Since yesterday was sort of a lovely day (still a surprisingly cold wind here actually ) I decided that an inaugural 2016 mothing session was well overdue.

Got up really early this morning with eager anticipation ready to start sorting through the moth catch before the forecast bad weather came upon us. Turns out that it might have been possible to have a bit of a longer lie in since I had caught one moth. Yes, just the one. Oh, and a Caddis Fly.

However, looking at it positively, I have had time and an opportunity to look into the life cycle of this lovely little moth in more detail. It overwinters as a pupa underground with the moth fully formed inside and then emerges as a moth from March to May. One generation only a year because the moth feeds on Blackthorn flowers which all fits together terribly well, because Blackthorn is about the only thing in flower in the meadows at the moment. The caterpillars are around from April to June feeding on a wide range of broadleaved trees.

And here is the Caddis Fly:

It appears that there are many different species of Caddis Fly and in fact I do have an insect identification book that deals with 30 of the most common of these but I couldn’t work out which one this was.  So I am currently happy to just leave it at this being a Caddis Fly and taking it no further.

So it appears that it may still be a teensy bit early to wield the moth trap at the meadows. I will try again in a couple of weeks and see what I get then.