05/07/2026-We did our first moth trap* of the year last night which we have occasionally done in the summer and into autumn months since 2023 with a homemade trap to see what we can attract and continue to learn more about moths. We're not sure we quite got the positioning right last night with a modest haul of three of two species, the delightful Riband Wave in the first picture in this photoset and two Long-legged Tabbies one shown by the second picture. That made it a nice gentle introduction back into them for me with two species I had seen before but were great additions to my year. As much as seeing the moths I like the trying to identify them and the reviewing them and piecing things together is so absorbing which makes it a nice peaceful thing to do and it satisfies me to broaden my knowledge, we'll definitely try to do some more again as the summer goes on. It's been a great moth weekend with fabulous Hummingbird hawk-moths seen both yesterday at Magdalen Hill Down and a trip to Testwood Lakes this afternoon.
*As I don't think I've really posted about our moth traps before or at least not frequently/for a while; just to clarify when I say moth trap I mean it in the friendly sense of attracting moths to light, looking at and photographing what comes and releasing them. Ours is a container, light and a collection of egg boxes. Just in case the term gives the wrong idea for anyone who has not come across it.