Catching Up in Oxford

I was away last week (birding in Scotland since you ask). I returned on Sunday to find that the GMC scores has all lept up since I'd last looked and that I was now being left behind. As I've mentioned in the past, I'm not blessed with the best of moth gardens nor the best mothing equipment so I was expecting to be seriously out-caught during this competition anyway but I wanted to retain at least some shred of dignity. Accordingly clearly I had some serious catching up to do.

I've run the trap every day since I've been back and I too have found that things have improved significantly since I went way. Whereas before I was getting totals of around 10 moths now it was often in the heady heights of twenty or more and one day I got a new best of year total of 31 moths. When I read of others getting 100+ catches in a single night it is enough to make me weep but I must somehow soldier on.

During the last week I've managed to add 13 moths to my year list as well as another butterfly (a Comma). The new moth additions have been the following

53    17/06/2013    Heart and Dart   
54    17/06/2013    Tachystola acroxantha   
55    17/06/2013    Grey Pug   
56    17/06/2013    Celypha Lacunana   
57    18/06/2013    Udea Olivalis   
58    18/06/2013    Willow Beauty   
59    18/06/2013    Mottled Rustic   
60    20/06/2013    Green Pug   
61    20/06/2013    Tinea Trinotella   
62    20/06/2013    Mompha Raschkiella   
63    20/06/2013    MomphaSubbistrigella   
64    21/06/2013    Marbled Orchard Tortrix   
65    21/06/2013    Marbled Minor Agg   

 Celypha Lacunana - I've been catching lots of these lately

 Heart and Dart has become another trap regular

Grey Pug, or so I've been told

Tachystola acroxantha - the first for the year for the whole recording area

 Buff Ermine

Udea Olivalis

Willow Beauty

Rustic Shoulder-knot

Green Pug

Mompha Raschkiella - another recording area first for year

Tinea Trinotella

 Marbled Minor Agg

Marbled Orchard Tortix- another recording area first for year

You'll notice in the above that I mention when I've found a first for the year for the whole Upper Thames branch recording area. Keeping track of this reminds me that even my modest catches are actually making a difference to the sum of mothy knowledge. Don't be fooled by my moaning about my relatively poor catches - actually I'm very much enjoying the whole GMC and my son seems to be getting more keen as well. We now unpack the trap together first thing each morning and he's always very keen to look out for "finger moths" as he calls them - larger moths which are docile enough to go on his finger, something he very much enjoys.

Lastest Score = 65 moths + 8 butterflies = 73