Where I'm at...

I'm pretty sure that I've never actually shown ANY photos of where I conduct my mothing activities. So, to put matters right the scene below is the view from the balcony where I'm staying for the six months in UK. Pretty nice eh. Is a blustery September afternoon. Across the bay you can see the coastline of Sandwich and Deal - a popular site for various invasions throughout history!

Below is my borrowed moth trap - thanks Phil! Was the very first thing that got sorted upon arrival - as you might imagine! Anyway, it works just fine and catches me lots of goodies. I'm amazed I catch so much being one floor up, but I do suffer when the SW wind blows since the moths don't like to fly high in such adverse conditions. BTW Mike, if you see this this is the kind of trap you need to be building for potential mothers in Ontario...

Of course, one does all this for one main reason over here in UK - to catch rare migrant moths! This year has been brilliant for rare moths from Southern Europe and North Africa and I've had my fair share up here on the balcony. Below is one such moth - a Blair's Mocha. I'm cheating a bit because I didn't actually catch this one here but the photo was easily available so what the hell. Nice looking geometrid whth those tiny discal spots. Has come a long way to grace our shores.

So there you have it. BTW it has been suggested in some quarters that MM has lost interest in all things Canadian. Perish the thought - I'll be back for more...

Moth Man Returns...

Well, it's been a while but the Moth Man has never been one to lose interest in worthwhile ventures. Thanks anon. for prompting my return to the world stage that is Blogspot!

I've been in Kent, UK for over two months now having a jolly old time drinking, mothing and birding - though not necessarily in that order. The moths have been very good to me and I've seen about 400 species thus far, most caught in my borrowed trap on the first-floor balcony where I'm at right now. It overlooks the sea and one can see France on a clear day. I've been lucky to catch many migrant species over the weeks, but I'll get to them later.

First I'll introduce you to one of Britain's most localised species - the lovely Fisher's Estuarine Moth.



This large noctuid moth is only found at three localities in Britain, two of which are in Kent - indeed one of which is on the edge of the wonderous Isle of Thanet! The moth is dependant on a plant which is equally rare in the British Isles - Hog's Fennel. The adult moth can be found resting on the food-plant after dark during its short flight period in late September and early October. At the site we visited a few days ago the Hog's Fennel is quite common so we knew we had a great chance of seeing the moth. In the end we found about ten individuals resting on the dead stalks of the fennel. All were in immaculate condition and were simply stunning to look at - very special. We took photos and admired the subtle beauty of these fine creatures and then left them to it. 'Tis what mothing is all about.

I'll try to rebound from my leave of absence with more thrilling accounts of mothing in deepest Kent...stay tuned!