I recently joined Steve Whitehouse and Matthew Deans for an impromptu moth-trapping session at Durlston Country Park, slap-bang on the Dorset coast. The wind was howling and the rain was relentless, but this being my first experience of coastal trapping, things couldn't have been more exciting.
Moths didn't really start arriving until after midnight (understandable considering that some had taken off from the other side of the English Channel), but the ones that did certainly knew how to impress. I was particularly keeping my eye out for
Palpita vitrealis, a large and unmistakable migrant from southern Europe and a bit of an exotic show-stopper. After scouring the traps for hours without any luck, a total of 4 dropped in after between 2am and 3 am. Classic.
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Palpita vitrealis |
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Delicate |
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Oak Rustic |
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Mecyna asinalis |
The Durston Castle garden- no stranger to bright lights and weird men swigging Red Bull...