National moth night (UK) (1 Viewer)

Surreybirder · Apr 23, 2004

There's a good one-page article on NMN in 'Birdwatch' magazine (May) :clap:
Also a review of Waring and Townsend's moth field guide.

harry eales · Apr 23, 2004

Anyone in Durham wanting to attend the National Moth Night at Low Barns Nature Reserve on Saturday 22 May please contact, The Durham Wildlife Trust.

This is a Ticket Only admission due to the very limited car parking facilities. Tickets are in very short supply, don't leave it until next week.

Harry Eales.
(I have my ticket. lol.)

CJW · May 13, 2004

So what are the rest of us doing?
Personally, I'll be out wth a mate and a generator for the entire night (dusk 'til dawn) running at least 2, 125w MVs and during the day will have been out on the moors looking for a species that hasn't been recorded on the island in more than a hundred years - Beautiful Yellow underwing.

Brian Stone · May 13, 2004

I will run my garden 125MV trap but will also take a battery actinic to either the Hunts Moth Group night at Woodwalton Fen or the Northants Group at Collyweston Deeps (targetting Fox Moth and Beautiful Brocade). Torn between the two at the moment.

Surreybirder · May 13, 2004

Not sure, yet, but probably just run garden trap.
BTW, I have just come across the short article in the May Gardener's World re NMN--as Nina P reported some weeks ago.

harry eales · May 13, 2004

CJW said:
So what are the rest of us doing?
Personally, I'll be out wth a mate and a generator for the entire night (dusk 'til dawn) running at least 2, 125w MVs and during the day will have been out on the moors looking for a species that hasn't been recorded on the island in more than a hundred years - Beautiful Yellow underwing.

At last, a species I can get without too much hard work, The BYU is not uncommon near me on the moors, and I have seen far more specimens by day than at night at light traps. It is easily disturbed from the Heather and I often encounter it in early June, but I only have one record of it in May. Best of luck in your search though.

If I may offer a 'tip', if there's two of you present, take a clothes line with you
and drag it over the heather tops whilst walking parallel to each other. A clothes line is light enough to do very little, if any damage, but can cause enough disturbance to make the moth (if present) fly off. They are quite easy to spot in flight. (I hope I'm not trying to teach my granny to suck eggs here). lol.

Harry Eales.

CJW · May 14, 2004

harry eales said:
(I hope I'm not trying to teach my granny to suck eggs here). lol.

Not at all Harry, a good tip thanks. I've only seen one BYU before - at South Stack about 8 years ago. That was in May and, because lots of stuff seem to be flying early these days, we thought we'd give it a go.

Surreybirder · May 14, 2004

Normal person 1 What are those two people doing?
Normal person 2 They appear to be dragging a washing line across the moor.
Normal person 1 Why on earth would they be doing that?
Normal person 2 I can't imagine. Perhaps it's some sort of pagan ritual.
mother 1 We're looking for beautiful yellow underwings.
Normal person 1 Of course! Why didn't I think of that!
quietly to Normal person 2 Try to look relaxed, and walk back to the car.

CJW · May 14, 2004

:clap: Haha, very good Ken!

harry eales · May 14, 2004

Surreybirder said:
Normal person 1 What are those two people doing?
Normal person 2 They appear to be dragging a washing line across the moor.
Normal person 1 Why on earth would they be doing that?
Normal person 2 I can't imagine. Perhaps it's some sort of pagan ritual.
mother 1 We're looking for beautiful yellow underwings.
Normal person 1 Of course! Why didn't I think of that!
quietly to Normal person 2 Try to look relaxed, and walk back to the car.

Many years ago two entomologists of my acquaintance were 'Sallowing' at the side of a country road in Co.Durham. Around 11.0pm two drunks came along, seeing my friends they stopped to watch for a while. After some minutes they continued on their way. As they passed by one was heard to say, "What's they do'in?". The reply was equally short, "Div'nt ye kna man, them's botanists".

