Started the day right with 28:6 at Dinnet oakwood. 3 Mottled Umber, 13 Scarce Umber, 6 Feathered Thorn, 2 Autumnal moth, 1 Streak, 1 December moth, 1 Chestnut, 1 Winter moth. Nice to end the year's trapping on a high!

Trying my luck in Dinnet tonight after my disappointing Sunday catch. Should've brought all my traps with me though, to maximise my chances. Alas I brought 3 and one has failed 🤦‍♀️ I wonder if there will still be some Mervs about 🤞 #TeamMoth

It's mild and overcast tonight. Will I get anything if I run a trap on my 2nd storey balcony in the heart of the city in Aberdeen? 🤔 #TeamMoth

I've been busy with poster presentations and talks, not trapping. Moth news in the mean time: . Woolly bear in the office this morning . Elephant hawk moth pupa (I think) in the walled garden 2 weeks ago . Silver Y in the kitchen 3 weeks ago #TeamMoth

Had a wonderful evening listening to a wide variety of talks at the North East Scotland Ecology Network science day. I also had a chance to present a poster on my very preliminary field results, investigating how prescribed burning affects moorland #moth communities. #TeamMoth #MothsMatter

A very hungry Emperor Moth caterpillar for #MothFaceFriday being a messy eater eating getting food in his facial hair 😋 Video taken back in May. One of several caterpillars I was rearing through. #TeamMoth

It's the final #MothFaceFriday of #Leptember So here's an autumnal offering by way of today's Feathered Thorn. Such a gorgeously fluffy auburn face and thorax, and a pair of very impressively feathered antennae. Stunning!

A lovely morning at Dinnet oakwood yielded 30:14 most NFM as my first Autumn trapping night off moorland. Feathered Thorn 2, November moth 1, Green-brindled Crescent 5, Merveille DJ 2, Mottled Umber 1, Red-line Quaker 1, Streak 1, Snout 1, Satellite 1, Red-green Carpet 2, Light Emerald 2. #TeamMoth

A #Leptember visit to Chester Zoo would not be complete without a walk through the #Butterfly house. Gosh, I'd love to be in Costa Rica right now! Credit for photos 1 & 4 go to @conricosteez.bsky.social

This #Leptember I am undertaking 360 quadrats at my moth trapping sites to quantify browsing and describe vegetation composition. I love autumn, and my sites are so beautiful. I'm having a lot of fun! Typing it up is less fun 🫩 If only AI could accurately transcribe voice notes to .csv #TeamMoth

It's the first #MothFaceFriday of #Leptember So here's the tiny head, broad shoulders and thick torso of the Northern/oak Eggar. These moths always give me body-builder vibes! Have a pumped weekend #TeamMoth - don't overdo it on the protein shakes!

A wet night and nippy morning up on Donside, but still 210:37 to light. NFM were 2 Setaceous Hebrew Character and a Canary-shouldered Thorn, which ended up as a spider's breakfast 😔 Also, 2 November Moth, 7 Autumn Green Carpet, 13 Autumnal Rustic, 6 Black Rustic, 15 Golden-rod Brindle #TeamMoth

Angle Shades is always a joy 😊 Here's a lovely one quaking and quivering on the heather, warming up from the trap this morning. #TeamMoth

A damp but still night on Donside yielded 263:36 including NFM Pink-barred Sallow. Also, 8 Small Wainscot, 7 Black Rustic, 6 Juniper Pug, 6 Dark Arches, 2 Plain Clay, 2 Northern Deep-brown Dart, 2 Grey Chi, 2 Golden-rod Brindle, a Beautiful YU, a Sallow and an Angle-striped Sallow. #TeamMoth

A foggy morning at Mar Lodge delayed me from hiking up to my traps until it was safe, but didn't deter the moths! 586:34 Angle Shades 4, Dark Sword-grass 8, Black Rustic 1 and Small Wainscot 1 were NFM. Also had 5 Beautiful YU, 30 Dark Arches, 1 Northern Arches and 2 Cousin German. #TeamMoth

A scorcher of a day at Mar Lodge, even at 8pm last night when I was setting up my traps! But it was worth the sweaty hike through the heather, with 546:32. 31 Autumnal Rustic, a Cousin German, 5 Dark Arches, 15 Golden-rod Brindle, 2 Minor Shoulder-knot and 3 Northern Deep-brown Dart #TeamMoth

499:37 down on the Dee in Braemar last night. It was stunning in the mist this morning, check out these beautiful cobwebs. Light Knot-grass was NFM (although I've found many caterpillars this summer). Also 6-striped Rustic, 15 Pale Eggars, Juniper and Ling pugs and 16 G-r Brindle. #TeamMoth

