For the school half-term holiday, we enjoyed a family trip to the Isle of Wight to visit relatives. By day the weather was positively Mediterranean. However, by night, with clear skies and a stiff breeze from a north easterly direction, the temperature soon fell away.

I took my moth trap on holiday - who would not? - in the hope of a bountiful haul of insects in warmer climes, but it was just too cold and the moths largely stayed away. I can not complain though, as I did manage to trap a couple of local specialities. These were the flashy cream-spot tiger, with its tartan underwing, and the connoisseurs small… grey… Channel Islands pug. I had been hoping to catch some migrant moths from the continent, but it was not to be.

While many of our moths are resident, of which some are steadfastly localised, there are also migrant moths. Migrant moths are brought here on winds and arrive from the continent and Africa. Unlike birds such as the swift, who arrive like clockwork at the end of April each year, migrant moths are less predictable. Many of the arrivals boost populations of moths already resident in the UK. But other migrant moths are unable to make our island their home with our winters being too harsh. Although, their chances of survival increase as our climate warms.

The winds took on a more southerly aspect and summer finally arrived. On the 10th June, my social media feeds were full of reports of the moth green oak tortrix (pictured) being caught in large numbers by moth trappers down south. The following day they arrived in parts of Yorkshire. Having caught only one in the past, I now had fifteen in a single night. Pictures of traps looking like they had had a bag of frozen peas poured into them circulate.

In the UK, Rannoch looper takes it name from an area of central Scotland where it is resident in mature woodland. Until this week there had been two previous records of the moth in Yorkshire, but a handful have turned up on our east coast in the last few days. They have not come from Scotland, but have been blown here across the North Sea on easterly winds.

With the warm weather set to continue, the garden moth trap is out again. While the chances are slim this far in land, I am hoping to join the Rannoch looper club. Of course, heading north to Scotland with the moth trap is always an option.

wharfedale-nats.org.uk