Some of the residents of Thakeham, during the course of the year, may have noticed bright lights shining across the Glebe Field on some nights. This was not a sign of nefarious goings on but evidence of a moth survey being carried out.
Last April Moth Paul and I were asked to carry out a survey on the Glebe Field which is being left to re-wild. During the year we had 7 sessions and caught and released 1551 moths of 232 species. The largest number caught was 359 in July and the lowest was 24 in October. Although moths are present all year, numbers build to a crescendo in mid-summer.
There are two main ways to catch moths and both use bright lights designed to attract insects, specifically moths. The first is to use a trap which captures the moths and is emptied the next morning. Then the moths are identified and released. The second is to use a white sheet and light. The moths land on the sheet and are collected, again to be identified and released the next morning.
The weather is important in the success or otherwise of a trapping session. Best results are obtained on a warm, windless, cloudy night. Light rain is acceptable, but not heavy rain. We tend not to trap on clear nights with a full moon, nights with temperatures in single figures or wind speeds in double figures.
Moths are considered to be one of the main pollinators. There are approximately 2500 species found across the UK. Like most insect species they are in decline through habitat erosion and global warming. However, as with other fauna there are some positives in that their seem to be more migrants coming from the continent and some are beginning to breed.
If you are interested, Fiona McConnachie (fionamc-2013@hotmail.com) has a full list of what has been found. We will be continuing the survey next year and if you are interested you are welcome to come along and see what happens. If you give contact details to Fiona, she will let you know when we will be there.
Moth George
Photographs by George Reekie
Submitted to the Storrington Community Website using the News Item contact form.