Even now I still can't meet a botanist without bursting into laughter.

Harry Eales.

Surreybirder · May 14, 2004

how bad can it get?

A man goes into a doctor's surgery:
"Doctor! Doctor! I keep thinking I'm a moth."
"How long has this been going on?"
"Ever since I was a caterpillar."

Even worse:
Did you hear about the moth-er who went to Egypt because he had a life-long ambition to study the ancient pyralids?

CJW · May 14, 2004

Sorry everyone - it's my fault for encouraging him...

Surreybirder · May 14, 2004

It's actually my back that's to blame. I tore a muscle and am off work. The drugs seem to have gone to my head................
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Brian Stone · May 21, 2004

Lets drag this up to the top.

http://www.nationalmothnight.info/

I'm having a night off tonight (possible ground frost forecast) then will try to get out to find some day-flyers tomorrow. Tomorrow night I will have my garden MV trap out and will leave my battery actinic Skinner at my local NR before heading off to the Northants Moth Group night at Collyweston Deeps.

Have fun if you make it to one of the events.

Surreybirder · May 21, 2004

It's ironic that we've got a forecast for frost tonight and a low temp tomorrow night... just in time for national moth night. Perhaps we'll catch some winter moths!!
Ken

Angus T · May 21, 2004

I want to go out with a sheet and light tomorrow night. How does one do this?

Is the sheet on the ground or held vertically? And how do you see the moths to ID them, and what do you do with them with the moths?

Obvious that I've never seen this been done. In fact I've never seen anyone else trap. We're thin on the ground in Ireland.

Surreybirder · May 21, 2004

Angus T said:
I want to go out with a sheet and light tomorrow night. How does one do this?

Is the sheet on the ground or held vertically? And how do you see the moths to ID them, and what do you do with them with the moths?

Obvious that I've never seen this been done. In fact I've never seen anyone else trap. We're thin on the ground in Ireland.

In the little booklet, "A guide to moth traps and their use" there are pictures showing both methods. In each case the bulb is suspended from its wire which is hooked over a stick, so that it is about one metre above the ground. In one case the sheet is directly under the bulb. In the other case the sheet is secured in a vertical position a few feet from the bulb. I get the impression that people rush around with butterfly nets and catch the ones that don't settle--I think, from memory, that this is 'great fun' :eat:

Angus T · May 21, 2004

I forgot about that booklet, which I have and even found it!
If the bulb is hung high enough then a baseball cap will do a job at shielding the light from our eyes.

harry eales · May 21, 2004

Angus T said:
I forgot about that booklet, which I have and even found it!
If the bulb is hung high enough then a baseball cap will do a job at shielding the light from our eyes.

Hello Angus,
Apart from the method previously described, I have seen white sheets hung vertically, either from poles or a tree branch and the light placed or suspended roughly centrally in front of the sheet. The sheet really lights up with the MV bulb but you do need a fairly windless night for it to work properly, i.e. without flapping. Another problem is that moths alight on both sides of the sheet and you have to keep running from back to front to see what has arrived. The sheet on the ground seems to be the most practical method. The main problem with this method is that too many people tend to gather round and cut out the light thus attracting less moths.

Harry Eales.

Surreybirder · May 22, 2004

When I scraped the ice off my car windscreen at 4.15 this morning, I thought that the omens didn't look too good for NMN!
But let's hope that the false mochas are a hardy breed!

National moth night (UK) (1 Viewer)

Ken Noble

Ancient Entomologist

Hit-and-run WUM

A Stone chatting

Ken Noble

Ancient Entomologist

Hit-and-run WUM

Ken Noble

Hit-and-run WUM

Ancient Entomologist

Ken Noble

Hit-and-run WUM

Ken Noble

A Stone chatting

Ken Noble

Well-known member

Ken Noble

Well-known member

Ancient Entomologist

Ken Noble

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread