Pic by Les HughesAs we are in a 'Summer Recess' - gosh - I hope that doesn't sound too American!? How about 'Summer Break'?, I thought I'd pop in a quick post about one of my passions:- Moths!
Most people think of moths as those horrid brown things that flutter around the bathroom light when the window's been left open. And it is entirely true! Many Heterocera are indeed brown and seemingly uninteresting, but even the mundane brownies have lives of intrigue and interest. There are, of course, many beautifully marked and coloured moths too. I caught this little beauty, for example, in last week's trapping for the Garden Moth Scheme.
Yellow-barred BrindleNot a common moth in these parts apparently so I was particularly pleased to make her acquaintance in my trap.
Which brings me to our recent moth night in Telford Town Park. We arrived at Maxell Gardens on the evening of July 28 after a day of often heavy rain which didn't seem to want to give up, so we half-hatched a trip to the pub instead! However, the rain eased and eventually ceased, the night then proving to be mainly dry allowing our little furry friends to come out to play. And much cheaper than going to the pub!
We had 2 traps (mine and Les's) and a generator obtained by Graham and kindly loaned from Jenny Joy of Butterfly Conservation which became known as Jennny's Genny! Thanks again Jenny.
We were only allowed 8 people and as it happened, due mainly to the bad weather I guess, there were just 5 of us - all Wrekin Forest Volunteers: Keith, Graham, Nigel, Les and myself.
Sorry!
Wrong Photo!
Here's what I meant to upload;-
Les? Where are you?
Ahah... there you are!
We indulged in the normal wit and silly banter that seems to abound when thrust together and we all had an enjoyable 4 hours, packing up and leaving the site and moths to their own devices at midnight as planned.
I just couldn't resist including this pic of Graham taken by Les and titled by Les as... wait for it... The Happy Lepidopterist. Nirvana. Pure nirvana!
Of course, we did manage to record some lovely moths too and the records have been forwarded to SWT and to the county moth recorder. The file has also been uploaded to the WFV forum too http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wfv
Here's a small selection:-
Peppered Moth (Courtesy of Les)
Dun-bar
Small Phoenix
Apley Castle
If you'd like to come along to the next moth-night it's next Tuesday, August 18 - 8pm at Apley Castle. Park at the old nursery and walk down towards Apley Pool - we'll be in or near the newly-acquired meadow. Stay as long as you wish - moths have been booked to do a mass fly-in at around 9:30pm - weather permitting! If it's raining by the way, we'll still be there, sitting in our waterproofs (as will be the moths) waiting for it to clear.
Stiperstones
A couple of weeks ago Les suggested Stiperstones as a possible site for a future moth night so I've set it up! All bar the date which I will soon be able to notify everyone of. I've been in dialogue with the Reserves Manager at the Trust - Carl Pickup - and Pete who has kindly offered the use of the Trust's generator and we're now already to go. As this is not a public event the exact location and date will be given only to those who express an interest. And to do that simply email me at paulewatts@googlemail.com. NB: If you've already received an email from me posted today (Wed, Aug 12) re dates, there's no need to email me separately as you'll be confirming interest by supplying your available dates.
Micro Moths
There are around 2500 species of moth found in the UK. Some 1600 of these are micro moths which is almost a subject of its own, although as moth recorders we are, of course, encouraged to ID and record as many as possible, but I wonder if there's anyone out there prepared to make this a specialised subject when we run moth nights etcetera? There's a lot of work being done on the Internet with regards to ID but not much written in book form although this guide features all 208 species of UK Pyralids which are likely to be the most common found:-
British Pyralid Moths
By Barry Goater. 1998.
Harley Books. Hardback. 175pp.
Anyone interested? Please email me asap paulewatts@googlemail.com
Plant pics
At the risk of becoming a blog specialising in insects would someone also like to take up the mantle and upload pics to the forum of plants - we're seriously lacking in these and if they're not on the forum I can't use them in the blog. It would also help some of us in the identification of those common and not so common plants of Shropshire. I find the ID of plants and wildflowers a little daunting to say the least so this would be of help to me certainly. Just upload a few pics with ID's so we can all see them.
