Here I am, on my birthday. We are testing my birthday present, a state-of-the-art, battery-driven moth-trap.

It is a summer evening in the oak wood, we encourage insects, Some of them are man-eaters; hence the fetching veil. They pollenate and fascinate and fuel the food-chains, sustaining all the chicks, bats and baby mammals. They also give us an idea of how well we are doing, the numbers and variation give us an index of diversity which we can compare year on year.

WOODLAND MOTH SURVEY 01.07.2026

Number of moths identified: 128

Number of different species identified: 55

GARDEN MOTH SURVEY 01.07.2026

Number of moths Identified: 48

Number of different species identified: 31

Just to give you a taste of these under-appreciated creatures which are not dull and not boring!

Here are some of the more spectacular ones we collected and released in the morning.

HAWK MOTHS

EMERALD MOTHS

Common Emerald Moth

Smaller but just as beautiful:

Small but exquisite!

Just a taster and which was the most numerous? The Riband Wave — we caught 13 in the Woodland they are very variable.

Got to go –getting dark, it’s warm and no rain is forecast but the moon should be obscured by cloud — perfect for trapping.