Moths and Memories.

Although the species mentioned here are British, the collecting techniques are universal and most collectors of moths will be familiar with them. All of the moths in this article occur across the rest of Europe and some are found right across the Palarctic zone into Japan. Here are some of my best memories of collecting moths and this would be a good thread to share your best moth stories.

Bole collecting.

I have watched the recent video where Tom [beetlehorn] very successfully tree taps or searches their trunks for the marvellous array of large Catocala species in America. My tree trunk or bole searching was for smaller less spectacular species, but nonetheless interesting moths. When searching, I did not tap my trees because the species I was usually searching for were the pretty little Geometridae, which if disturbed by a sudden movement would invariably fly straight upwards and disappear among the foliage. By this method, I collected a number of local moths which for some reason never visited by powerful Robinson Mercury vapour Moth Trap, which I operated at times in the same forest.

My fondest memory of bole searching was one glorious summers day in June. I arrived at forest very early, after walking up a long hill from the bus-stop in the nearby town. I found It was best to begin searching before the sun reached its highest point, although the moths on the tree trunks often moved into the shadow away from the glare, in the morning the north side was best. The large tall and graceful Beech trees with their smooth bark was the easiest trees to search, but even on these the moths were often superbly camouflaged and the trick was to spot them before they took flight upwards, the Geometridae were very wary, probable due to frequent attacks by small birds like the Treecreepers. I never boxed my small specimens, I always held my large round net with a very short handle by end of the bag over the moths and hopefully my chosen prey would end up there, sometimes they did and sometimes they did not. I began searching the trees, but for quite a while drew a blank, my first find was not a moth, but a large Tawny Owl peering down at me in surprise through half closed eyes. Getting my eye in, I found a couple of the common Mottled Beauty [ Alcis repandata ], but I did not collect these, I had a long series of this moth, which I had taken at light, showing the huge range of variation in the forewing pattern. Then I began to find better things that were new to me. My next find was the closely allied species the Square-spot [ Paradarisa consonaria] a local moth. In a short while, I took another, but this time a female. What you really need for bole searching is patience, which thankfully I have in plenty because you can go for long periods and see nothing. Quite high up on the trunk of a Beech, I spotted another new moth, the lovely very local and scarce Cloaked Carpet [Euphyia biangulata]. They are many allied carpet species to this one in the Geometridae, that may seen similar in the books, but are not in reality. E. biangulata is well named with a lovely rich chocolate cloak across the forewings with a white background. When you find this Carpet moth in the wild, you know it at once. I was eager to obtain this species for my collection, but how, it was a few feet above my head and damn, I had left my long handled net at home. I made a attempt, but missed and the moth went up into the higher branches. I, was undaunted, you will always lose some, that 's the thrill of the chase. I got out my little notebook and made my usual notes, species, time, place and the area of the forest. My little notebooks help me remember those better collecting days.

My next find was even more interesting, I noticed a small pretty white Geometridae with orange markings across the tips of the forewings on a sycamore trunk, which I remember seeing in my Richard South moth book, could it be, getting closer I knew it was a Blomer's Rivulet [ Discoloxia blomeri] a scarce moth of northern and western Britain, whose larve feed on Wych Elm. This moth was a real rarity for my county and it was last seen there in this forest nearly 90 years ago. Nervously I approached the small moth, it flinched, the moth made an attempt at flight, but too slow, the prize was in my net, a perfect specimen. I was pleased will my capture, but not as pleased as my county moth recorded, and as far as I know, no other specimen has been reported in the forest since and in spite of numerous attemps I never found another. Soon afterwards I found another Cloaked Carpet[ E. biangulata] lower down and this time I was successful in capturing this moth. It was getting really hot and the sun overhead was high in the sky, time for rest, some lunch and a visit to a valley bottom in the forest to search for butterflies where I found a fine series of the sooty day flying Chimney Sweeper Moth [ Odezia atrata] flying among the long grass, a species, that resembles no other British insect. This rounded off a perfect days collecting.

Next Sugaring memories.