Happy New Year all!
Same thread as before but a whole year of moth hunting ahead of us. You don't need lots of expensive equipement to set up light traps, a budget of around £20 should be enough, have a look on the old thread HERE or ask again, there is always (almost) someone who knows. Wendy is our surrogate mum & has a house & shed full of caterpillars & pupas & breeding adults!
The moths are still coming to feed on the rope in the garden. All you need is to dissolve 0,5Kg of sugar in 0,5 litres of wine, by gently heating up & stirring. Then pour the mixture into an old pan & put in a natural fibre rope or cord. (Don't put the ends in as it gets messy). Leave to soak a day & hang in the garden from a tree or bush or between posts. Then go back just after dark & see who's feeding. I tend to pop out about every half hour until bedtime. Then the fun starts as you try to get the camera settings right for the photos. The rope tends to work for about 3 days & then needs redipping during the day before the 4th night. Here are some "library pictures"
My rope is now a lot shorter as I only have 1 tree & just loop it from one low branch, it needs to be about 4ft from the ground. Here is one from 30 December, a Chestnut
Everone is welcome!
Best wishes
Hazel in Southwest France
Gosh, perhaps we could have a countdown, 2 days to go!
Any news from maternity ward 1?
Funny you should ask that H as I had just taken some pics of our 'naked' pupa ...
Noticed today that it looked damaged in the middle, most weird
Rolled it gently over .... & it wiggled it's end quite strongly!!! even weirder
Soooo, another two weeks might see something emerge!
Nothing from the others yet though!
On another tack, saw this little one fluttering at my window last night so a photoshoot was called for .. House Moth??
tipped it onto my cutting board for a better look
Weather improved drastically here so may set up moth lights in shed!
Hi Wendy, just set mine up for tonight but maybe rain later so will have to keep an eye out. Your little moth looks like an Agonopterix species have a look here www.ukmoths.org.uk/.../depressariidae
Thanks H, must say it looked quite happy to me! Lol
I expect he realised he wasn't going to get the chop at yours! LOL
He's currently standing guard on the outside of silkies eclosing container ... wants to be first in the action but likely be frightened to death when he sees how enormous they are! Lol
Can see the white wing marks more clearly now ... looks like one of the moths in your link H!
On day 19 of watching for signs I come across another site which states .......... ***Pupal stages last for 15-37 days during when larvae change to pupae***
In for the long wait then!! Lol
Thats quite a time range Wendy. I hope you're not booked to go away!
lol Wendy, you better start making flasks of tea and lots of sandwiches !!
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Regards, Hazel