Tonight Jenna and I headed over to Formby Point in Lancashire with one particular moth in mind, the Portland Moth. Having checked the forecast before setting off, conditions looked reasonably promising, so we arrived at dusk, just after 8.30pm, and set about getting the moth traps up.
Formby Point
Everything was going according to plan until we heard the first crack of thunder. It wasn't long before the heavens opened. Within minutes, we were absolutely soaked to the bone. The rain was coming down so heavily that there was little option but to retreat back to the car and leave the traps running for the evening. Even the Common Toads seemed to be enjoying the weather. On the walk back, we had to dodge numerous toads making the most of the wet conditions, while above us the thunder continued and lightning repeatedly lit up the sky.
Common Toad
The rain simply didn't stop. At that point, our chances of catching anything worthwhile looked pretty poor, and we were already wondering what sort of state the traps would be in when we eventually returned to collect them. With the weather continuing to deteriorate, another soaking was almost guaranteed.
Then, at around 11.30pm, the rain finally stopped.
We headed back out to the traps, not really knowing what to expect. What greeted us was completely unexpected. The traps were full of moths! The egg trays were covered with moths, with Archers' Darts and Large Yellow Underwings particularly numerous. There must have been well over 100 Large Yellow Underwings between the traps, an impressive sight when we began turning over the egg boxes.
But then came the moment we had been hoping for. Tucked away quietly in the corner of one of the egg boxes was our target species, a beautiful Portland Moth. What a result! After the torrential rain, thunder and lightning, and our initial doubts about whether we would catch anything at all, finding the Portland Moth made the whole evening worthwhile. Jenna and I were both absolutely made up.
One of only a few greenish-coloured moths among the Noctuidae, the Portland Moth is a species closely associated with sandy coastal habitats. It occurs in sand dunes, sandy heaths and shingle banks, with its British distribution being mainly coastal.
Despite its name, interestingly, the Portland Moth does not occur on Portland. Although it can be found in parts of Dorset and Devon, it is rather scarce there and is much more frequently encountered in the north-west of England and Scotland. Elsewhere in Britain it occurs in a scattering of localised sites.
The adults are on the wing during August and September and, if disturbed, will often drop to the ground and feign death. The larvae feed on Creeping Willow (Salix repens) and other plants associated with sand-dune habitats. Its close association with these specialised habitats makes the Portland Moth a particularly interesting species to encounter, and finding one at Formby Point was a fantastic result.
Among the other moths in the traps was another species of note, Blackneck.
Blackneck
For many years Blackneck was an extremely scarce moth in Lancashire, with records consisting of little more than occasional and widely scattered sightings. Its fortunes changed dramatically around 2009, when a major population build-up occurred in south Lancashire.
The increase was significant enough for the species to spread eastwards across the county boundary into Yorkshire, where it subsequently became more widely established. Despite this expansion, Blackneck remains a fairly local and specialised species, associated with particular habitats where its foodplant occurs.
Another particularly exciting discovery was a Feathered Gothic, another lifer for both Jenna and me.
Feathered Gothic
This was a fantastic moth to find, particularly given its conservation concerns. Long-term monitoring data from the UK's moth recording schemes have shown a dramatic decline in the species, with Feathered Gothic suffering an estimated 90% population decrease in Britain between 1970 and the mid-2000s. Despite that huge national decline, the species has managed to maintain a relatively resilient presence in some of its preferred Lancashire strongholds. Finding one tonight was therefore a very welcome surprise.
What had started out as a promising evening quickly turned into one of the wettest moth-trapping sessions we have experienced. With thunder, lightning and torrential rain continuing for much of the evening, we had almost written the night off before we had even collected the traps. Yet somehow, when we finally returned, the traps were full. Hundreds of moths, a superb selection of species and, most importantly, the moth we had travelled to Formby Point to find.
It was another reminder that moth trapping can be completely unpredictable. You can look at the forecast, think the conditions are going to be ideal, and then find yourself standing in a thunderstorm, getting soaked to the skin. But that's the great thing about it. You simply never know what is going to be waiting inside the trap.
What a night!