Moths come full circle

As regular readers will know, I borrowed a scientific (albeit home-made) moth trap from my good friend Rob, here in Cottenham on the edge of the Cambridgeshire Fens. He had been telling me about mothing for a while and how he and his kids had been keen back in the day. The trap was lying dormant in his garden workshop. Copper Underwing, Amphipyra pyramidea I had occasionally snapped the odd large moth, a Hummingbird Hawk-moth in France a Pale Tussock in our conservatory, some Cinnabar moths and Six-spot Burnets along footpaths of Aldeburgh and other places. The inspiration came to borrow the trap and have a go at mothing properly on the 23rd July 2018. Mrs Sciencebase spotted a rather large and patterned moth on the warm, west-facing outside wall of the conservatory. It turned out to be a Copper Underwing (Amphipyra pyramidea, Linnaeus, 1758). Copper Underwing, Amphipyra pyramidea I photographed this specimen and then contacted my friend Rob to ask if I could borrow the trap. He set it up for that night and I paid a visit the next morning to see what had come to the actinic ultraviolet light (lots of species!). After we photographed and released those back into the wild, I left with the trap and got ready to set it up in our back garden with its attendant egg trays (they act as nice resting places for the moths that enter the trap where they can roost overnight). Next morning, I had a good haul of Lepidoptera, Ruby Tiger, Burnished Brass, Large Yellow Underwings, and so many ...
Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Sciencebase Source Type: blogs