Latest from the moth trap

The first week of 2013 has proved to be unusual in that the weather has been good enough to operate my garden moth trap on each night so far. I've never managed this in any of the previous years that I have been recording moths. So far, so good.

Only a few moths have been recorded and, to be honest, the diversity of species has been a little disappointing with only four seen in total. To compare it with the peak season during mid- to late-summer, I would expect 60+ species and 300+ moths.

Here's what I have recorded (photos of all species can be found at the UK Moths website: http://ukmoths.org.uk/):

Thursday 3rd: Epiphyas postvittana (Light Brown Apple Moth), Amblyptilia acanthadactyla (Beautiful Plume) - this is the earliest date it has been recorded in Sussex, although an Eastbourne-based recorder also recorded one on the same night.

Friday 4th: Epiphyas postvittana (Light Brown Apple Moth) (2), Conistra ligula (Dark Chestnut).

Sunday 6th: Conistra vaccinii (The Chestnut).

Monday 7th: Epiphyas postvittana (Light Brown Apple Moth), Conistra vaccinii (The Chestnut), Conistra ligula (Dark Chestnut).

The Chestnut Conistra vaccinii

The Chestnut Conistra vaccinii

Dark Chestnut Conistra ligula