In the rearranged Moth Viewing Event which took place this weekend (Saturday 20th July), Cluny MacPherson from The Meanwood Road (BioBlitz) Project demonstrated the wide range of moths captured in a moth trap, set up the previous evening.
His knowledge and expertise in handling the moths, gave us all a real insight into this often misunderstood and sometimes feared group of insects.
Cluny was pleased to identify a couple of species he had not come across directly before.
All the moths were released unharmed at the end of the session.
At one stage we also had a visit from a Southern Hawker (male) dragonfly which obligingly settled on adjacent vegetation
All of the moth species and photos will be uploaded via the iNaturalist website onto the ‘Horsforth Bioblitz’ project.
Cluny identified the following:
- Peppered Moth
- Tawny Marbled Minor
- London Dowd
- Red-barred Tortrix
- Cherry Fruit Moth
- Small Fan-footed Wave
- Bee Moth
- Dun-bar x 2
- Bramble Shoot Moth
- Large Yellow Underwing x 4
- Dark Arches x 2
- Genus Hoplodrina (could be either Rustic or The Uncertain) x 5
- Heart and Dart
- Little Grey x8
- Marbled Beauty
- Riband Wave x 5
- Ruddy Streak
- White-headed Mompha
- Privet Tortrix
Altogether about 40 moths of 19 different species were identified.
Comments from those that attended included:
“I found the moths to be very interesting even though I am a bit scared of them. I also liked how they explained stuff like why they are attracted to light because I knew they were but never understood why. Overall, it was a nice, interesting experience that I would recommend.”
“Really interesting- amazing how many different species were found.”
“Enjoyed the event. Who would have thought so many moths in one night! Downloaded iNaturalist app and will get snapping.”
“Fantastic! Thank you Cluny for your knowledge and enthusiasm!”
“Interesting! I used to be interested when I was a teenager- it’s nice to see the pursuit is still followed.”