… You truly never
know what you are going to get. Moths have not had the best publicity, often
being seen as the duller version of their more recognized butterfly cousins.
However moths have a brilliant diversity that often goes unnoticed, possibly because the large majority have
nocturnal habits or because people perceive them as uninteresting. But this
conception is very misconstrued;
take my favourite moth for example, The Death’s Head Hawkmoth, it has a skull-shaped pattern on the top of
its head which has inspired superstition and artwork the world over.
 |
| A Death's-head hawk moth |
 |
| The Preston Montford skinner trap |
At Preston Montford
we have been using a Rothamsted light trap for many years, but this form of
capture requires us to kill the moths and send the specimens to a local expert.
This technique does not cause a decline in the moth species caught in any way, but as part of our
status as an eco-centre we wanted a more
ecological approach to capturing moths. Thus we decided to purchase a ‘Skinner
moth trap’ which is positioned in an area of diverse
habitat by the three ponds we have on site. The trap was filled with egg boxes
so that any moths caught can hide in the small crevasses for shade. The large
bulb acts as the bait, because many moth species find bright light mesmerizing. It is believed moths use angles and the position of the
moon as a form of celestial
navigation, but when we mimic the light of the moon their sense of orientation
becomes skewed and they end up orbiting the light. However, this is only a theory
and is not the case for all
moths.
 |
| Pale Brindled Beauty |
 |
| Oak Beauty moth |
 |
| Hebrew Character |
In the first few days of
putting the moth trap out we caught an Oak Beauty (Biston strataria), which has strong alternating white and brown stripes
bordered with black lines. Within a week a whole host of different moths
appeared including the Satellite moth (Eupsilia transversa), the Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria), a March Moth (Alsophila aescularia) and a Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica), which has bold
kidney bean shapes on its wings which act as a strong indicator for this genus.Unlike other groups
of insects, moths are more manageable to identify due to their
distinctive shapes
and patterns and little effort is required to trap them.
If you feel this blog
has sparked your interest in moths why not try one of our courses on
Butterflies and Moths
which runs from the 5th
to the 9th of August and looks at
developing skills in identification and trapping. The Field Studies Council also produces a
fold-out chart called ‘Day Flying Moths’ to help in your
identification when you are next on a walk in the outdoors.
Why not follow us on
twitter @Prestonmontford for the latest
updates at our centre .
Until next time!
Rossco
(Ross Cornish)
