Uskmouth 8th May

I was disappointed on the morning of 8th May to find that the MV trap had failed to come on at Redhouse Barns due to a faulty timer switch. There was further disappointment in the reedbeds at Uskmouth where I found only one moth in the actinic trap I had put out the previous night. This was a Hebrew character. Normally at this time of year I would be trapping dozens of wainscots such as silky wainscot and obscure wainscot. The day was saved, however, when in the afternoon I found 10 scarlet tiger moth larvae and 1 garden tiger moth larva in a small area of dry reedbed. Two of the scarlet tiger moth larvae were feeding on hemp agrimony and the other 8 were all on bramble.

Scarlet tiger moth larva

 

In the last few weeks I have also seen drinker moth and oak eggar larvae - almost as many species as the adult moths that I have seen.