The Society’s annual moth-trapping session was held on the night of Friday 14 June / Saturday 15 June at Thatcham Reedbeds. We would particularly like to thank BBOWT’s Roger Stace, the Land Manager for the West Berkshire reserves, for his help in the organisation of the event, and for providing a dry set of tables where the catch could be displayed on the Saturday morning. Paul Black brought three traps, Norman Hall and Roger Stace each brought two traps and Grahame Hawker brought one. Norman initially set up one of his lights on a tripod over a sheet, to watch the moths arriving and settling down on the sheet. This is only practicable if it does not rain, and luckily it did not rain until about midnight, despite the poor weather forecast, but there were nonetheless disappointingly few moths about. When the rain started Norman replaced his lamp with a moth trap and retired for a brief sleep, very brief in fact because it was so close to the summer solstice. Meanwhile Roger and Grahame, who both live close by, went home for some sleep, while Paul stayed on watch all night. Sunrise was officially 04:48, but it was light well before that. It had been a rather cold night with intermittent rain showers and the light breeze had not died down by dawn but at least the rain had stopped, so we were able to go through our traps, pot up examples of most species caught and retire to the Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre, where the moths were put on display from 09:00 to 12:00. (It being an advertised event for both the RDNHS from 09:00 and for the Discovery Centre from 10:00 to 12:00 )

Conditions had been very poor for moth trapping and the number of individual moths caught had been exceptionally low for mid-June. We had often seen 1 or 2 examples of species where we could have expected to see 10 or 20 after a ‘normal’ June night. However, the number of different species seen (75) was ample for public display. Though only one RDNHS member had come to see the trapping done the previous evening and very few members came along to view the catch at 09:00, the Discovery Centre became very busy about 10:00 when many local people came along. Roger had saved one of his traps to be opened then in front of anyone who was interested. RDNHS numbers were almost certainly low partly because it was cold with intermittent torrential rain showers (from which we were in fact totally protected) and the M4 was closed westbound between Junction 11 (Reading South) and Junction 12 (Theale). In addition to this, traffic was not being let onto the M4 eastbound at Theale either, sending large parts of the Reading area into traffic gridlock.

Despite such problems, we were able to display moths of most of the main groups of macrolepidoptera (‘macros’). Not only representatives of the largest families: the 800+ Noctuid moths and the 400+ Geometrid moths, but also representatives of the smaller families, which are on-the-whole more interesting, more spectacular in appearance and easier to identify, and hence more likely to inspire those knowing little about moths. We were for example able to show people a Ghost Swift, a Pale Prominent and a Pebble Prominent, several Poplar Hawk-moths, a Drinker moth, both White and Buff Ermine moths and The Snout. We had also tried to pot up at least one of any moth we had recorded for the benefit of those with more experience of moths, and to show the sheer variety among the colours and patterns in the catch to those with less.

Not surprisingly. moths we recorded included some reedbed/wetland species including Southern Wainscot, Round-winged Muslin, Small Clouded Brindle and Chilo phragmitidis, but, as we knew, many of the reedbed ‘special’ moths fly later in the season. One of the micros coming to Norman’s sheet in the evening, Acleris umbrana, was a very local species, he had never seen before. Apart from moths, a lot of caddis flies were also caught, which Grahame identified using photography and an app., which was very effective… …and round about midnight, five bees flew into one of Paul’s traps. Norman says he has rarely found honey bees in traps even if they are placed close to beehives, though Hornets come readily and can be very troublesome.

So the Discovery Centre event was successful and enjoyable despite the very poor weather conditions and the disappointingly low catch. Only 8 members were able to get there.

Moths recorded at Thatcham reedbeds
14-15 June2024

Location of moth trappers:
SU50056686	Paul Black
SU50386672	Norman Hall
SU50216676	Roger Stace
SU50206667	Grahame Hawker

