William Bishop
@wjrpb
Mid Herts moth-er and generalist naturalist. Fascinated by almost everything except the “quintessence of dust”.
By 00:30 it looked disappointing and not many moths at 03:20 but this 🦈 at bottom of trap was a surprise and nfg. #TeamMoth.
Going out to empty the trap at 02:58 this morning. Inside the house on the door! Garden tick (769). All that Buddleja watching for nothing! At least it’s easy to get a good look at while still. #TeamMoth.
Euchromius ocellea. Just found it in the trap, flew before I could pot it. Only one previous Herts record (unless any others this year). Rubbish pic but great garden record 😃. #TeamMoth. Quail singing in field at end of road too.
Just found another nfm/nfg in the fridge hoard. Uncinus obductella. I may have a Blastobasis rebeli, but it needs to be chopped to prove it. Turning into a excellent night, glad I stayed up. #TeamMoth.
Worked on a backlog of photos through the night with trap checking periodically. Nfm/nfg Sitochroa palealis was a nice surprise. Security light came on 2 hours later at 2:30, rushed out to find the bat dead by the trap (suspect it was killed by a cat 😟). Upsetting. #TeamMoth.
Cydia amplana was nfg last night. Very pretty seen through a hand lens. Also, a Small Marbled that was right down at ground level so was almost missed. Cooler and fewer moths but still some migrants. #TeamMoth
‘Just when I thought it was safe to go back into the moth trap’. Trapping for Herts BNA last night. Top moths a Shark and Light Crimson Underwing. The latter nfm. The background music from Knebworth, over the road, was from The Darkness and Iron Maiden playing live. #TeamMoth
Whilst we are on orange, this pretty little thing was on the side of the trap at Hatfield Forest. Cracking little moth. Bisigna procerella. #TeamMoth.
It’s a moth. It’s orange coloured. So they named it the Orange Moth. How brilliant is that. Total genius. 😂#TeamMoth
With @rahtringbirder.bsky.social doing a survey for NE in N Herts two days ago. We noticed larvae on the Black Mulleins and thought we’ve missed them. But 14 hours later when doing the traps in the 5th one an adult and another in the 7th final trap. Deep joy, 2 happy moth-ers. #TeamMoth
30 seconds of staring into those eyes and you may feel you want to give blood. Chrysops caecutiens. Splayed Deerfly.
17/06, 144 of 56. First garden Marbled Brown and Epinotia abbreviana, the latter too lively for a clear pic. 4 nfg in 2 days was useful. Blastodacna hellerella is a more obliging micro and a nice looker. #TeamMoth
16/06, 134 of 61. Garden list went up by two, with Caloptilia stigmatella and Poplar Lutestring. Both with several records in the surrounding area so good to add them on. After Kent it seemed slow at first but picked up after midnight. #TeamMoth.
During the day we walked on the Down, just to increase our sleep deprivation after being up most of the night. @dcousins85.bsky.social and @davidnorgate.bsky.social provided great company. #Teammoth.
Our final night of the weekend in Kent was in a wood after doing the coast for a change of habitat. Some great moths seen with @dcousins85.bsky.social #TeamMoth
Ectophasia crassipennis. Swept on the North Downs in Kent. Just to prove that some flies are beautiful. #diptera. @dcousins85.bsky.social
Agapanthia cardui. A Long-horn Beetle fairly new to Britain. Thrilled to have swept this randomly on Friday in North Kent. #Long-hornedbeetle. #coleoptera.
Three nights at Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory with @dcousins85.bsky.social (one to go). Out trapping and getting or seeing many great moths from ours or others traps. #TeamMoth.
Spent last night in a churchyard in Hertford (doing the Moth Mash, it was a graveyard smash). 158/42. It was very cool so nothing spectacular. #TeamMoth. Got home to an empty trap, but 3 on the wall. 👻
Wet days and cool nights (🥶, not 😎) have seen moth numbers crash. Not many caught last night. These two were the best. #TeamMoth. Not looking like a vast improvement in weather in coming days.
A Small Marbled from last night. It was a cooler night and the other 50 species were standard catch in low numbers. #TeamMoth.
The garden is not suffering from the great migrant influx, just the usual suspects generally. Nfg was a Great Fungus Moth( neat antennae). A second Gold Cloak. Possible Ectoedemia subbimaculella would be nfg 🪓 #TeamMoth.
I did a plant outing with the flora group during the day so it was a long day of activity (whoever said life begins at fifty was talking rubbish, it starts at 70 😂). These were a nice bonus find.
An amazing night doing a survey for NE at Hexton with @rahtringbirder.bsky.social we were up all night till 6am. 119 species (well over 1000 moths) so far, lots of micros to do a primary check on yet. Highlight for me was Stephensia brunnichella (not in photos), but other good moths too. #TeamMoth
Numbers much reduced last night compared to previous night. 47 species only, with far fewer micros about. Evergestis limbata on trap, so I guess this is here to stay now after arriving last year. #TeamMoth.
105 of 62 in the end last night. Great to have something worth getting up at 4am for. Looks like everyone had a better night 🥳 🙂. Bizarre moment at 01:40 when a Quail flew over the house. Good night for micros too, my first decent catch of them. Hope it keeps up. #TeamMoth.