Winter Moth – and a two-year summary
31st December 2008, Wednesday
The photo shows a Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) on my house wall at Rye on Christmas Eve, one of the very few species on the wing on mild winter nights. It’s quite common and not much to look at, but it was new for my garden. Since then it’s been too cold to run the trap, so I’ve been looking back through all my moth records since we moved here in March 2007. That first year, with its often freakish weather, was best for variety with 303 species (2823 moths over 99 nights); 2008 produced 283 species (3800 moths, 106 nights) but many of these were new, so the total so far is 373 species, far more than I was expecting. Sandwiched between the lush gardens and old woodland of Rye Hill and the tidal saltmarsh of the Rother, here in North Salts we get a good mix of both residents and migrants. Incidentally, as a kid I hated moths, horrible brown things flapping around my bedroom! I had no idea then of their variety and beauty.