Masters student Stuart Brooker has been trapping moths for 9 weeks in the woodlands around Durham University. Stuart identifies, records and photographs the moths he traps and provides us with a weekly update of his trapping efforts. 

Here is Stuart's week 9 report: 
"Two species of ‘thorn’ were recorded in good numbers this week. Typical of the thorns, both species adopt resting postures unusual amongst moths. The Early Thorn with its wings pressed tightly together above the body, much like a butterfly, reveals the cryptic colouration of its underside, resembling a dead or decaying leaf when clinging to a twig. The Purple Thorn, like the Lunar Thorn featured in Week 5, rests with its wings held open, half-raised and ‘curled’, creating a bowl-like shape. It can be distinguished from the Lunar Thorn by the dark central spot on the upperside of the hindwing, which incidentally, has a less deeply-scalloped outline. The larvae of both species feed on a wide range of woody broadleaved plants, allowing them to colonise various habitat-types, including urban parks and gardens.

Debutants recorded this week included the Antler Moth – so called for the elongate white antler-like marking that runs down the centre of each forewing – and single specimens of the Purple Bar and the Barred Yellow - both of which looked rather ‘tired’ and had lost the deeper colouration they would have had when newly emerged... but attractive nonetheless. These species’ larvae feed on grasses, bedstraws (Galium sp.) and roses (Rosa sp.) respectively; highlighting the importance of early-successional  and open areas within otherwise mature woodland, allowing understory and herbaceous-layer foodplants to persist."

Antler Moth (Cerapteryx graminis)

Barred Yellow (Cidaria fulvata)

Purple Bar (Cosmorhoe ocellata)

Stay tuned weekly for more 'Stu's Top Moths' or follow us on twitter for updates and photos of moths and other wildlife around Durham University!

Danielle Gauthier has joined our research group and will be a visiting researcher with us until the end of September. Danielle is working on a pilot study to detect trends in spatial and temporal distribution of red deer in an area of Scotland. She is using GIS, historical cull and count data to determine changes in abundance, distribution and habitat preferences. Danielle is working with Dr Phil Stephens and Dr Justin Irvine from the James Hutton Institute. To see Danielle's profile see here.

There is some (questionable) evidence that glucose consumption can increase brain function in young adults; in our research group we will do anything we can to produce the best work possible, so cake is eaten on a regular basis.  Of course, making the cakes in the shape of our study species helps to improve focus and provides food for thought when it comes to the group’s research.  Here are a few recent examples of the cakes we have produced - in the name of science, of course…

We aim to highlight important conservation issues, such as the population decline of the reticulated giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata)

Bethan honed her Soay sheep (Ovis aries) sampling techniques before embarking upon her research on St. Kilda

Jamie’s recent paper found that protected areas have a high conservation value for odonate species, such as this emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator)

Mike recently concluded that bee species utilise different foraging strategies; we put these to the test (above: Bombus lucorum harrapus)

Hummingbirds famously can only go a few hours without food - much like some people in our research group

Many of our group are involved in bird ringing, helping to monitor species such as the long-eared owl (Asio otus)

Even the lab pets aren’t forgotten; here is Napoleon’s Bornean cousin the green snail (Rhinocochlis nasuta)

It seems that we are not the only ones whose baking is inspired by biodiversity or our research subjects, the good people at DynamicEcology do it too!