The warm start to this spring has already seen a number of butterflies on the wing.
One of the first we expect is the brimstone; leaf green in colour it, like a number of species overwinters as an adult safely tucked away in dense foliage and is particularly fond of tall stands of ivy.
Man has also created many great wintering habitats for species like the red admiral, small tortoiseshell and peacocks – all of which can be found in any garden shed safely tucked away from the worst of the winter frosts.
Here at Yorkshire Water’s Tophill Low Nature Reserve we also monitor many of the moth species which can be found all year round too.
To do this we utilise a moth trap which is like a giant lobster pot – attracting the moths to a very bright 125 watt mercury vapour bulb which they fly into, and then drop down unharmed into the collector where we can sort through the dozy specimens the next morning before releasing them again.
Last year we had 278 separate species though the year from the specialist ‘winter moth’ that flies in the depths of winter due to special antifreeze chemicals called polyhydroxy alcohols that prevent ice crystals forming in its body, to the big highlight; a striped hawkmoth more commonly found in the Mediterranean and North Africa and an uncommon vagrant to this country.
The best find of this year to date has been the spectacular oak beauty – a large and striking moth of mature oak woodlands.