MAY MOTHS

The moth trap has been operating on a handful of nights at the country park during the middle part of May. Catches have been low with the best nights producing just over twenty individuals.
This poplar hawkmoth pictured above was the first big moth of the year on the 12th May.

The widespread moth, the angle shades has been noted on a couple of nights

Several small Chinese character moths with markings like a bird-dropping were noted mid month.

One chocolate-tip showed up on the 12th, one of its local foodplants, the poplar is close-by in the park.

This freshly marked knot grass moth is noted in small numbers each year the park. Some of its local foodplants here include dock, plantain and sallow.

One light brocade was found in the trap on 12th, there's plenty of its foodplant hawthorn close-by.

The water carpet is a regular moth each spring here, in ones or twos.

This freshly marked red twin-spot carpet was noted on the 17th, the second individual this spring.


Other moths noted have included common carpet, green carpet, brimstone, oak-tree pug, brindled pug, white-spotted pug, least black arches, white-pinion spotted, waved umber, figure of eighty, Hebrew character, common quaker, powdered quaker, shuttle-shaped dart and swallow prominent,