Yesterday was almost ridiculous. And I don't mean the match last night ....
When I set the moth trap on Saturday night, I also left out the LUN pheremone
lure in the vain hope that it would attract one or two Tineid moths (as it has
done for many others). Sunday morning, not quite at the crack of dawn, I
emptied the moth trap and checked the lure - nothing. By the time I'd emptied
the trap it was c06:30 and I intended to get back into bed for another couple
of hours or so. I simply left the pheromone trap hanging. When I was back up
and in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil, I looked out and thought I
saw some movement inside the trap .... surely not .... but I went and checked
....
I couldn't quite believe it, x2 Lunar Hornet Moths in the garden. I'd
never thought of putting the lure out in the garden to target this clearwing.
There is a decent sized sallow in the adjacent garden, but I'm sure these came
from a bit further afield (though clearly not too far). From using this lure
last year, I reckon these don't fly too early in the morning, I had no success
anywhere before c9am.
Buoyed by this inadvertent success, I decided to try another lure that has not
hung in the garden before - mainly because I'd seen a couple of other reports
from around the VC suggesting it might be worth a punt. So out went the VES lure
whilst I nipped out with the LUN lure attempting (but failing) to add another
dot to the VC map.
I got back after around one and a half hours, had a squint at the trap and
could not believe it - more clearwings. The VES lure was initially intended
for Yellow-legged Clearwing which is pretty much a specialist of mature oaks /
oak woodland. But the lure also works for Orange-tailed Clearwing which, until
this year, was thought to be rare in the VC and pretty much restricted to the
east of Rutland. Orange-tailed mainly feeds on Wayfaring Tree which is itself
pretty scarce in VC55. I suspect no-one bothered trying the lure in their
gardens in years gone by as neither clearwing species seemed likely. But Orange-tailed
also feeds on Guelder Rose, and perhaps it is also feeding on cultivated
viburnums. Either way, there were three in my garden and again these can't
have come too from too far away.
Orange-tailed Clearwing
I tried to make it a hat-trick but the FOR lure failed to bring in Red-tipped
Clearwing although the afternoon was pretty dull and cloudy. Still I can't
complain with two garden ticks in rapid succession.
Otherwise, the last couple of times the trap has been out I've lazily pointed
the camera at Torts on the sheet and trap body ....
