Moth eaten

Posted on Apr 20, 2017 by TanGental

As a child we had a moth trap. This isn’t as cruel as it might sound in that moths aren’t killed in said trap but captured during night flying hours and held until freed in the morning. When dad died I inherited the old thing but it was basically clapped out and never really worked. Then last year, last autumn I had the chance to buy one. Hmm, tricky.. not.

There’s not a lot of point using it during the winter months; sure there are moths and indeed other insects that fly during these months but the best times are the spring through the autumn.

So last night I dusted it off, and set it up in the garden to see what, if anything could be tempted inside. I took a few short videos setting it up and checking on the contents which are below. The camera work leaves a lot to be desired but you’ll get the picture…

and what did I find in the morning…?

About TanGental

My name is Geoff Le Pard. Once I was a lawyer; now I am a writer. I've published several books: a four book series following Harry Spittle as he grows from hapless student to hapless partner in a London law firm; four others in different genres; a book of poetry; four anthologies of short fiction; and a memoir of my mother. I have several more in the pipeline. I have been blogging regularly since 2014, on topic as diverse as: poetry based on famous poems; memories from my life; my garden; my dog; a whole variety of short fiction; my attempts at baking and food; travel and the consequent disasters; theatre, film and book reviews; and the occasional thought piece. Mostly it is whatever takes my fancy. I avoid politics, mostly, and religion, always. I don't mean to upset anyone but if I do, well, sorry and I suggest you go elsewhere. These are my thoughts and no one else is to blame. If you want to nab anything I post, please acknowledge where it came from.
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29 Responses to Moth eaten

  1. barbtaub says:
    Apr 20, 2017 at 8:17 am

    Am I missing something? I loved the setup and peeks at your garden, but… You trap moths overnight and then toss them straight back to the garden so they can come back the next night? Why?

    And then I’m remembering our Have-A-Heart rodent traps, where we enticed little mice with a combination of chocolate and peanutbutter (American, mice obviously, or we’d have had to use Marmite) and then drive them out to a field to release them so that they could tell all their mouse buddies about this great house where they feed you epicurean delights and then take you for a car ride. I’m guessing the mice made it back to the house before the car was back in the garage.

    Liked by 1 person

    • TanGental says:
      Apr 20, 2017 at 9:15 pm

      the idea, though I do see it appears daft is to find out what moths we have locally; that does mean we may well get the same moth for several nights – and while that’s a bit irritating for me just imagine how pissed the moth is… hopefully they will be more exciting later in the year – bet you can’t wait. Your rodent trap reminds me a bit of my war on snails that led me to tossing them into my neighbours garden – a war on neighbours too as it happened – which continued until i found out the bloody things (the snails, not the neighbours) are homing and return hungry and in need of my bloody hostas again… though maybe it was the neighbours given how much damage they did to the plants..

      Liked by 1 person

  2. thecontentedcrafter says:
    Apr 20, 2017 at 9:17 am

    That was fascinating – though obviously too early in the season for any but the most fool-hardy of moths to be out and about yet. Do you get the giant gum moths and such like in your garden? And would they fit in your little trap? Is the idea that you will learn to identify the moths? I can report that as you muttered that you didn’t know what type of moth the little creature was, I responded “It’s a moth Geoff.” Which indicates that I could also do with a bit of education in this department 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • TanGental says:
      Apr 20, 2017 at 9:10 pm

      Ha thanks!! Well yes we’ve narrowed it down to one of a about 1500 indigenous moths then!! The bigger more colourful ones I will try and identify and yes it is big enough to get our biggest moths – hawk moths here – which with luck we will see later. The biggest – the death’s head hawk moth – is probably too big though and anyway it’s only found in the rural south – it lives on potatoes and other members of the nightshade family

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Ritu says:
    Apr 20, 2017 at 12:11 pm

    Well I’ve never seen one of those before!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. derrickjknight says:
    Apr 20, 2017 at 1:24 pm

    Lovely garden – you nutter

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Judy E Martin says:
    Apr 20, 2017 at 6:21 pm

    I was really fascinated by this Geoff, despite being terrified of moths. I scream my head off if they come near me!
    I would be interested to see what else turns up later on in the year, and well done for a successful first attempt! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Charli Mills says:
    Apr 21, 2017 at 2:44 am

    Oh, wow! I can’t believe how excited I got with the last video, watching for moths with each pulled tray. Fun, fun, fun! Thanks for sharing. I can better understand how you must have enjoyed looking for insects with your Dad.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. trifflepudling says:
    Apr 21, 2017 at 3:44 am

    I enjoyed that! Did you identify them?

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Hugh's Views and News says:
    Apr 21, 2017 at 12:52 pm

    I was waiting for a hand to suddenly grabbed yours from underneath those egg boxes and you frighten all of us. Phew!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. gordon759 says:
    Apr 21, 2017 at 5:46 pm

    The archaeologist adds – with typical smugness
    You had two Early Greys and a Hebrew Character, typical moths of early spring.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. cathysrealcountrygardencom says:
    Jun 11, 2017 at 8:31 pm

    Good to see another moth enthusiast spreading their wings. Get a good ID book and you will be enthralled for life!

    Like

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