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
WendyBartter said:Angle Shades not interested in eating, crawled between the sheets of kitchen paper, may find pupa there soon, fingers crossed it hasn't been parasitised!
Methinks it has, not looking good ... poor Tyson/Dyson!
Shall keep it to see what manner of beastie has taken over!
Good to see you getting Moths H, I will have to hoover my shed area before I start again, tooooo many spiders!
Sorry for teasing you about silkmoths but couldn't resist the laugh! Not my first choice but was offered by a lady from Monkton NR who had bred them so they should be free of parasites!
Hope I have more success with these than trying to overwinter Oak Eggar who were going great guns & then suddenly failed, could have been something on the bramble leaves or heather plant .. they were continually hungry & growing out of skins so had to keep feeding!
I don't think these ones that overwinter as a caterpillar are very easy, neither the one's that live in the soil for 2 years! You do a great job anyway!
Every website said how difficult it was to overwinter them, probably should have kept two in separate container as a control ... learning on the job!!
Do have just the one surviving Fox Moth larvae which went to ground in nest of leaf litter, in shed & hoping to see it emerge in Spring to pupate ... who knows?
Gales are due to abate in couple of hours & morph into heavy downpours, looking blacker by the second! Grrrrr, no moth trap tonight then although very mild still!
Another trap last night and a few different ones, a very pretty micro Acleris hastiana
Hebrew Character
& Pale Brindled Beauty
Happy nights are here again! LOL
Great stuff H, just read on Kent Moths on FB that these are around, must dust my gear off!
I've just got the rope out tonight, feeding time!
Good luck!
Only one tonight, a Bloxworth Snout (who was Bloxworth ?)
Off now for a quick game of cards & then bedtime!
Hazel C said: who was Bloxworth ?)
who was Bloxworth ?)