Moth Trapping in Haywards Heath
This web site is primarily aimed at those new to moth trapping and who, like me, find themselves spending a lot of time trying to identify moths. The micro moths are notoriously difficult to identify, even harder to photograph satisfactorily and are frequently in less than pristine condition, all good reasons increasing the already difficult task of identification and why so many choose to ignore them. This is a shame, because during the summer months they can make up a significant part of the overnight catch. I have used Jim Porter's "A Label and Checklist of the British Micro-lepidoptera with Vernacular names" to name the micros I have trapped, but have also provided their Latin names and taxonomic reference numbers to aid navigation.
My original moth photo galleries formed part of the Sussex Wildlifer web site http://www.thesussexwildlifer.co.uk, but it became necessary to split them off. Setting up the new site was a huge undertaking over many weeks and there will undoubtedly be mistakes. For these I apologise in advance. If you see any, then will you please tell me so that I can make the necessary corrections? I can be contacted on 01444 453880 or by email: piggleston at tiscali.co.uk (this is shown without the customary @ in an attempt to cut down on the spammers sending me an avalanche of rubbish). Please note: images of most of the species so far visiting my garden can be accessed through the Moth Images link above. This link will lead you to three indexes and from any of these to moth "quick identification charts" containing thumbnail images. These charts are linked to enable you to quickly scroll between them. For greater detail, simply click on any thumbnail, which links to a larger image. It is then possible to scroll from one enlargement to the next (or previous) species in Systematic List order, a great help with confusion species.
I have a well stocked medium sized urban garden in Haywards Heath, West Sussex (map reference TQ326242, elevation 220 feet), which is frequently several degrees colder than nearby villages and towns. Over the years I have planted apple, pear, plum and cherry trees, currant bushes, shrubs, perennial and annual flower borders and hundreds of spring bulbs. There are also native plants, including herbs, a nettle patch, some rotting wood stacks, a good-sized patch of ivy overgrowing a fence and a small and active pond containing, inter alia, dragonfly larvae, frogs and common newts. Although I live a brisk 5-minute walk from open countryside, there are remnants of ancient woodland a short distance away, with many broadleaf trees and sallows in adjoining gardens.
I started moth trapping in April 2007, when my set-up was a home made trap, comprising a large plastic container with a removeable lid, into which a circular hole had been cut. A funnel, suitably cut to size fitted into the lid and into this was taped a simple lamp fitting. A low energy 11W UV bulb was used and, although somewhat under-powered, it did manage to draw in good numbers of moths at certain times of the year. Its main downside was that it was not water proof and so was located just inside the greenhouse, now affectionately known as the moth hotel! In March 2009 I switched to using a Robinson trap with twin 30W Actinic tubes. In deference to my close neighbours I did not fit a mercury vapour lamp. This has proved to be superior in every way. Climatic conditions are generally noted between 22.00 and 23.00 hours.
Acknowledgments: CARE: you may not see this web page correctly using Internet Explorer v6. I had really frustrating problems designing this web site to enable it to be viewed properly without any distortion in the majority of web browsers. This I believe has been achieved with the exception of those people still using Internet Explorer 6, or earlier versions. The remedy is perfectly simple: there are free downloads of Internet Explorer versions 7 and 8 available on the Internet. I owe an immense debt of gratitude to Bob Foreman, professional web designer, fellow member of the Sussex Moth Group and friend. You can see his wonderful web site on the following link: http://www.littlesnails.com/Moths/index.php