The milder winter has brought some earlier than usual moth sightings. On 19th January 2014, Nigel Richards recorded a Mottled Grey (pictured right) at an outside light in Kildary, East Ross. Nigel added that its appearance was at least a month earlier than is usual for the area. Brian Neath also reported his first January record for this species on 27th in Wester Ross, adding that he has often recorded Mottled Grey during the first week of February but the emergence seems to vary considerably from year to year.
Brian said that the Rothampstead records for Wester Ross show a few January records from Beinne Eighe, for example 24th January 1989 and 27th January 1992, yet in some years it was not recorded until March.
Brian reports that he had his first significant catch for the year on 24th February, with 2 March Moth, 8 Dotted Border, 7 Pale Brindled Beauty and 3 Chestnut. Though, strangely no Mottled Grey!