GMS News Weeks 10-18 Early Summer 2012

GMS News

Weeks 10-18

Early Summer 2012

Contents List

Editorial Norman Lowe 1 2nd quarter overview Angus Tyner 1 Mountaineering in Wales Tony Lewis 13 From the classroom to the garden Albert Nolan 15 Quarter 2 in Scotland Heather Young 17 Tailpiece Norman Lowe 17 Regional moth numbers Angus Tyner 18

Editorial – Norman Lowe

The good news is that we are receiving records from more and more moth recorders throughout the British Isles although there are some bureaucratic problems hindering events in some parts! The bad news is that the very cold and wet weather has had an adverse effect on moth numbers, as you’ll see from Angus Tyner’s fascinating review of the quarter.

On the subject of the cold and wet weather, I wonder if this has had an effect on those moths that are flying now during the late summer. In particular, has anyone noticed that there are a lot of dwarf specimens of various species? Do let me know if you’ve come across this – better still write an article for the next newsletter.

GMS 2012 Quarter 2 overview, Early Summer Weeks 10 – 18 – Angus Tyner

First things first, a fantastic return of 285 forms for me to work with for the Q2 overview! This is an increase on last year and credit to you all and to the coordinators who play a big part in making it all happen. The next quarter return, Q3 is the hardest to try get forms filled out. It’s the most abundant period for most of us, but I’d appreciate a special effort to get forms filled for me to work with and then to fill out the form for end of year will be a piece of cake!

Riband Wave – falling fast in Q2 2012. By Norman Lowe

Back to Q2 and as I type, the rain is pouring down and the teasers of summer that we got in late May and late March have almost been forgotten. The weather continues to dominate matters for many of us. The cool, wet dull weather of April continued for first 2 to 3 weeks of May resulting in plenty of empty traps (traps without species on GMS list) and low numbers elsewhere. The latter part of May was a complete contrast with mainly dry, warm and sunnier conditions. In fact high temperatures were record breaking in some regions. The numbers of moths and species increased, but this increase was checked by a wet, dull and cool June and it was only in the final week of the quarter (week 18) that numbers seemed to approach what would be considered as normal. Generally it was the coolest June since 1991 and in many areas it was the wettest on record, even wetter than 2007! It was the dullest since 1987, though all the cloud did keep night time temperatures up on many nights, perhaps the saving grace?

Moth abundance in Q2

So how dismal was it? Shown below is a graph spanning all 18 weeks to end of 2nd quarter. The final week of Q1 was the worst in Q1 but it actually got worse for the first week of Q2! In week 10, 30% of recorders found no GMS moths in their traps (green line) and there was an average of only 6 moths in the rest of the traps run. Very poor for early May. It wasn’t much better in weeks 11 & 12. The summer weather at end of May which had mild nights showed a dramatic increase in numbers and only 2 empty traps reported in week 13. Poor weather

(wet and windy) hampered moth trapping during weeks 15 to 17 before a great final week with many recorders recording their best catch of the year to date.

In the table below we’ll see how the rest of the most recorded species faired compared to previous years. I’ve included a longer list than usual, 35 species, but this was to show how far Riband Wave has fallen, 86%, and 7th to 38th! (I’ve left out 34, 36 & 37th places) Other big reductions are Garden Grass-veneer 72%, Heart & Dart 70%, Flame 66%, Bright-line Brown-eye 65%, Willow Beauty and Buff Ermine both 56%. But some species bucked the trend, Common Swift, up 147%, Green carpet 118% and Ruddy Streak up a massive 270%, though the base line may have been too low as it was not a core species in 2009

Throughout the top 38, only 9 species showed an increase. It certainly was not all bad during Q2. Some of the decreases are possibly due to a delayed flight season into Q3 such as with Garden Grass-veneer, Heart & Dart and Riband Wave and likewise with the increases such as with Scalloped Hazel and Hebrew Character. So the annual figures are needed to give a true reflection of how species have faired but a delayed flight season does not account for the increase with Common Swift. I’ll give a more detailed analysis of some species later.

