Each week we hear from Master's student Stuart Brooker who traps moths in the woodlands around Durham University. Stuart identifies, records and photographs the moths he traps, and provides CEG with a weekly update of his trapping efforts. 

Here is Stuart's week 12 report:

Following a rather promising first half of the ‘main’ mothing season, the second half is turning out to be a bit of a damp (and breezy) squib. There was no improvement in the weather for Week 12, and no improvement in the diversity and abundance of the catch. So, now seems like the perfect chance to show off some of the more commonly recorded species.

The Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) is probably the most frequently recorded moth of my trapping sessions in the university woodlands so far. It is also the most frequently recorded species on the entire database for County Durham, and it is the second most frequently recorded species - after the Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) - in five years of trapping in my garden in Essex. This is undoubtedly among the most widespread and common of our moths, and familiarity with it certainly breeds contempt. But hold on a second ... before we tick off our 100th N. pronuba of the session and launch it unceremoniously back into the shroud of night, uttering under our breath “another Large Yellow Underwing; they’re so common", maybe we should pause, allow the moth to rest on our finger (if it will, they’re flighty at the best of times), or sit it in its pot. Let's ponder over it for a moment. 

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!

Every week we hear from Master's student Stuart Brooker who traps moths weekly in the woodlands around Durham University. Stuart identifies, records and photographs the moths he traps and provides CEG with a weekly update of his trapping efforts. 

Here is Stuart's week 11 report:

The unsettled weather of week 10 continued into this week, and, if anything, night-time temperatures fell away further; leaving the mornings feeling, dare I say it, a little Autumnal. These conditions undoubtedly adversely influence moth survival and activity, and this was reflected in this week’s catch, which was the lowest in terms of both species and individuals since the first week of June. Nevertheless, there were still a number of interesting species well worth showcasing.

The ‘Top Moths’ this week all just happen to be micro-moths. The division between micro- and macro-moths is a rather arbitrary one, reflecting traditional practice rather than taxonomic-correctness; although – with the inevitable exceptions – many micro-moth families are considered to be more primitive than those of the macro-moths. Micro-moths could be considered as the ultimate LBJ’s, and are often overlooked or ignored. However, in both form and ecology, the 1600 or so UK species are fascinating and diverse. What’s more, when viewed up close, many are revealed to be every bit as attractive and intricate in pattern as their bigger relatives.

So, it turns out that micro-moths can be serenading bee-nest wreckers, bird-poo imitators, or decked-out head-to-toe in Christmas wrap ... boring Little Brown Jobs they most certainly ain’t!

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!

Masters student Stuart Brooker has been trapping moths for 10 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 10 report: 
"The weather became unsettled this week, and night-time temperatures fell off slightly from those of prior weeks. Nevertheless, on the evening of 30th July, forecasts informed that there would be no overnight rainfall or through the following morning – so, confidently, I left my trap quietly doing its business in its usual spot in the woodlands. However, when I looked out of the window in the early morning, I witnessed the aftermath of a great deluge! As I walked to the trap-site, the small woodland stream, usually little more than a gentle trickle, was now a raging torrent. My fears where confirmed when I reached the trap and saw that the mercury vapour bulb had shattered (but still burning bright). Inside the trap, a set of soggy cardboard egg cartons provided limited shelter for over 300 weather-beaten moths. Two-thirds of the catch was either a Bird-cherry Ermine (Yponomeuta evonymella) or a Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) – two very common and widespread species that evidently occur in good numbers and find light irresistible.

In amongst the Ermines and Yellow Underwings was a single Old Lady (Mormo maura). This large moth is unmistakable, even when most of its markings have been worn, or washed, away! It is widespread in Britain but described as ‘local’ rather than common. However, although it may be drawn by light, it enters the trap infrequently, and as such, may be under-recorded by trappers. Svensson’s Copper Underwing is a moth of similar hue to the Old Lady. In contrast however, it looked very ‘fresh’ and its colouration was deep and rich. The species is very similar to the closely-related Copper Underwing (Amphipyra pyramidea), but a combination of subtle features suggested this individual was very likely to be A. berbera. Other infrequent visitors to the trap this week included a new addition to the list of ‘thorns’ (see weeks 5 and 9 for others) – the Dusky Thorn, a Small Phoenix and Oak Nycteoline – a diminutive macromoth that, when I placed it on an oak tree to photograph it, it wrapped its wings around the shoot to hide its outline and promptly ‘disappeared’."

Old Lady (Mormo maura)

Svensson's Copper Underwing (Amphipyra berbera)

Oak Nycteoline (Nycteola revayana)

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!

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!