Be He moth

Hi, I'm Rob,

I have been trapping moths for a few years, and currently run a pseudo-Robinson trap in my back garden. It has an MV bulb, which is very bright, but the neighbours are shielded by thick hedges. The house was built in 1937, and is a bog-standard Norfolk bungalow, and the garden has been substantially altered, though the boundary hedges may be as old as the house. The surrounding area is typical village fringe, with some woodland and pastoral areas, but predominantly arable. The garden is actually quite exposed, which might help moths to be attracted from some distance.

When I was seventeen (in 1986), I ran a heath trap for a full season from my parents' house just two miles down the road. I got around 180 species of macro moth, and would hope to get a similar range of macros here this year. The micros are a new adventure for me, but with the excellent Sterling/ Parsons/ Lewington field guide this group have certainly become more accessible.

So far it's been good, and my garden list currently stands on 34 species. My fave so far has to be oak beauty, with its fantastic black n white patterning.

I am also doing the excellent 1000 for 1ksq challenge, which is a pan-species list. I regard these two challenges as being a terrific way to enlarge your natural history skill set, and to discover species groups which you never even knew were possible to identify. And, for me personally, they also provide a welcome distraction from the day job (yes, I am a consultant ecologist, but there is seldom any commercial need to move away from protected species).

I would just like to wish everyone good luck with the garden moth challenge, and may the weather be good - please!