Sharing the results from my latest Moth Trap Session. I have written posts about setting up a moth trap and on collecting the results if you want some more background info on how and why I use a Moth Trap
Date: 17th October 2026
Weather:
It has been almost 5 weeks since my last trapping session. In that time a lot has happened, including my Ultra-Marathon, and also trip down to Richmond Park, London to see Red Dear and Parakeets
I'm still in the process of editing all those pics of Richmond Park by the way, will have a post up soon I promise!
In between all of that has been the usual working, studying and house chores, so there's not much time for moth trapping... But at last I've managed to find time for it tonight.
The weather has been pretty mild recently, especially considering we are in the middle of Autumn now. In fact, it's been so dry for the past few days that I've even managed to get the lawn mowed earlier today. And the fact that there is no rain forecast tonight, along with overcast skies and mild temperatures, means it's well worth having a go tonight and seeing what I can find.
The numbers will be low, as only a few species are about this time of year but there should still be something to see....
Anyway, enough waffling...
Lights on, pots at the ready... Here. We. Go!
Results: 8 moths comprising of 6 species
Summary
Well, 6 species isn't bad for my pokey little garden in deepest darkest Lincolnshire in the middle of October!
The session was essentially split in 2 halves. The first half was from dusk until midnight. As I was expecting a slow evening, I only went out and checked it a couple of times, but by the time it was midnight, I had seen 1x Red-green Carpet, 1x Light Brown Apple Moth, and 1x Blair's Shoulder-knot, as shown below.
Blair's Shoulder-knot - Lithophane leautieri
Red-green Carpet - Chloroclysta siterata (with wings up)
Red-green Carpet - Chloroclysta siterata
No picture of the Light Brown Apple Moth, as I see this species pretty much every session. Both of the other species are typical Autumn species, and the Blair's Shoulder-knot is uncommon here, so great to see.
At midnight, I left the trap running and headed to bed, with my alarm for 6am
At 6am my alarm woke me up and I headed back downstairs to see if anything else had been caught in the trap. It was still dark, but I could just see the signs of sunrise in the east.
I opened up the trap, and was pleased to find a further 5 moths to record. Another Light Brown Apple Moth, a Turnip Moth, 2x Beaded Chestnuts and finally a Yellow-line Quaker
Beaded Chestnut - Agrochola lychnidis
Beaded Chestnut - Agrochola lychnidis
Yellow-Line Quaker - Leptologia macilenta
The Quaker is a species I don't see very often, but then to be fair I rarely trap in the Autumn months unless good weather conditions are forecast.
It was definitely well worth me keeping the trap on overnight, to be able to double my species count, and 6 species is pretty reasonable for the time of year. This will very likely be my last session for this year (unless amazing weather appears!) so the next moth post will appear next year in late Spring
What will happen next time? Will it be busy and chaotic? Will it be quieter? Will I find something new to record?
Well, once again, there is only one way to find out!
Notes on Pictures: Since I started moth trapping 5 years ago, I have been slowly building up collection of Library Images. The idea being that once I have taken a picture of a particular species of Moth, I don't need another picture of the same species a year later. It’s a waste of time and energy. I only take pictures of new species, or of moths that are difficult to ID, so I can get the records verified.
While in my care, all individuals are looked after, and after Photographs have been taken, they are all released safely outside.
All names confirmed and checked via Wikispieces Further Research from UK Moths and NatureSpot
Thank you for reading, I hope you found it interesting.
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All Photos taken by @dannewton unless otherwise stated. Check out my website for more of my work.
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