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.
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| Small Dusty Wave |
Very soon more species followed, and these included the Barred Sallow, Dusky Thorn, Pine Carpet and the Brimstone Moth.
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| 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.
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| Epiphyas postvittana |
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| Plutella porrectella |
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| 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.
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| Angle Shades |
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| 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 22nd. October
and I hope to see some of you there.
Peter.
Thanks for the report Peter. I had not been to this reserve before and it is very small indeed, more a nature "corner" to my mind. However, indicative from the species we recorded, for this time of year, the reserve and surrounding area looks very promising for a return visit some time, earlier in the year perhaps.
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