the event.

Our last event of 2022 is at Dolforwyn Woods on the Saturday 22^nd. October and I hope to see some of you there.

Peter.    

Moth & Bat Night at Camp Plas Campsite, 20/08/22

 August's moth night was held on the 20th of August at the Camp Plas Campsite in Dolanog. It was a joint event with Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust, and was a rather busy night, with around 50 people in attendance including moth group members and general public. The site was comprised of several fields, including an area of longer grasses and a field bordered by a river and several hedgerows, meaning a varied range of habitats were available for different moth species.

After a barbeque we all enjoyed a wonderful talk on bats by Tammy from the Wildlife Trust, followed by a walk around the site with bat detectors. The 'bat hotspots' were next to the barn (with bats possibly catching moths and other bugs attracted to the light!) and down by the on-site river. Common and Soprano Pippistrelle were identified, as well as Daubenton's bats (of which we had a wonderful sighting as they swooped over the water) and Myotis species.

Centre Barred Sallow

Six moth traps were switched on for the event, as well as a mercury vapour bulb shining on a white sheet. Despite the night having begun with fairly dry conditions, the weather worsened later on and we had some heavy rain showers- leading to a few technical difficulties as the power flickered on and off! This led to a rather early finish at 11.15pm. Nevertheless, we record 29 moth species, comprising 5 micro-moth species and 24 macro-moth species- not too bad considering the weather!

Small Wainscot, with a pound coin for size reference!

It was fantastic as always to see these species identified by the group experts and learn more about them and their identifying features.

Bulrush Wainscot

One particularly exciting moth for the night was this Bulrush Wainscot, a rare 'C' grade species in Montgomeryshire with only 48 records so far. This was the only rare moth for the night, though we recorded some very attractive species, including Lesser Swallow Prominent and Dusky Thorn. 

Lesser Swallow Prominent

Dusky Thorn

Black Arches

For a full list of the species recorded, please follow the link below:

https://1drv.ms/x/s!AmtpvP57pyJFhUxki-0JCpz5TL99

Thank you to all the organisers of the event for a wonderful (if wet) night of moth catching! The next event will be held on Saturday the 24th of September at White Gate Pool nature reserve in Montgomery, starting at 8pm.