Down to the Woods!

Jubilee Covert - 7 February 2019

We kick-started the field trip season with a rather productive trip to some l local woods on Thursday night, 7th February.

With a small window available between my normal after-school activities and a predicted change in weather,  Peter picked me up with a car full of traps, generators and moth-ing paraphernalia and we headed for some woods near Frostenden. 

Although it was already dark,  setting up wasn't too difficult as we had decided to deploy just 2 of our homemade traps with the 20W Wemlite bulbs. While we were setting up the traps, moths were already being attracted to our head torches which fueled our optimism.

First moths in and around the traps were Pale Brindled Beauty and Tortricodes alternella,  the latter being a first for Peter and my first for a few years. 

Pale Brindled Beauty - Phigalia pilsaria

Tortricodes alternella

Within seconds of lighting up the first trap, Spring Ushers were flying around us and a few were netted and placed in the trap for looking at later.  We deployed the second trap further up the track and returned to base where we took a few moments to grab a coffee and organise the pots.  Very quickly we noticed some Chestnuts in their usual positions of being low down on the narrow, smooth-barked trees. In total we counted over 60 Chestnuts using torches, scanning the most likely trees for the reflections of their eyes in the beams.

The Chestnut - Conistra vaccinii

As we searched the tree trunks, we found a newly emerged moth climbing up a small tree.  Although its wings were still wet and floppy, they were fully pumped up and I could tell it was a Dotted Border; a new species for 2019.  We left it in peace to dry its wings and continued our search.  

Dotted Border - Agriopis marginaria

Trunking also produced some more Spring Usher, Pale Brindled Beauty and some Dark Chestnuts while a couple of Psyche casta were found back at base on the trunks of mature Oaks.

Dotted Border - Agriopis marginaria

Dotted Border - Agriopis marginaria

Spring Usher - Agriopis leucophaearia

Spring Usher - Agriopis leucophaearia

A very respectable 109 moths of 7 different species in little over 90 minutes! Not bad at all for February!

The full List:

The Chestnut - 63
Dark Chestnut - 3
Pale Brindled Beauty - 9
Dotted Border - 5
Spring Usher - 20
Tortricodes alternella - 7
 Psyche casta - 2