Lesser Swallow Prominant

There are a total of 59 different butterflies in the UK and over 2500 species of moths. Yet butterflies get much attention and not moths. Many moths are colourful and some can fly during the day while others at night.

I have a moth trap, just a wooden box with a 125w mercury vapour bulb mounted on top. I switch it on at night as it gets dark and I am going to bed. During the night moths are attracted to the light, crash into the bulb and fall in the box where I have a series of egg boxes arranged. As the dawn appears the moths go to sleep in the egg boxes. When I get up I go and look in the trap at the sleeping moths. I identify them and take photos if I wish. They sleep in the egg boxes all day and the next night, with the bulb off, they fly away again.

In this way I build up a record of species and numbers of moths during the year in my garden. These records get fed into a national database and the numbers used, along with data from many others to build a picture of moths in the uk which can help provide data for research on things such as climate change.

Last night I trapped 28 different species of 86 individuals, not bad for one night in a village. The one show here is a fairly common moth with pretty markings. They are all sizes and all colours, many with very intricate markings. It is a lovely hobby to become involved with and goes well with photography.