Stripped down but not out
I've stripped the blog down to basics, just plain wrapping, nowt else, time for a change. The hot weather continues to provide an increase in moths to the MV, but certainly not in the numbers that I once would have expected. I leave the trap by the side of a white wall, and in previous years high overnight temperatures would have seen this expanse of white covered in moths at rest when checking the MV in the morning. Now? Just a few, no more. Likewise, the egg boxes inside have plenty of moths (and other insects) at rest, but not the hordes of 20-30 years ago. A few species that are not annual have turned up, but only one species of macro has been new for the garden, this Brown-veined Wainscot, a species that has reduced in range by 60% since 2000 (according to the excellent Atlas). I've been shielding these past few weeks to protect a family member from the possibility of coming into contact with COVID, so by necessity my time out in the field has been cut back. This has allowed plenty of time to observe from the garden, which meant that I was on hand to see an Emperor Dragonfly patrolling through the front garden this morning, my 9th species of Odonata here. Silver linings and all that...
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