(2009-11 Mean per 2009-11 % increase/ Species (core list only) Total position) garden mean decrease 1 (1) Heart & Dart 12007 42.1 82.4 -49% 2 (2) Dark Arches 3828 13.4 15.9 -15% 3 (12) Light Brown Apple Moth 3137 11 6.7 63% 4 (37) Common Swift 2953 10.4 2.2 368% 5 (4) Flame Shoulder 2313 8.1 11 -26% 6 (8) Marbled Minor agg. 2239 7.9 7.8 0% 7 (14) Shuttle-shaped Dart 2174 7.6 5.8 32% 8 (16) Setaceous Hebrew Character 2063 7.2 5.2 40% 9 (9) White Ermine 2055 7.2 7.6 -6% 10 (26) Hebrew Character 1970 6.9 3.4 105% 11 (48) Green Carpet 1896 6.7 1.7 281% 12 (11) Brimstone Moth 1885 6.6 6.9 -4% 13 (13) Common Marbled Carpet 1825 6.4 5.9 9% 14 (5) Buff Ermine 1805 6.3 10.5 -39% 15 (3) Garden Grass-veneer 1668 5.9 11.5 -49% 16 (10) Large Yellow Underwing 1653 5.8 6.9 -16% 17 (6) Flame 1534 5.4 9.7 -45% 18 (21) Ingrailed Clay 1397 4.9 4.1 20% 19 (24) Silver-ground Carpet 1223 4.3 3.6 18% 20 (56) Silver Y 1112 3.9 1.4 183% 21 (17) Willow Beauty 1092 3.8 5.1 -25% 22 (25) Rustic Shoulder-knot 1075 3.8 3.5 9% 23 (43) Scalloped Hazel 1028 3.6 2 83% 24 (29) Vine's Rustic 1018 3.6 3 17% 25 (15) Bright-line Brown-eye 958 3.4 5.5 -39% 26 (42) Poplar Hawk-moth 948 3.3 2 66% 27 (88) Ruddy Streak 876 3.1 0.6 444% 28 (34) Clouded-bordered Brindle 849 3 2.5 20% 29 (38) Garden Carpet 849 3 2.1 39% 30 (50) Bee Moth 705 2.5 1.6 59% 31 (58) Muslin Moth 654 2.3 1.3 81% 32 (77) Pale Mottled Willow 591 2.1 0.7 178% 33 (31) Peppered Moth (Light) 587 2.1 2.7 -25% 34 (75) Turnip Moth 571 2 0.8 154% 35 (7) Riband Wave 567 2 8.7 -77%

Abundance by region

The next table breaks down this top 38 into regional values. The figures represent the mean number of moths per garden. The abbreviation for the regions are listed here.

NW North West England SC Scotland NE North East England IR Ireland YH Yorkshire & Humberside EE East England WA Wales WM West Midlands EM East Midlands SW South West England CI Channel Islands SE South East England

