Is it spring?

Peacock butterfly on the wing at Conwy RSPB this morning, wondered who told it spring had arrived!! Still far too cold to get the moth trap up and running.

Trap out for the first time - fair start

Last evening seemed a possibility so the trap went out in the 'front field'. Result was 5 moths of 5 species - so quite interesting.

Red Chestnut - dark specimen but good condition
Hebrew Character
Early Moth
Mottled Grey - which looks to be less frequent in Ynys Cybi area
and a micro which looked close to Parsnip Moth.

No pics I'm afraid, but an encouraging start.

Ian W

January moth

Put the trap out as it was a mild night and attracted what I'm sure is a dark chestnut rather than chestnut as it has a pointed wing tips - and is dark!

Merveille du jour

Another trapping session in Colwyn Bay prodiced the first Merveille du jour of the year, a really smart moth. Also common marbled carpet, lbam and a probable but very worn spruce carpet.

Mynydd Bodafon, Anglesey 15/11/12

As it was a very warm evening I dug the moth trap out of its winter storage. Conditions were cloudy and humid but the skies cleared overnight which may have reduced the catch. However there was quite a variety, if not huge numbers.

3 Red-green Carpet
1 Angle Shades
1 Silver Y
2 Black Rustic
2 November Moth
1 Blair's Shoulder-knot
1 December Moth
2 Feathered Thorn
1 Beaded Chestnut
2 Flounced Chestnut
1 Winter Moth
1 Northern Deep-brown Dart
1 Spruce Carpet

December Moth

November Moth

Still catching the occasional moth with a spruce carpet in the trap last night and a light brown apple moth still on the wing with a silver Y the night before.

Colwyn Bay

Put my spare trap up at R&R's in Colwyn Bay last night and recorded my first mottled umber of the year. Also 4 common marbled carpets and an angle shades. Back home I just had a single figure of eight.