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
Progress report .... number FOUR has emerged
Then I see that we must have had a female all along
Vid action ... X-rated! Lol
Watch this space!!
I did get permission before watching the vid, Wendy! lol
Fantastic!
Yes fascinating, one each side of the stick & ........well I never! Eggs soon Wendy?
Next instalment ... first pair still locked together!!!
Mayhem here today whilst watching Peregrines about to lay eggs & emergence of three more monsters ...
Determined to get this on vid so had it all set up on coffee table as soon as I spotted tell-tale dark hole appearing ...
Emergence of No 7
Amazing footage Wendy, lovely to see them emerge but I think it spooked your cat at the 60sec mark lol
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Regards, Hazel
Noooo aitch, it was Mick who spooked the cat, we made him go out just in case he got too interested! Lol
Was it done in real time Wendy? The speed with which the wings plumped up was amazing!Really interesting to see, & fingers crossed you get some eggs from the first lot!
I've got the trap out tonight, first time for ages, it's only 7°C but better than earlier in the week, wind, snow, cold & power cuts!
I sped it up to 2x then 4x H otherwise it would have been like watching paint dry! Lol ... have highly sped up footage here showing wings developing
Have put the first female in separate cage now in a shoe box lid in case she feels inclined to lay any eggs ... another pair have coupled with a third male trying to muscle in on the act, will have more pics/vids later, been a very hectic few hours!
Good luck with your trap tonight, wanted to do one myself but just not enough time ... maybe tomorrow! Only about 5 or 6 degrees here but am seeing loads of lovely Moths being trapped on Twitter & Kent FB page, makes me quite envious!
Btw H, how's Lunar Underwing getting on?
2 moths last night, both common, but it was still quite chilly & rained too! I'll try again in a day or so but the weather forecast is not good!
Lunar underwing has buried himself in the soil, so I need to put the tub in the shed & leave it there for a few months now. I may check to see if it's pupated sometime too.