Hopes were high for a bumper haul on the night before the solstice, with the nighttime temperature falling no lower than 19 degrees. And as we opened the trap it was clear that our group was in for a great time…

Everyone’s favourites of course are the hawkmoths. The colour was provided by fifteen Elephant Hawks and half a dozen Small Elephants, and the awe-inspiring size (and weight) by the single Privet Hawk. This took a liking to Jude, and a few seconds after she released it safely into a bush five metres away, it flew straight back, landed on her shorts, and stayed there for an hour. Must have known it was safe from an over-attentive Robin!

Cinnabars, Rosy Footmen and a couple of Brimstone Moths contributed to the wonderful kaleidoscope of colour …

… while Burnished Brass, Buff Tip and Buff Arches added metallic reflections, incredible camouflage and intricate designs.

And just a few others to show the huge range of colour and form, and their wonderful names: Peppered Moth, Clouded Border, Scorched Wing, Angle Shades, Treble Brown-spot, Small Waved Umber, Lackey, Beautiful Hook-tip and Common Emerald:

Apart from moths that normally live in the surrounding vegetation, it is also possible to catch species from afar whose migrations may bring them from far-flung corners of the continent. The L-album Wainscot and Delicate are both examples of moths that until recently were considered to be exclusively migrants to the British Isles, but may now have developed breeding populations. So whether the ones we caught were migrants or residents we shall never know.

Even smaller moths are interesting. Some of the smaller macromoths included Green Pug, Short-cloaked Moth and Festoon, the latter a scarce south-eastern species associated with ancient woodland and veteran trees.

Micromoths often slip under the radar because of their size, or are ignored because they are difficult or impossible to identify without killing them first, something we would never do. But some are as large or larger than the smaller macromoths, like the European Corn-borer, Archips podana and the aptly named Beautiful Chinamark. The latter is not only a new record for the garden, it is only thinly scattered through Essex and one of the few moth species whose caterpillars live underwater, feeding on our water plants.

Many micros though are smaller, and arguably less distinctive, though some like Argyresthia brockeella, only 5mm long, can only be described as spectacular. And then we get to the smallest of all, a minuscule 2.5mm long, the leaf-miners whose tiny caterpillars feed between the upper and lower surfaces of a leaf. There are many of them: this one is Ectoedemia subbimaculella whose larvae feed in oak leaves.

As well as moths, the trap also attracts other night-flying insects. These included water beetles and caddisflies, aquatic insects perhaps misinterpreting the light as moonglow reflecting of a pond, together with an Orange Ladybird, a mildew-feeding species that I had not previously found in the Gardens.

In total we recorded 100 species of moth (31 micros and 69 macros) with an estimated haul of  some 400 individual moths, the best such event we have run here in the past four years. The full list can be found at this link: bc-moths-june-25

All that and the chance to spend a little time taking in the beauty and tranquility of the garden before the gates are opened.

And never fear, after the group dispersed to enjoy the gardens’ delights more fully, we set about releasing the moths safely into vegetation, away from the attentions of a very inquisitive Robin, and another chance to spread the magic of moths among unsuspecting garden visitors!

Keep an eye on the Beth Chatto website for future moth events if you are interested in joining one.