Last night I headed out for a short moth-trapping session in East Oxfordshire with my good friend Alan Lewis, with one particular moth in mind that we both needed for our lists: Juniper Carpet. Earlier in the year, I had found a good site in a valley full of Juniper bushes, where I had also trapped Juniper Pug, so we decided to target this area for Juniper Carpet.
It didn’t take long after dusk to find our first one clinging to a Juniper bush. Over the next couple of hours, we managed to see five more, for a total of six Juniper Carpets.
Juniper Carpet
The Juniper Carpet is a late-season moth, flying during October and November. It is found across Britain, Europe and the Near East, wherever its foodplant, Juniper, is found.We also trapped a Plumed Fan-foot, which was a new moth for me. The species seems to have been undergoing a good dispersal over the last few days, so it was great to get one here in Oxfordshire.
Plumed Fan-footOriginally from southern Europe, Plumed Fan-foot was first recorded in Britain in Kent in 1995 and was initially considered a rare immigrant. Since then, it has become established in Britain and has continued to spread, with records increasingly coming from further inland.
We also trapped two very worn Juniper Pugs, which added to the interest of the session.
Juniper PugA good few hours mothing with Alan, and two more new species for my list. Another successful night out!
