File:Chloroclysta siterata (33384297850).jpg

Field Trip - Ashwell Quarry - 30/03/17 On Thursday night I made a trip to Ashwell Quarry in the far North-West of the County of Hertfordshire.

The weather was just perfect with highs of 21 degrees during the day and whilst setting up at 7.30pm it was still 17 degrees and even at packing up time at midnight the car temperature gauge read still read a balmy 15.5c all the way home!

I decided to run 4 traps in the end, a mixture of different light sources.

The four traps were 2x 125w MV Robinsons, 1x 160w Mercury Blended Robinson Trap and my homemade twin 20w wemlite actinic trap. The results to each trap were quite shocking.

Both MVs had less than 20 moths in and around the traps. The MBT had just 12 moths but did attract the only Red-green Carpet of the night. The 20w twin wemlite actinic homemade jobby had 87 moths in and around the grass and had the only Small Quaker, Early Grey, Diurnea fagella and Dotted Chestnut of the night. 25 of those moths were Red Chestnut.

It was just great to see so many moths flying this early on in the season...a sign of things to come perhaps? Lets hope so and I look forward to surveying this land again soon.

Catch Report - 30/03/17 - Ashwell Quarry - North-west Heerts - 2x 125w MV Robinson Trap 1x 160w MBT Robinson Trap & 1x 40w Actinic Trap - Warm and muggy, stiffening Easterly breeze by 11pm - minimum of 15c

227 moths of 21 species

Macro Moths

2x Chestnut 7x Clouded Drab 108x Common Quaker 1x Dotted Chestnut 8x Double-striped Pug 1x Early Grey 1x Early Thorn 1x Engrailed 24x Hebrew Character 2x March Moth 1x Nut-tree Tussock 37 Red Chestnut 1x Red-green Carpet 2x Scorched Carpet 1x Small Quaker

Micro Moths

22x Agonopterix alstromeriana 2x Agonopterix arenella 3x Agonopterix heracliana 1x Caloptilia semifascia 1x Diurnea fagella