Sunday 13 March 2016

Moths and More

I ran my garden trap for the Garden Moth Scheme, last night (it should have been Friday, but I was still in Norfolk) and by doing so I avoided the cold of Friday night and with such a mild night actually got some moths. In fact, I had eight moths of six species: Mottled Grey, Brindled Pug, Pale Brindled Beauty, Oak Beauty, Common Quaker and the Chestnut.

Mottled Grey. I'd like a pound for every one of these I've rescued from mountain
puddles over the years.


Oak Beauty




Having got some unavoidable chores out of the way, I nipped out to Cwm Nant-y-Gwyddel for the afternoon, collecting some pollen and rust specimens, but also seeing my first individuals of this lovely Caddis; Philopotamus montanus. It is such a distinctive Caddis: one of my favourite insects, in fact and the only Caddis I feel confident in recording.


I also came across more Ash wood, stained by one of the Green Elf Cup fungi (Chlorociboria Spp.)


2 comments:

  1. I ran mine on Friday -2.5C so zero, then again last night 5.5C but just bridled pug (my earliest in both VC41 & VC42) and 2 common quaker. Hope you enjoyed Cromer.

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  2. Cromer is a nice town and handy for the North Norfolk reserves and the Broads. The weather spoiled things somewhat, especially Wednesday, when the incessant rain caused widespread flooding of roads, which then had an impact on the rest of the time there.
    All the good birds had left by the time I went, but it was nice to see Lapland Bunting for the first time and my first Barn Owls for a few years.
    One saving grace, regarding Wednesday's rain: In order to get something out of it, I went to Happisburgh to look for amber. In a soggy afternoon of beachcombing, I found no amber, but a fossil forest and a probable flint artefact. The trees and the flint were embedded in the glacial til, the trees having been dated to around 500,000 years, so presumably the flint artefact dates from the same period. A few years back, a flint hand axe was found in the same place and was dated to approximately 800,000 years.

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