Butterflies & Moths 2020

Good to hear from you Hazel, hope you are not being caught up with the floods - I think they are more to the East?

Thanks Caroline, yes we're fine here, rain every day but not enough to cause problems thankfully. It's quite flat around here so flooding tends to be a slow build up. I never really get much time in the summer for coming on the forum, too many other things to do, but it's calmed down a bit now. I do look in regularly but don't always post my thoughts. How was your first summers trapping? Did you enjoy it?

Glad to know you are OK Hazel, it has been looking horrendous in France and Italy too.

Me too H, was horrified at the damage to roads on a video I saw earlier ... those poor lost people, truly shocking!

Also relieved to hear you are ok Hazel after that dreadful storm Alex passing through with all the devastation and tragic consequences. As if folk don't have enough to contend with already. Stay safe and we look forward to your posts.

Excellent thanks all. A beautiful moth with a beautiful name ️.
Re nearby water, we have fishing lakes and ditches from the Stour a few hundred yds away. I also put in a small pond last winter, although it's been nearly empty most of the time, due to lack of rainwater to fill it.

Found this on the Beautiful China Mark http://www.ukflymines.co.uk/Moths/Nymphula_nitidulata.php
I reckon it was laid on the rushes in the fishing lakes and has come to investigate my new, little pond, and ended-up in the bathroom!
 Maybe I'll get to see more once the pond gets fuller. Although it's strange how many moths I only get to see once...

Russ, reading up on it in my Micro moth book it's described as single brooded with a flight season between May to early September and that it is easily disturbed in the day from waterside vegetation - you would probably just notice it as a silvery moth in the day.
Food plant for the cat is Bur-reed, Yellow water lily - possibly other plants - and apparently it feeds below the water surface within spun leaves or in the stem. Fingers crossed you get to see more. hopefully the pond has filled now

thanks for the info Cin J 

yes the pond is now nearly full and there is a frog living in the un-trimmed edge.

Moth-trapping at the moment is a quick dash off to woody areas & pack up gear quick as possible if it starts to rain! T say it's not perfect is an understatement but I've been rewarded by a couple of beauties.

This is a Lilac beauty & I've only seen it twice before, both times on an island off the coast, so was really pleased to see it on one of my local areas

& the best of the week was this Eastern Eggar, totally new for me & a rare protected species, which was an amazing find on a trap where I spent 3 hours standing around at 13°C waiting for moths to come! In truth after the first hour I just got out of the car every 5 minutes to check if there was anything new.

Locally our cases of Covid are going up fast & we are now at 95 cases per 100,000 compared to 30 about 3 weeks ago. I think we may be heading for confinement for the over 65's. I just wish they'd brought in measures earlier before the poor hospitals become overloaded. I also hope my evenings out in the woods are made an exception! LOL