A wonderful Friday night's trapping in Crathie gave 555:38, including a surprise Dark Bordered Beauty! An Autumnal Moth and 8 Chestnut-coloured Carpets were NFM. I also had 4 Autumnal Rustics, 6 Golden-rod Brindles, a Grey Chi, 12 Haworth's Minors, 287 Heath Rustics and 2 Sallows. #TeamMoth

Oh yeah! It's Friday night. It's the weekend. How could I nearly forget? It's #MothFaceFriday Here's a Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing looking like he got caught doing something untoward 😂

Squeezing in some quick trapping at Glen Tanar before the thunderstorms paid off, with 460:39 even despite one of my traps failing. 9 Twin-spot Carpet NFM, a Scotch Annulet dragging its feet, 194 Heath Rustic, 54 Chevron, 3 Autumnal Rustic and 5 Beautiful YU (2 months after my first). #TeamMoth

465:30 at Glen Ey last night, and countless Scottish midgies. First Autumnal Rustics of the season were NFM. 2 Northern Deep-brown Darts, 4 Scarce Silver-Y, 4 Pale Eggar, 58 Neglected Rustics, 167 Heath Rustics, 19 Golden-rod Brindles, a couple of Haworth's Minor and 9 Ear moth aggs. #TeamMoth

Managed to squeeze in some trapping near Balmoral last night before Storm Floris hit, and it was well worth it! 508:52, 4 NFM: Angle-striped Sallow, Grey Chi, Minor Shoulder-knot and Northern Deep-brown Dart. Also had Scarce Silver-Y, Plain Clay, Northern Arches and Cousin German. #TeamMoth

Had a very Scottish 24hrs looking for Dark Bordered Beauty and then attending my first Highland Games 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 511:51 between 6 small traps last night, including a whole load NFM: 4 DBB, 9 Anomalous, a Barred Chestnut, 29 Dotted Clay, 26 Ear Moth, a Golden-rod Brindle, 6 Rosy Rustic and more! #TeamMoth

The wind really picked up last night, so only 101:14. No micros, and nothing on the outside of the traps. But my first Haworth's Minor and my 2nd Cousin German for the week more than make up for it! And of course, the wind kept off the midges, which is always some consolation. #TeamMoth

29/07/2025 527:26 up on Tom a'Bhuraich including Manchester Treble-bar, Green Arches, 8 Northern Arches (5 in just one trap) and my first Cousin German. Also had 13 Antler moth, 5 Barred Red, 69 Dark Arches and 5 Scalloped Oak. #TeamMoth

28/07/25 645:38 on heather moorland at Tor-na-Haish. Incl. NFM Juniper Pug, Treble-bar and Manchester Treble-bar, Plain Wave and my first Northern Eggar to light. Also Scalloped Oak (32), Smoky Wainscot (28), Dark Arches (28), Ling Pug (10), Northern Spinach (5) and Northern Arches (3). #TeamMoth

Did some trapping just for fun at Balmoral last night, and deviated from my usual moorland habitat. 476:41 incl. plenty of new species for me: Burnished Brass, Dun-bar, Flame Carpet, Gold Spangle, Green Arches, Light Emerald, Six-striped Rustic, Snout and Swallow Prominent. #TeamMoth

Swarms of midgies this morning, but worth the perseverance with 509:23 Incl. Smoky Wainscot (8); Scarce Silver Y (5); Scalloped Oak (9); Mottled Beauty (1); Dark Arches (39); Clouded-Bordered Brindle (1); Antler (24); NFM Heath Rustic. And lots of various Yellow Underwings of course! #TeamMoth

Using #MothFaceFriday as an excuse for some different views of the regularly-photographed Garden Tiger. Including a spectacularly-coloured moth booty 🤩 #TeamMoth

I find it amusing how conspicuous Scalloped Oaks are resting on the flowering heather around my traps. It makes for a pretty picture though! And it means I can spot them easily and avoid sitting on them whilst I process my traps 😅 #TeamMoth

350:19 last night at Mar Lodge. Incl. 67 Lesser YU, 53 Scotch Annulet, 46 Ingrailed Clay, 45 Dark Arches, 33 TLK, 27 Scalloped Oak, 20 Grey Mountain Carpet, 13 Scarce Silver Y, 11 Antler, 11 Large YU, 5 Northern Spinach, 5 Small Square Spot, 4 July Highflyer and another 5 Northern Arches. #TeamMoth

I ran a little UV led trap in pine forest in Dinnet last weekend to introduce my parents to moth-trapping whilst they were up. It takes a lot to drag them out of bed at 6am, but the lure of the moths was too great! 116:23 incl. Magpie, Mother of Pearl, Foxglove and Double-striped Pugs. #TeamMoth

It's that time again! #MothFaceFriday #TeamMoth Large Emerald says 'it's the weekend - spread your wings and do some things!'