NW SC NE IR YH EE WA WM EM SW CI SE Number of Gardens – Total 26 12 9 9 12 20 34 43 23 53 7 37 285 Heart & Dart 19 2.2 7.3 15 11 23 15 22 40 35 15 23 Dark Arches 5 0.3 2.2 0.8 3.2 5.2 2.9 12 16 7.4 8.7 8.1 Light Brown Apple Moth 3.4 0.1 12 6 1.2 3.6 2.6 6.5 3.3 9.6 13 11 Common Swift 1.5 0.6 2.9 1.4 1.2 7.2 0.6 5.1 13 9.8 1.3 5.9 Flame Shoulder 4.1 2.3 0.9 5.6 3.4 1 11 3.1 2.9 8.7 5.1 2.2 Marbled Minor aggregate 3.6 0.8 2.2 4.2 2.2 3.8 2.5 4.8 5.7 6 28 2.7 Hebrew Character 2.6 1.6 3.9 6 1.9 1.7 13 2.8 1.6 6.9 4.6 1.1 Buff Ermine 4.4 4.5 1.3 16 2 1.9 9.6 2.5 2.1 3.9 13 0.9 White Ermine 2 3.8 1.8 9.6 1.3 1.2 8 4.1 2 6.6 11 2.7 Shuttle-shaped Dart 1.8 0.0 0.7 0 0.3 5.3 0.8 3.7 3.2 4.6 19 10 Brimstone Moth 3.2 2.8 1.8 8 0.9 1.5 3.2 4.5 2.9 5.1 7.1 3.8 Common Marbled Carpet 3 0.8 1.8 8.2 1.2 1.2 5 3.6 1.4 6.2 4.6 3.8 Setaceous Hebrew Character 1.1 0.2 0.2 3.1 1.8 18 2 1.9 4.6 5.7 3.9 2.1 Green Carpet 0.5 1.8 3.2 7.1 3.3 1.5 4.1 4.3 3.4 6.7 1.1 3.1 Large Yellow Underwing 4.4 0.5 0.8 2.7 1 1.6 3.3 1.7 1.9 6.2 6.6 3.4 Flame 3 0.1 0.7 2.3 1.5 2.7 4.2 3 2 5.1 3.1 2.3 Garden Grass-veneer 1.5 0.8 0.3 2 1.4 1.6 1.8 5.1 4.6 3.7 1.4 4.6 Ingrailed Clay 5.3 0.0 0 2.1 1.4 0.2 1.7 4.5 3.2 2.8 4.6 2.1 Silver-ground Carpet 3.4 5.1 9.3 10 3.2 0.2 5.6 1.7 1 2.2 1.4 0.5 Scalloped Hazel 1.3 3.8 3.3 7.1 1.9 0.3 3.6 3 1.9 1.7 6.4 0.4 Willow Beauty 1.5 0.0 0.1 1 0.5 2.1 0.8 2 2 2 9.3 4.9 Silver Y 1.2 0.8 1.6 0.7 1.5 2.1 1.4 2.7 2.4 3.1 1.4 2.4 Poplar Hawk-moth 1.5 2.1 0.3 3.4 0.6 0.8 4.6 2.5 0.7 2.1 4.3 1.2 Clouded-bordered Brindle 4.1 3.8 2.6 7.3 2.8 0.2 2.6 1.1 1.7 1 0.1 0.1 Ruddy Streak 4.2 0.0 0.2 0 0 0 0 3.5 0 3.9 0 0.5 Rustic Shoulder-knot 0.3 1.9 5.3 1.2 1.5 4.4 0.1 1.4 8.9 1.1 0.7 1.3 Bright-line Brown-eye 1.2 3.1 0.3 0.8 1.8 1.4 0.6 1.8 2.5 1.8 5.1 2.8 Vine's Rustic 0 0.0 0 0 0.1 2.5 0 0.6 1.5 3.4 9.7 5 Garden Carpet 1.2 2.1 3.3 1.9 2.2 1.9 1 1.5 1.3 1.7 3.3 1.9 Bee Moth 2 0.1 0.1 0.1 1.1 1.1 0.6 2.3 1 0.8 0 2.6 Muslin Moth 0.1 0.0 0.1 1.7 0.8 0.9 1.2 0.9 0.6 3.1 5.7 0.9 Peppered Moth (all forms) 0.9 0.8 0.7 2.7 0.5 1 1.6 1 1 1.6 1.6 1.1 Turnip Moth 0.8 0.1 3 0.4 0 1.3 2 0.4 1 0.8 1 2.8 Brown House-moth 1.2 0.2 1.3 0.4 1.9 0.7 0.4 1 0.8 1.2 6.1 1.5 Brown Silver-line 0.4 7.8 0 0.9 0.2 0 4.4 0.4 0 0.6 3.7 0.1 Mottled Beauty 0.8 3.8 0 4.9 0.3 0.6 2.3 0.6 0.2 0.8 0.9 1.1 Middle-barred Minor 0.9 0.4 0.9 1.4 2.7 0.1 0.5 1.6 2.2 1.3 0.9 0.3 Riband Wave 0.8 0.0 0 1.1 0.5 0.6 0.6 1.6 0.9 1.5 1.1 1.6

I’ve highlighted maximum numbers for a species in red and minimum in blue. The Channel Islands show the highest number of maximum numbers (11), followed by Ireland (9) whereas Scotland (15), closely followed by NE (14) show the most minimum numbers. However, NW only shows two minima, Green Carpet and of course Vine’s Rustic, this in common with a number of other northern areas.

