Garden Moth Challenge – Derby

I am delighted to be part of the Garden Moth Challenge and hope this turns in to a fun exchange of mothing adventures during 2013 – #teammoth.

I live in a suburb of Derby and run my own Ecological Consultancy so work all over the UK and abroad.  Trapping (and updates) may therefore be a little hit and miss over the next few months but when I am at home I have three very willing helpers who will hopefully badger me in to trapping on all suitable nights when I am at home.

 

I used to work at the Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory where we ran a moth trap most nights and was well and truly bitten by the mothing bug.  On leaving SBBO I went and worked as a Ranger in both Nottingham and Derbyshire and used moth traps as part of adult and child education activities.

However it wasn't until late last year that I got my very own moth trap (off Twitter!) and we now have an MV Skinner trap to use in the garden and maybe on holidays if I can sneak it in the car! 

First moth of 2013 was caught on the 2nd January however since then the weather has seriously hampered catching and this year is proving to rather frustrating.  Although by all accounts this certainly is not limited to my Derbyshire garden.

 Anyway totals so far are 24 moths caught of 7 species - so things can only get better.
 
Highlights of the year include -


The Herald



Brindled Beauty

Most common moth so far this year has been these Early Greys (although I am sure that I am catching the same ones every night!)

Early Grey

 All my records will be submitted at the end of the year to my local moth recorder.

I will try and update the Garden Moth Challenge blog as the year goes on, however you can also follow me on Twitter (@MarkG76) if you feel so inclined.