A cold mist settled on the Dee last night and put a dampener on things in Braemar, but still managed a respectable 280:26 macros, including some very lovely moths. NFM were Lesser Swallow Prominent, Brown-line Bright-eye and Large Emerald. 'Only' 81 TLK - perhaps near end of FS now? #teammoth

A whopping 534:33 macros last night in Crathie took me a while to process this morning. NFM were Silvery Arches, Map-Winged Swift, Ling Pug, Clouded-Bordered Brindle, Chestnut-Coloured Carpet and Antler moth. Other highlights were more Scarce Silver Y, Garden Tiger and Northern Arches. #teammoth

Moths avoid laying eggs on unhealthy plants by heeding the plant's distress calls. #teammoth www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A stellar Saturday night at Glen Tanar produced 469:27. Including TLK(294), Scotch Annulet(41), BBYU(11), Lesser BBYU, Lesser YU(6), Large YU(4), Common Footman, Double-striped Pug(2) and my second Northern Arches of the year. Couldn't believe how variable the Yellow Underwings were! #teammoth

Ever so slightly quieter night at Mar last night despite the warmth, with 183:19. But some really lovely moths, including TLK(68), Scotch Annulet(12), Dark Tussock(5), Scarce Silver Y(4), Grey Scalloped Bar(1), my first Gothic, and my first Northern Arches which I'm chuffed about! #teammoth

208:19 last night at Mar. Including 68 TLK, 55 Ingrailed Clay, 20 Small Square-Spot, 15 Dark Tussock, 11 Scarce Silver Y and 10 Scotch Annulet. Cloud cleared unexpectedly and temperature dropped a lot, so fewer numbers than expected. But still a decent catch. #teammoth

I forgot my camera on Saturday night so I didn't take many photos. But I did capture a short video of this adorable Scarce Silver Y warming up for flight and rubbing rain drops off its nose whilst on the shelter of my knee (it was a very wet morning)! #teammoth #mothsky #mothsmatter

Wet night, forgot my camera and my ID guide. Yet, 414:20 at Balmoral last night. Mostly 275 TLK! I swear, every time I think their peak flight must have passed up here I get a record amount the next night 😅 Also 47 Scotch Annulet, 18 July Belle, 8 Dark Tussocks and 6 Mottled Beauty. #teammoth

Apparently Moth Face Friday is a thing, and that's a bandwagon I'm more than willing to jump on, so have an adorable Miller moth to end the week on a high! #teammoth #mothsmatter #mothsky #mothfacefriday

A much better catch last night with 237:25 including TLK(82), Mottled Beauty(51), Narrow-Winged Pug(20), Small Square Spot(18), Ingrailed Clay(13), Grey Mountain Carpet(7), Rannoch Looper(6), Dark Tussock(6) and Green Carpet(4). Here are some pics of my highlights. See ALT for details. #teammoth

Temperature drop in Dinnet made for a quiet mothing night last night, with just 100:3 (TLK, Small Square-Spot and Ingrailed Clay). I didn't even kick much up from the heather walking to my site. Plague proportions of spittlebugs in my sweep net though! A couple of swept-up micros to ID. #teammoth

Some of the slightly more visually interesting caterpillars from sweep netting of heather on Scottish moorland for #teammoth to enjoy 🤩 Narrow-Winged Pug and Beautiful Yellow Underwing

A very handsome Common Hawker stopped to sunbathe next to us after our wild swim at Ingleton Waterfalls, Yorkshire Dales. #bugsky

A slightly quieter night due to the rain at Tom a'Bhuraich on Wednesday night. I think anything that would normally settle on the outside of the trap decided it was too much. My highest numbers of TLK yet though! Here's a few of the moths that sat nicely despite the damp conditions. #teammoth

My Emperor cats are pupating! Wish I had the set-up to record the process, but alas my phone does not do time-lapse. #teammoth

I think it's going to be hard to top the views from my study site up Carn Na Moine on Friday night for the Summer Solstice. Especially the way the mist pooled around the mountains in the morning 🤩 Panorama shot so open photo to appreciate full effect. #teammoth #mothsky #mothsmatter

For #MothMonday have an ever-fluffy Dark Tussock. I get plenty of these at my traps on upland moorland. And see lots of the caterpillars freding openly on the tops of heather. Here's a caterpillar enjoying the sun on Friday, and then covered in dew on Saturday morning. It almost looks frozen!