Where Is It
This issue's 'where is it' pic is going to fox (a clue maybe, or perhaps a red herring?) everyone I think. Answers, educated guesses and wild whims all accepted by popping them in comments below. Make as many attempts as you wish. There will, of course, be one of my fabulous and much sought-after prizes for the winner but I think this one may last a few weeks! Can't see 'Comments'? Click here to go to the main blog and scroll to the bottom of this post www.wrekinforestvolunteers.com
Which brings me to our recent moth night in Telford Town Park. We arrived at Maxell Gardens on the evening of July 28 after a day of often heavy rain which didn't seem to want to give up, so we half-hatched a trip to the pub instead! However, the rain eased and eventually ceased, the night then proving to be mainly dry allowing our little furry friends to come out to play. And much cheaper than going to the pub!
We had 2 traps (mine and Les's) and a generator obtained by Graham and kindly loaned from Jenny Joy of Butterfly Conservation which became known as Jennny's Genny! Thanks again Jenny.
We were only allowed 8 people and as it happened, due mainly to the bad weather I guess, there were just 5 of us - all Wrekin Forest Volunteers: Keith, Graham, Nigel, Les and myself.
Sorry!Wrong Photo!
Here's what I meant to upload;-
Les? Where are you?
Ahah... there you are!We indulged in the normal wit and silly banter that seems to abound when thrust together and we all had an enjoyable 4 hours, packing up and leaving the site and moths to their own devices at midnight as planned.
I just couldn't resist including this pic of Graham taken by Les and titled by Les as... wait for it... The Happy Lepidopterist. Nirvana. Pure nirvana!
Of course, we did manage to record some lovely moths too and the records have been forwarded to SWT and to the county moth recorder. The file has also been uploaded to the WFV forum too http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wfvMore pics of the night and the moths on the WuFuV forum
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wfv/photos/album/1335260373/pic/list
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wfv/photos/album/1335260373/pic/list
Here's a small selection:-
Peppered Moth (Courtesy of Les)
Dun-bar
Small PhoenixThe Top Three in terms of numbers were:-
1: Large Yellow Underwing
2. Dun-bar
3. Brimstone
1: Large Yellow Underwing
2. Dun-bar
3. Brimstone
Apley Castle
If you'd like to come along to the next moth-night it's next Tuesday, August 18 - 8pm at Apley Castle. Park at the old nursery and walk down towards Apley Pool - we'll be in or near the newly-acquired meadow. Stay as long as you wish - moths have been booked to do a mass fly-in at around 9:30pm - weather permitting! If it's raining by the way, we'll still be there, sitting in our waterproofs (as will be the moths) waiting for it to clear.
Stiperstones
A couple of weeks ago Les suggested Stiperstones as a possible site for a future moth night so I've set it up! All bar the date which I will soon be able to notify everyone of. I've been in dialogue with the Reserves Manager at the Trust - Carl Pickup - and Pete who has kindly offered the use of the Trust's generator and we're now already to go. As this is not a public event the exact location and date will be given only to those who express an interest. And to do that simply email me at paulewatts@googlemail.com. NB: If you've already received an email from me posted today (Wed, Aug 12) re dates, there's no need to email me separately as you'll be confirming interest by supplying your available dates.
Micro Moths
There are around 2500 species of moth found in the UK. Some 1600 of these are micro moths which is almost a subject of its own, although as moth recorders we are, of course, encouraged to ID and record as many as possible, but I wonder if there's anyone out there prepared to make this a specialised subject when we run moth nights etcetera? There's a lot of work being done on the Internet with regards to ID but not much written in book form although this guide features all 208 species of UK Pyralids which are likely to be the most common found:-
British Pyralid Moths
By Barry Goater. 1998.
Harley Books. Hardback. 175pp.
Anyone interested? Please email me asap paulewatts@googlemail.com
Plant pics
At the risk of becoming a blog specialising in insects would someone also like to take up the mantle and upload pics to the forum of plants - we're seriously lacking in these and if they're not on the forum I can't use them in the blog. It would also help some of us in the identification of those common and not so common plants of Shropshire. I find the ID of plants and wildflowers a little daunting to say the least so this would be of help to me certainly. Just upload a few pics with ID's so we can all see them.
Where Is It
This issue's 'where is it' pic is going to fox (a clue maybe, or perhaps a red herring?) everyone I think. Answers, educated guesses and wild whims all accepted by popping them in comments below. Make as many attempts as you wish. There will, of course, be one of my fabulous and much sought-after prizes for the winner but I think this one may last a few weeks! Can't see 'Comments'? Click here to go to the main blog and scroll to the bottom of this post www.wrekinforestvolunteers.com
See you all soon and hopefully, many of you on Tuesday at Apley Castle.
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