Some numbers show more geographical variation than you might expect, with Setaceous Hebrew Character, for example, at over 18 in Eastern England 5 in the SW and lower numbers elsewhere.

Also there are some very low regional numbers for common species such as Heart and Dart and Dark Arches.

Regional top 10

The next table contains the regional top 10 which includes non-core species. For those species that were not in the region’s Top 10 last year I have included last year’s placings in brackets. There are some huge rises with species such as Light Brown Apple Moth and Green Carpet breaking into the top ten having been in the 40s or below last year. Dark Arches fell from 1st to 10th in the Channel Islands.

I’ve also highlighted the 4 species represented that are not in the core list; Shears, Large Nutmeg, Heart and Club and Treble Lines. Treble Lines appears in 5 areas which is begging the question of why it isn’t on core list – perhaps we could rectify this when we next review the list in 2015!

North West Mean Scotland Mean North East Mean Heart & Dart 18.5 Dusky Brocade 7.8 Li. brown Apple Moth (21) 11.6 Ingrailed Clay 5.3 Brown Silver-line 7.8 Silver-ground Carpet 9.3 Dark Arches 5.0 Silver-ground Carpet 5.1 Heart & Dart 7.3 Buff Ermine 4.4 P-shouldered Brocade 4.7 Rustic Shoulder-knot 5.3 Large Yellow Underwing 4.4 Buff Ermine 4.5 Hebrew Character 3.9 Ruddy Streak (65) 4.2 Shears (16) 4.4 Garden Carpet 3.3 Clouded-bordered Brindle 4.1 True Lover's Knot (29) 4.3 Scalloped Hazel 3.3 Flame Shoulder 4.1 Clouded-bordered Brindle 3.8 Green Carpet 3.2 Marbled Minor agg. 3.6 Scalloped Hazel (28) 3.8 Turnip Moth 3 Li. brown Apple Moth (40) 3.4 Mottled Beauty (24) 3.8 Common Swift 2.9 Ireland Mean Yorkshire & Humber Mean East England Mean Buff Ermine 15.7 Heart & Dart 10.9 Heart & Dart 23.3 Heart & Dart 14.8 Flame Shoulder (10) 3.4 Set Hebrew Character 17.6 Silver-ground Carpet 10 Green Carpet (41) 3.3 Common Swift (18) 7.2 White Ermine 9.6 Dark Arches 3.2 Treble Lines 5.8 Common Marbled Carpet 8.2 Silver-ground Carpet 3.2 Large Nutmeg 5.5 Brimstone Moth 8 Clouded-bordered Brindle 2.8 Shuttle-shaped Dart 5.3 Clouded-bordered Brindle 7.3 Middle-barred Minor(38) 2.7 Dark Arches 5.2 Green Carpet (28) 7.1 Marbled Minor agg. 2.2 Rustic Shoulder-knot (27) 4.4 Scalloped Hazel (19) 7.1 Garden Carpet (35) 2.2 Marbled Minor agg. 3.8 Li. brown Apple Moth (65) 6 Buff Ermine 2.0 Li. brown Apple Moth (24) 3.6 Wales Mean West Midlands Mean East Midlands Mean Heart & Dart 14.6 Heart & Dart 21.5 Heart & Dart 40.3 Hebrew Character (14) 12.8 Dark Arches 12.1 Dark Arches 15.5 Flame Shoulder 10.7 Li. brown Apple Moth (41) 6.5 Common Swift (13) 12.9 Buff Ermine 9.6 Treble Lines 6.3 Rustic Shoulder-knot 8.9 White Ermine 8 Garden Grass-veneer 5.1 Marbled Minor agg. 5.7 Silver-ground Carpet 5.6 Common Swift (37) 5.1 Set Hebrew Character 4.6 Treble Lines 5.3 Marbled Minor agg. 4.8 Garden Grass-veneer 4.6 Common Marbled Carpet 5 Ingrailed Clay 4.5 Green Carpet (42) 3.4 Poplar Hawk-moth 4.6 Brimstone Moth 4.5 Li. brown Apple Moth (55) 3.3 Brown Silver-line 4.4 Green Carpet (43) 4.3 Ingrailed Clay 3.2 South West Mean Channel Islands Mean South East Mean Heart & Dart 35.0 Marbled Minor agg. 27.9 Heart & Dart 22.9 Treble Lines 10.6 Shuttle-shaped Dart 18.6 Treble Lines 11.7 Common Swift (21) 9.8 Heart & Dart 15.4 Li. brown Apple Moth (13) 10.5 Li. brown Apple Moth (16) 9.6 Li. brown Apple Moth 12.9 Shuttle-shaped Dart 10.4 Flame Shoulder 8.7 Buff Ermine 12.9 Heart and Club 9.2 Dark Arches 7.4 Rusty-dot Pearl (44) 11.4 Dark Arches 8.1 Hebrew Character (31) 6.9 White Ermine 11.1 Common Swift (20) 5.9 Green Carpet (41) 6.7 Vine's Rustic 9.7 Pale Mottled Willow (23) 5.4 White Ermine 6.6 Willow Beauty 9.3 Vine's Rustic 5.0 Large Yellow Underwing 6.2 Dark Arches (1) 8.7 Willow Beauty 4.9

