Spring ‘mothing’ is such as delight after the long, cold winter months and I managed to get the trap out again on Thursday night last week – despite the ‘not so ideal’ conditions! Warm overnight temperatures of up to 11C and plenty of cloud cover caught my attention, but one other important factor wasn’t right – the wind. Gusts of up to 35mph were predicted, usually far to windy for moth trapping, but I just couldn’t resist the temptation of getting that trap out. So, I found the most sheltered spot on site in the lee of the woodland and hoped for the best!
And in the morning I was glad I did, when we were greeted by 22 moths hiding in the egg boxes at the bottom of the trap. These included 9 hebrew characters, 2 march moths, 3 dotted borders, 6 chestnuts (see previous blogs for details of these species) and two new species for 2011! The first was the common quaker. This species flies in March and April, is common and widespread throughout the UK and the caterpillars feed on broadleaved trees, especially oak and sallows. They are variable in colour, but all have a pair of very distinctive markings on their forewings – the ‘circle and kidney’ markings, or stigmata to be technical. The circle and kidney shaped markings are outlined with a paler colour, making them very distinctive.
The second new species, closely related to the common quaker, was the small quaker. A similar colour to their ‘common’ cousins, they are smaller and lack the very distinctive stigmata, instead having just a darker coloured kidney shape on their forewings. Their caterpillars also feed on oak and sallows and the adult moths can be seen flying in March and April.
And yesterday, attracted to the office door light, we found a third member of the ‘quaker’ family – the twin-spotted quaker. Another March/April flying species, they have two very obvious black spots next to each other near the trailing edge of their forewings – hence the rather apt name of twin-spotted quaker.