I have blogged regularly on the subject of checking around the MV/Actinic trap, not just in the trap itself on the Carmarthenshire Blog, and this remains as true as ever. My Scarce Bordered Straw from 20/10 was found on the grass 2m from the trap at midday, and my long-awaited 2017 Vestal last night (22/10) was the very final moth discovered after nearly 20 minutes combing the grass and short vegetation around my trap site. Careful searching around the trap this morning produced 10 additions to the 19 species in the trap, including both
Udea ferrugalis and all 4 Yellow-line and 4 Red-line Quaker. Some species seem to favour hitting the ground rather than flying to the trap, and there does seem to be a propensity for migrant moths not to be in the trap itself.
The other highlight of 22/10 was a stunning Figure-of-Eight, hot on the heels of one on 21/10 (which was still in the fridge). I have waited 13 years for this species to reappear at Dingestow, despite it being regular here in the 1990s and early 2000s until 2004. Martin says it is frequent at Heather Colls' trap site in Jingle Street a few miles east of here, but otherwise has recent records only from southernmost Gwent.
Southerly winds continue off and on for the foreseeable future, so there remains considerable scope for interesting finds!
Nice one Sam, I do like to see the Figure of Eight, nice markings. Glad you have seen a Vestal at last.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with scanning around the perimeter of your trap you can miss something.
I'm always doing it to check if a moth falls short or is reluctant to encroach any further towards the light- It's a thing I adopted right from my early days of trapping at home.