The conditions are too good, so I was trapping again last night; this time at home. There were lots of great moths (134 moths of 37 species), including no less than 8 Elephant Hawk Moths and 5 Ruby Tigers. Two new species. Bordered Beauty (Epione repandaria) and Many-plumed Moth (Alucita hexadactyla), and some others that I didn’t feature yet this season are pictured below.
Another warm night, this time trapping in the garden of some local friends. Didn’t catch as many moths as maybe I expected, but still a good variety and plenty of new ones for this year. Brown-line Bright-eye is not one that I’ve caught before.
As well as the hawk moths and other interesting macros, the moth trap attracted a wide supporting cast of smaller moths: pugs, grass moths, greys and other micros. Here is a selection of the 44 species I was able to identify.
UK’s mini-heatwave means there’s plenty of moths. There were twenty-five Scarlet Tigers in and around the moth trap this morning, and three types of hawk-moth: Elephant, Small Elephant and Poplar.
A couple of new moths among a big haul of moths this morning. Lobster Moth, so named because of its very ugly crustacean-like caterpillars, is a fairly large woodland species found around beech & birch trees. Buff Aches is a very handsome moth whose caterpillars can be found on brambles. Both species fly in one generation around mid-summer.
Taking advantage of a lovely warm, still and dry evening, I caught a good selection of moths, including my first Elephant Hank-moths of the year.
Not an ideal night for trapping, as it was a bit windy, but more moths again - 51 moths of 30 species, including several new ones for the year. Swallow-tailed Moth, The Miller and Common Carpet are not ones I catch very often.
A fairly typical selection of moths for the end of May. 17 moths of 15 species recorded, which is average for the time of year.
Been busy, so a small delay adding some photos from last week. These are fairly typical moths for May-June. plus the first Cockchafer of the year.
After some warmer days, this was the first outing in 2025 for my moth trap, catching some typical moths for mid-March. All of these moths fly for a couple of months in a single generation in the early Spring.
As we had a nice dry night on Friday, I was able to put out the moth trap. I caught nine species, including this trio - all of them fairly typical for the time of year. Frosted Orange (Gortyna flavago) flies during Aug-Sept, it’s larvae live inside the stems of thistle plants. Blair's Shoulder-knot (Lithophane leautieri) is found around Cypress trees and flies a bit later - Oct-Nov. It is a non-native species first recorded in UK in 1951, but now widespread in gardens across most of England. Pale Mottled Willow (Caradrina clavipalpis) flies from July-September; its larvae are found on grain of cereal crops, including those that have been harvested.
Out of 38 moths this morning, 19 were Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) - fairly typical for the season. These are common Autumn moths, colloquially known as “blunderwings” as they fly off clumsily when disturbed from their daytime resting spots. The sandy-coloured Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua fimbriata) is a similar size also with a yellow hind-wing, but this time with a broader black band around the margin. Of the other moths in and around the moth trap nine were Setaceous Hebrew Character (Xestia c-nigrum).
These are from last weekend - it’s been a busy week. Quite a varied catch of fairly typical late summer moths. Elbow-striped Grass Veneer or Chevron Grass-moth as it seems to be called too, is a grassland species I don’t catch every year. A shiny Burnished Brass and a couple of Nutmegs were nice seasonal catches.
Here’s a mixed bag of other moths and insects caught last week. At this time there is a large variety of creatures on the wing at night.
I’m still catching new species in my moth trap; here’s three from 19 July which I’ve just finally got time to post. Leptocerus tineiformis is a small caddisfly with very long antennae that is found around ponds. Green Arches (Anaplectoides prasina) is usually rather greener than this individual; it flies in June-July and its food-plants are bilberry, honeysuckle and knot grass. Brown Moss Moth (Bryotropha terrella) is also single-brooded frequenting grassy areas and flying throughout the summer.
Three exotic-looking moths from the other day… it’s always a thrill to find beautiful creatures like these when you check the light trap in the morning.
This morning I achieved my “1000 species” goal from when I started this project back on 1st June 2018, with a brace of new moths. The first of these was a Large Emerald, which with a wingspan of 50-60 mm is our biggest UK all-green Emerald moth. It is a woodland species associated with birch and hazel with a single flight period peaking in July.
#1000 Large Emerald (Geometra papilionaria)
Here’s a few more moths from the other night: my first Riband Waves of the season and this nicely green Green Pug. There are more micros now too, including my first grass moths and these two fruit tree species: Bramble Shoot Moth and Codling Moth - the former as you might guess eats bramble leaves, while the larvae of the latter grow inside the cores of apples and other hard fruit like quinces & pears.
This pretty, pea-green moth is a fairly common woodland species flying in May-July. With a preference for Oaks, though it will also lay eggs in other deciduous trees, its caterpillars feed from within a rolled up leaf. It can be a pest, sometimes completely defoliating trees. A new species for my garden it brings my total to 999.
A dry and still night, but too cold for many moths unfortunately. These three are species I didn’t post previously. The two Small Magpies I caught were the first of the season for this macro-sized micro moth. Small Magpie has a long flight season through to September, its food-plants are nettled & woundwort. Buff Ermine is another common moth (four in the trap this morning) flying from May-July; food-plant nettles, but also a variety of other herbaceous plants including birch & honeysuckle. Vine’s Rustic has 2 generations, one now and a larger one in the late summer when it is for a period one of the most numerous macros. It’s caterpillars eat plantains and docks.
Passionate about nature, based in Gloucestershire UK; this site is about creating a wildlife friendly family garden and exploring the diversity of animal & plant species that share it with us.
As a nature lover and wildlife gardener I started wondering about the biodiversity in my backyard and just how many species from plants to insects to birds to mammals might live in or visit it.
Much of the wildlife in my small, village garden has been present right under my nose for years without my really appreciating it, so on the way I am learning a lot about different species and how to make a wildlife-friendly environment for them; also getting engaged more in conservation activities around Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and the Cotswolds.
My garden species tally started from zero on June 1st 2018, the target was 1000 species, which I eventually hit in June 2024. But there’s still plenty to see and learn about.
I'm very interested in your comments & advice: whether it's about the blog, some help with identification or just how to make my own little Eden better for wildlife. So please leave a comment or drop me a line if you feel like it!
Graham Tompsett
microedenproject@gmail.com
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