Our Moth Morning, held at Cormackstown Wood, Cormickstown, Maynooth, as our Heritage Week event, was a great success.
Discovery is exciting, and moths are largely unknown to many. This mystery is unsurprising because most are nocturnal and adept at diurnal concealment.
Robinson moth traps with a 125V Mercury Vapour lamp are a great draw for nocturnal moths, and so it proved, despite the night we trapped being cooler than recent nights.
Against this possibility, event leader Philip Strickland trapped the night before and retained some important species, including the migrant Vestal, a large Poplar Hawkmoth and the dramatic Bullrush Wainscot.
The event was well attended by younger and more experienced nature lovers. People were treated to 50 species of moths of a range of markings, colours, shapes and sizes. Philip explained that autumnal moths are less colourful than those emerging during May, June and July, and are typically brown. This did not diminish the interest in those who attended. We got close views of all the species, and the more docile moths were handled and closely observed before all were released.
The desire to trap and record moths has already been kindled, hopefully accompanied by the drive to protect and enhance their habitats.
We weren’t the only attendees. Philip’s grounds host Barn Swallows, who took a keen interest in proceedings, swooping low to check on the chances of a meal. A couple of moths were snapped up, but this underlines the importance of moths in our ecosystems.
After all the traps were examined, we were invited indoors to a wonderful spread of home-baked treats, coffee, tea, etc, etc. If I posted a photograph of the table laden with these delights, the next moth morning would be seriously over-subscribed!
Our thanks are due to the Heritage Council for supporting our moth morning, and to the Strickland family for their generosity in hosting the event and feeding us, and Philip Strickland for planning the event and his expertise.