03.005	Hepialus humuli	Ghost Moth	Common	1
35.056	Metzneria lappella		Local	3
49.013	Archips podana	Large Fruit-tree Tortrix	Common	3
49.015	Archips xylosteana	Variegated Golden Tortrix	Common	5
49.025	Pandemis cerasana	Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix	Common	5
49.059	Tortrix viridana	Green Oak Tortrix	Common	41
49.060	Aleimma loeflingiana		Common	1
49.075	Acleris umbrana		Notable A	1
49.091	Pseudargyrotoza conwagana		Common	1
49.110	Agapeta zoegana		Common	5
49.156	Hedya nubiferana	Marbled Orchard Tortrix	Common	6
49.166	Celypha lacunana		Common	10
49.265	Eucosma cana		Common	1
49.294	Notocelia uddmanniana	Bramble Shoot Moth	Common	1
49.298	Notocelia trimaculana		Common	1
62.001	Aphomia sociella	Bee Moth	Common	2
63.020	Anania perlucidalis		Common	1
63.064	Scoparia ambigualis		Common	3
63.067	Eudonia lacustrata		Common	5
63.075	Eudonia pallida		Local	1
63.077	Chilo phragmitella		Local	1
63.080	Chrysoteuchia culmella		Common	11
63.086	Crambus lathoniellus		Common	1
66.010	Euthrix potatoria	The Drinker	Common	2
69.003	Laothoe populi	Poplar Hawk-moth	Common	6
70.061	Epirrhoe alternata	Common Carpet	Common	2
70.074	Hydriomena furcata	July Highflyer	Common	1
70.084	Plemyria rubiginata	Blue-bordered Carpet	Local	3
70.085	Cidaria fulvata	Barred Yellow	Common	1
70.097	Dysstroma truncata	Common Marbled Carpet	Common	2
70.100	Colostygia pectinataria	Green Carpet	Common	1
70.144	Pasiphila rectangulata	Green Pug	Common	3
70.183	Eupithecia vulgata	Common Pug	Common	1
70.189	Eupithecia subumbrata	Shaded Pug	Local	2
70.199	Pterapherapteryx sexalata	Small Seraphim	Local	3
70.207	Lomaspilis marginata	Clouded Border	Common	9
70.226	Opisthograptis luteolata	Brimstone Moth	Common	5
70.252	Biston betularia	Peppered Moth	Common	1
70.258	Peribatodes rhomboidaria	Willow Beauty	Common	1
70.265	Alcis repandata	Mottled Beauty	Common	7
70.277	Cabera pusaria	Common White Wave	Common	2
70.278	Cabera exanthemata	Common Wave	Common	3
70.280	Lomographa temerata	Clouded Silver	Common	1
70.283	Campaea margaritaria	Light Emerald	Common	4
70.305	Hemithea aestivaria	Common Emerald	Common	1
71.013	Notodonta ziczac	Pebble Prominent	Common	1
71.020	Pterostoma palpina	Pale Prominent	Common	1
72.002	Rivula sericealis	Straw Dot	Common	5
72.003	Hypena proboscidalis	The Snout	Common	15
72.019	Spilosoma lutea	Buff Ermine	Common	8
72.020	Spilosoma lubricipeda	White Ermine	Common	2
72.037	Thumatha senex	Round-winged Muslin	Local	1
72.069	Laspeyria flexula	Beautiful Hook-tip	Local	3
73.001	Abrostola tripartita	The Spectacle	Common	3
73.012	Diachrysia chrysitis	Burnished Brass	Common	6
73.024	Deltote pygarga	Marbled White Spot	Common	4
73.092	Caradrina morpheus	Mottled Rustic	Common	1
73.099	Hoplodrina ambigua	Vine’s Rustic	Common	1
73.101	Charanyca trigrammica	Treble Lines	Common	1
73.102	Rusina ferruginea	Brown Rustic	Common	1
73.155	Apamea epomidion	Clouded Brindle	Common	1
73.159	Apamea unanimis	Small Clouded Brindle	Common	1
73.162	Apamea monoglypha	Dark Arches	Common	4
73.173x	Oligia strigilis agg.	Marbled Minor agg		14
73.216	Cosmia trapezina	The Dun-bar	Common	1
73.294	Mythimna straminea	Southern Wainscot	Local	1
73.297	Mythimna albipuncta	White-point	Established colonist	2
73.317	Agrotis exclamationis	Heart & Dart	Common	4
73.320	Agrotis clavis	Heart & Club	Common	1
73.325	Agrotis puta	Shuttle-shaped Dart	Common	1
73.328	Axylia putris	The Flame	Common	5
73.329	Ochropleura plecta	Flame Shoulder	Common	2
73.334	Diarsia rubi	Small Square-spot	Common	1
73.342	Noctua pronuba	Large Yellow Underwing	Common	5
73.359	Xestia c-nigrum	Setaceous Hebrew Character	Common	1