Next, I’ve summarised in the following table the number of regions that a species makes the top 10, representing both numbers and geographical spread. Heart and Dart only made it to 22nd place in Scotland, otherwise it was at least in top 3 in all other regions. Light Brown Apple Moth features in 9 lists after only being in one list last year and Green Carpet and Common Swift both feature in 6 top 10s after being in just one and absent respectively last year. As mentioned before, Treble Lines, although not a core species, makes into the Top 10 of 5 regions

Since it was probably a late year for many species, some low scores might indicate that flight periods extended more into the Late Summer period. For example Flame doesn’t feature at all, yet was in the Top 10 in 6 regions last year.

Heart & Dart 11 Garden Carpet 2 Light Brown Apple Moth 9 Garden Grass-veneer 2 Dark Arches 8 Large Yellow Underwing 2 Buff Ermine 6 Setaceous Hebrew Character 2 Common Swift 6 Vine's Rustic 2 Green Carpet 6 Willow Beauty 2 Marbled Minor agg. 6 Dusky Brocade 1 Silver-ground Carpet 5 Heart & Club 1 Treble Lines 5 Large Nutmeg 1 Clouded-bordered Brindle 4 Middle-barred Minor 1 Flame Shoulder 4 Mottled Beauty 1 White Ermine 4 Pale Mottled Willow 1 Hebrew Character 3 Pale-shouldered Brocade 1 Ingrailed Clay 3 Poplar Hawk-moth 1 Rustic Shoulder-knot 3 Ruddy Streak 1 Scalloped Hazel 3 Rusty-dot Pearl 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart 3 Shears 1 Brimstone Moth 2 True Lover's Knot 1 Brown Silver-line 2 Turnip Moth 1 Common Marbled Carpet 2

How do the overall numbers in Q2 compare to previous years?

So far I’ve concentrated on 2012 and looked at both numbers overall and geographical variations across the British Isles. Next is a comparison of numbers this year with the previous three years, to see how the moths are doing. However, this is much too short a period to establish trends that statisticians would consider to be significant.

There was a 58% reduction in numbers of moths recorded (177 vs. 420 per garden) in Q2 this year (green line) compared to last year, 2011, and compared to 2009, the reduction is still a significant 41%. If Heart & Dart is removed from the equation,(blue line) the reduction amongst the rest of the species compared to last year, 2011 is 43%. Heart & Dart was recorded in such high numbers last year, it made up 35% of the total moths in Q2, whereas this year Heart & Dart numbers was back to about 2009 levels at about 14% of the quarterly total. To sum up, leaving Heart & Dart aside, I was expecting this year to be relatively much poorer compared to previous years. The numbers back this up.

Results for Quarters 1 and 2 combined

This series of graphs give the regional figures for average numbers per garden and total species recorded in each week in each region. I’ve split the 12 regions into 2, between those with 20+ gardens and those with less. The larger the number of gardens, the larger the species diversity. Also some regions have larger species lists, so a direct comparison cannot be made between regions.

Number of moths in each garden

It was interesting that some regions, especially SE, had far more moths in late March than in June, whereas in others such as Channel Islands and the North East numbers were low in March but higher at the end of the period in late June. However there was a widespread improvement during the warm weather in late May.

