Category: Nature

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Last nights moths

Yes, yet another post about moths… Well, things are hotting up in the moth world and I’m off to a moth workshop in Borth today so I’m enjoying my moth trapping at the moment. Don’t worry, I’m out on my MTb tomorrow and then on holiday for a week so you’ll get something different soon!...

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Clouded Drab Confusion

I identified two of the moths caught in our soggy moth trap last night as Clouded Drab (Orthosia incerta), a variable species that can make identification a little difficult. I started having second thoughts about my identification when I put them next to each other for a comparative photo. As you can see they look...

Soggy Moths 1

Soggy Moths

It was very wet out there last night (14.6 mm of rain whilst the moth trap was out), windy at times too at around 20 knots but mild with a minimum temp of 6.6ºC. The moth trap was partly full of water, but there were a few moths in it. Clouded Drab x2 Early Grey...

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Photos of an Amorous Couple!

It seems as though the photos of the mating pair of Dasystoma salicella moths I took at the weekend have been in demand. I posted one of them on a forum and immediately had a couple of people ask if they could use it for their own personal records. Obviously I didn’t mind and sent...

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Moth Trapping in Ceredigion

The weather looked good for moth-trapping yesterday and as things seem to be hotting up in the moth world, we put the trap out again. It wasn’t a great catch, but there were two new species for the garden which is all good for the learning process. Of course, as this is my first year...

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In search of the Orange Underwing Moth

It looked like a nice morning for a walk today, the winds were light, the sun was shining and I’d heard that there were some Orange Underwing moths (Archiearis parthenias) around at a local nature reserve. Apparently they can be seen flying around birch tress in the sunshine during March. I had a good look,...

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Moths Hotting Up

Despite the temperatures dropping to 1.1ºC last night we still had quite a few moths to contend with. Many of them were on the pergola rather than in the trap, but there were a few unfamiliar ones to me so it took a bit of effort to identify them all. The catch comprised of: Shoulder...

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Naturalist Weekend

I’ve just spent the weekend in Conwy. I decided to head up to North Wales as there was a North Wales Moth Recorders’ Meeting at the Pensychnant Conservation Centre. I travelled there on Saturday, stopping on the way to do a few geocaches and arrived in plenty of time for the meeting. After a coffee...

Mottled Grey Moth 0

Mottled Grey Moth

The moth-trapping season is just getting underway and although we’ve yet to catch any moths in the moth trap, we are getting some attracted to the porch light. As I’m still fairly new to moth trapping, most of the species I catch at the moment are new to me, so here’s a new one from...

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Moths at Last

So far this year my moth-trapping exploits have been a little disappointing. We’ve put the moth trap out a few times but have had no success. This has been made more frustrating by the fact that I have seen plenty of moths on the wing in front of my headlights whilst driving between Aberystwyth and...