The 7/8th June was National Moth Night aimed at encouraging people within the UK to attend events or to record moths locally if they had the necesaary expertise and equipment. This is the event's 10th anniversary so it's begining to be a fixture within the annual calendar of natural history "happenings" aimed at bringing about an increasing awareness of the world around us all.
And so I dutifully put out my Actinic trap, as I've done on many nights before, only to find this morning that some technical fault had developed and that it had "cut off" at some point through the night. The trap is powered from a caravan ( rechargeable ) battery and emits UV light to which the moths respond. They are caught in the box-like trap and find refuge in the egg box sections put in there for the express purpose of them providing them with refuge. In the morning they can be examined and released safely.
Whilst problems had obviously arisen, all was not lost as the trap had clearly operated for most of the, thankfully short, night and various species had been caught ( Buff-tip, White Ermine, Clouded-bordered Brindle and Heart and Dart ). Hopefully the fairly calm and relatively warm nights will continue and allow more trapping to take place and records generated.
After my colleague's repeated, but unsuccessful, forays last week to hear the local Grasshopper Warbler in song guess what commenced to sing again this evening after his departure!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment