The days are getting longer, the sun is warmer and the first butterflies and flowers are bringing colour to our gardens. Spring is in the air and with it comes the emergence of a host of evocatively-named moths; Early Moth, Spring Usher, March Moth, Early Grey and Early Thorn.
This is the beginning of the year’s dazzling diversity of moths in garden, field and wood, with beautifully patterned Oak Beauties, delta-wing Dotted Borders and perhaps even the daffodil-yellow brightness of Brimstone Moths. There are the mellow tones of Common Quaker, Small Quaker and Twin-spotted Quaker, modestly-patterned moths apparently named after the plain attire associated with followers of the Quaker faith. The Hebrew Character, on the other hand, bears a curved black mark on each forewing that presumably resembles a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
For the moth recorder, this time of year represents a tipping point. Catching moths in the garden in winter is difficult, prone to many a disappointed morning rummaging through an empty moth trap, whereas by late spring and early summer success is practically guaranteed. It is on mild March nights when the rewards definitely start to outweigh the effort.
So if your moth trap has been in hibernation, now is the time to dig it out of the shed and dust out the spiders. If you haven’t yet taken the plunge into the wonderful world of moth trapping, this is the perfect time of year to make a start, with enough diversity to make it interesting but not overwhelming to the beginner. There is a wealth of information and advice for newcomers to moth recording on the Moths Count website and with plans to publish a moth atlas of Britain and Ireland in 2018, your sightings could make a real contribution.
Richard Fox
Head of Recording
Follow me on Twitter: @RichardFoxBC