Number of species week by week

A different picture emerged when looking at the numbers of species, which were uniformly few from weeks 1 to 9 but increased fairly steadily during the second Quarter. Regarding week 17 in Channel Islands, only 2 out of the 7 traps reported hence the low species count.

A closer look at some species

The decline of Common Swift in SE region was mentioned in the 2009 Q2 overview. On the whole numbers in 2010 and 2011 remained at a similar level to 2009 in all regions. (An exception was East England in 2010) This year has seen a increase bucking the overall trend.

In most regions the numbers of Green Carpet recorded was much higher this year though not at 2009 levels everywhere. In the middle of Graph, East Midlands & Yorkshire & Humber are almost equal this year.

Ruddy Streak is a micro-moth, so some recorders don’t recognise it. Also it’s an adventive species and not yet recorded in northern Britain nor in Ireland yet. However, it has seen a significant rise in numbers recorded this year.

The Light Brown Apple Moth is another micro, which showed a decline last year following couple of harsh winters, but which this year has bounced back strongly apart from in the Channel Islands.

Finally, graphs have also been prepared of moth numbers for each region and these appear at the end of the newsletter.

OOOOOO

Mountaineering in Wales – Tony Lewis

After more than a decade of recording in my north Pembrokeshire (VC45) garden I decided to try something different in 2011 using my 6W battery- powered Actinic left overnight on Mynydd Carningli. This is upland maritime moorland facing the Irish Sea, an SSSI rising to over 1000 feet. Heathers and Western Gorse dominate and it is subject to winter burning by the Graziers on a 5 – 6 year rotation. I chose a few sites at 750 – 1000 feet, easily accessible, affording some shelter and hidden from public view.

Twelve visits in 2011 produced :  10 x Striped Twin-spot Carpet - the first VC45 records since 1973.  7 x Northern Deep Brown Dart during August - new to VC45 (Norman Lowe kindly confirmed my ID, advising me to retain a voucher specimen).  Brindled Ochre  heather/gorse/grass feeders such as Neglected Rustic, Fox Moth, Emperor, Anomalous and Red Sword-grass.  Also a single Tissue - most unusual as Buckthorn, its foodplant isn’t endemic to Pembrokeshire.  Finally, one well-fed tick in the trap, Ixodes ricinus !

So far this year I have managed 19 visits of which 8 were spoilt by adverse weather – gales, torrential rain, sea mist.

Northern Spinach photographed by Tony Lewis

Records so far include  26 x Mottled Grey  29 x Striped Twin-spot Carpet  26 x Northern Spinach  428 x True Lovers Knot – in a single night !  4 x Lead Belle (May - early June)  9 x July Belle (early – mid July)  1 x Gold Spangle - far from common here  1 x Galium Carpet - a new species for me and only the thirteenth VC45 record this century. Also, Red Chestnut and Ingrailed Clay were taken in good numbers.

I think it was a worthwhile diversion although two target species, Smoky Wave and Grey Mountain Carpet, appeared to be absent.

Mottled Grey photographed by Tony Lewis

OOOOOO

From the classroom to the garden– Albert Nolan (Continued from 2012 Q1 Newsletter)

The following weekend I was at my friend’s house where we are doing the Garden Moth Scheme. Taking part in this project can be a leap into the unknown as you never know what will appear in the trap. All though the number of moths caught during the winter could be counted on one hand I think that we appreciated them even more due to their scarcity. Now that Summer is here and the weather is thankfully warmer, the memories of the cold dark mornings have faded. While the moths have been amazing from our first Streamer to the jangling flight of the Popular hawk moth what fascinates us is the wildlife that is often associated with and benefits from trapping moths.

When I arrived Dan was crouched down and looking intently at the ground near the moth trap. After I parked the car I joined in and I could see about a dozen small holes with something moving in them. I got a small stick and gently scrapped away a bit of soil and a black fly slowly emerged. I gently placed it in my hands cupped hands and it flew awkwardly around our heads. We later identified it as St Marks fly named after one of the four evangelists. It requirements are short grass with some bare soil and this habitat had arisen while the area was been managed for moths.

