Shark! Shark!

Friday night is the night chosen for co-ordinated moth trapping for those who submit their records to the Garden Moths Scheme (GMS).  This gives a nation-wide comparison of the diversity and abundance of moths throughout the year.  This week, (22nd May) was unseasonably windy, which is not the best weather to catch moths, and continued the same through Saturday.  So, I delayed my GMS until Sunday night when the weather was expected to improve.

I was not disappointed.  The wind had dropped and there were no clouds.  This meant that it was not very warm overnight, but with a minimum of 7℃ it was not too cold for moths.

My trap is a Skinner design 20 Watt twin blue light bulb type.  As such, it will never attract the multitude of moths that a Robinson trap with Mercury Vapour bulb does.  Over Sunday night, it did not do too badly attracting 26 moths of 11 species.

The largest number of  a single species trapped, was eleven Heart and Dart - named somewhat imaginatively for the two dark marks on each wing of a dart shaped mark above a heart shaped mark.

Heart and Dart 

Next in number came four of the prosaically-named Treble Lines, named for the three horizontal lines across both wings.

Treble Lines

Apart from three Flame-shoulder (not illustrated) the remainder of the moths were all single records.  Moving away from the predominantly brown moths, there was a very attractively marked, and appropriately named, Broad-barred White  

Broad-barred White

Other single specimens were Pale Tussock, Common Pug, Brimstone and Flame.  The final three were huge moths.  Those who visit Lundy or walk the North Cornwall cliffs may be familiar with the large, brown, hairy caterpillars that feature there for most of the year.  These are the caterpillars of the Fox Moth, but the moth itself is more elusive.  It is a big moth with 34mm long wings and has a large fat body and similar colouring to a Fox.

Fox Moth

Another large 34mm long moth is the aptly-named Great Prominent.  As well as having big wings and a large body it has heavy hairy legs.

Great Prominent

Finally, a slightly smaller moth around 30mm in length but much slimmer and more streamlined.  This is  a grey finely marked moth - the Shark.  It is so named because of the prominent crest projecting over the head of the moth resembling the fin of a Shark.  It was not Jaws, but a shark in the garden is a most unexpected first for me.

The Shark

Of course, it being May, there were three of the almost obligatory large Maybugs or Cockchafers.