Nearer the trap where our feet had exposed a bare patch of soil there was little holes with a tiny mound of excavated soil. After a little bit of investigation we found out that these were created by a burrowing bee that need exposed soil. In the wild animals would fulfill this role while looking for food but I suppose from the bees point of view there is no difference between the feet of people and the hooves of animals.

Because this is a weekly survey and we are trapping in the same location each week other species of wildlife have started to take advantage of this natural bounty. Frequently we find the wings of moths scattered around the trap where birds or bats have had an easy meal. The number of wings we find is quite small so I don’t think this will have any effect on their long term population. This was very evident one morning as I watched a Pair of Great tits hunting around the trap. I has been out earlier and removed all the moths from the outside of the trap and in the surrounding grass. They landed first on top of the trap and peeked into every corner searching for insects. When they found one they flew back to their nest in a nearby tree. Several attempts were made to get at the moths in the trap but they could find no way in. After that they landed in the grass and slowly worked their way around picking up insects for their chicks. They made about twenty trips before finally moving on.

Spiders too have taken up residence in our trap to feast upon all the flies that are attracted to the light. This indirect connection between moth trapping and the benefits for other wildlife species is not very well explored but would make a fascinating study. Like the moths in out gardens we have only scratched at the surface of the night in our understanding of their complex lives.

The long week has ended and the evening grass feels cool between my toes. A Blackbird sings lazily from the trees while I finish setting up the trap. With a flick of the switch the light hisses reassuringly and the garden starts to brighten up. Tomorrow will bring fresh discoveries and mysteries in this interesting journey with moths. Also a special thanks to Dan for his dedication and patience in running the moth trap each week at his house.

OOOOOO

Quarter 2 in Scotland – Heather Young

I was speaking to a Wise Old Man the other day about all the rain we’d had, and he said we shouldn’t be surprised, as the old farming rhyme predicted it. I said “The Ash and the Oak one? – we’ve already had a soak!” He said “Why does everybody forget the last line?” “Last line, said I?” “The one about Rowan”. Bearing in mind the Wise Old Man is from the north where the ‘row’ is pronounced as in the argument and not the thing you do in a boat, here is the full version:

Oak before Ash we’re in for a splash Ash before Oak we’re in for a soak Both before Rowan the livestock’ll drowan!

Enough of this lark, I’m building an ark.

As far as the moths are concerned, there have been far fewer around this year so far than there were last, or indeed the two before that. The Quarter 2 average for Scotland is down 16% on the same period in 2011, and the year-to-date average is down 14%. Some have fared better than others – Richard in Fife counted only 12 individuals, while John in South Uist recorded 753 GMS-listed moths and many more not in the scheme. The weather out there has been much dryer than usual, and John has actually seen more Q2 moths than last year, although Q1 figures were well down (927 altogether). The other John in Killiecrankie, Perthshire has seen slightly more moths in total over the first two quarters (975), but ¾ of those were in Q1. No-one else achieved triple figures this quarter, so the average of 114 moths per Scottish garden is a little overstated.

Species that have done well this year include Dusky Brocade, topping the Q2 list and coming in 4th in the year-to-date charts behind the three main Orthosias (but mainly because most of the spring species fared very badly). Mottled Beauty, Scalloped Hazel and Straw Dot have also increased in abundance. Silver-ground Carpet is not as common as it was in 2011, along with most of the other early summer species, but the biggest loser this time seems to be Heart & Dart, averaging only 2 per garden in 2012 after reaching the heady heights of 17 two years ago.

Things can only get better.

OOOOOO

Tailpiece

As usual, do let me know if you’ve found this newsletter interesting – contact me on [email protected]. But however many (or few!) moths and species you’ve recorded in 2012, I trust you’ve enjoyed it. That’s what it’s all about isn’t it?

Regional Graphs – Angus Tyner

The following are regional graphs for Q1 & Q2. I have a 2 week period to compile this overview, but I had an unexpected 2nd week with regard to work and didn’t get time to write more text, but perhaps the graphs do the talking for themselves. Note that in week 17 Channel Islands had only 2 gardens reporting, hence the big dip in the graph. The colours for the lines on each graph are as follows: