Sharing the results from my latest Moth Trap Session. I have written posts about setting up a moth trap and on collecting the results if you want some more background info on how and why I use a Moth Trap
Date: 8th November 2025
Weather:
My last trapping session was 4 weeks ago on the 11th October. I only found 3 species (comprising of 7 individuals) and took that as a sign that my moth trapping was done for 2025, and it would be worth doing until late Spring next year.
However, on Saturday (ie yesterday) I went on a long run, and I remarked on how unusually mild it felt for this time of year. Checking the weather forecast when I arrived back home after the run, and I could see mild temps, no rain and only light winds... its about as could as it'll ever get for moth trapping.
One other thing to note... just like last time, I will be running the trap for the whole of the night time, and will be getting up at approximately 7am in the morning, this will give as much opportunity as possible for any moths in the vicinity to land in the trap
Anyway, enough waffle...
Lights on, pots at the ready... Here. We. Go!
Results:
Darkness fell sharply and by 5:15pm, it was pitch black out there. As with the last couple of sessions, after checking the light was on and that everything was set up correctly, I left it alone and spent the rest of the evening inside.
I spent most of it on Teams catching up with my partner @dawnsart to be honest!
By the time it was midnight, I went out and checked it wasn't raining (it wasn't), and to see if there was anything to show for it.
I actually found 3 species in total. On the kitchen window was a Red-Green Carpet, on the outside of the trap was a Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM), and inside the trap was a 2nd LBAM along with a Diamond-back Moth. These are pictured below:
PICS
Light Brown Apple Moth - Epiphyas postvittana
Red-green Carpet - Chloroclysta siterata
Red-green Carpet - Chloroclysta siterata
Diamond-back Moth - Plutella xylostella
This was the best photo I could manage, will try to get a better picture in the morning, as these are quite smart little moths
After potting these specimens up, it was time to head to bed, and then I could see what the morning would bring...
Part Two
My alarm went off at 7am, and to my dismay I realized it was already getting light outside
The aim was to check the trap before dawn had broke... oops!
I hurriedly got dressed and headed out into the garden to check the trap. I wasn't expecting much anyway, but it was still a little disapointing to find just 2 more LBAM, and nothing else. I suppose there could have been a chance that some moths might have already flown away due to me getting up later than planned, but even so, I doubt I'd have found much more anyway.
So the final total is 6 Moths of 3 Species
I did try to get some better pictures of the Diamond-back moth I found last night, but it decided to be very awkward and not still still for more than 2 seconds, and so I'll share someone else's better picture instead:
And on that note, I suspect that this was really the last moth trap session of the year. Its time to put the trap away (again), and then I'll be back in Spring for a new year of moth trapping
Notes on Pictures: Since I started moth trapping 5 years ago, I have been slowly building up collection of Library Images. The idea being that once I have taken a picture of a particular species of Moth, I don't need another picture of the same species a year later. It’s a waste of time and energy. I only take pictures of new species, or of moths that are difficult to ID, so I can get the records verified.
While in my care, all individuals are looked after, and after Photographs have been taken, they are all released safely outside.
All names confirmed and checked via Wikispieces
Further Research from UK Moths and NatureSpot
If you have any thoughts or opinions on this article then I'd love to see your comments.
And if you really like the content then maybe you would like to upvote or re-hive it.
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I think you said you do log what you find, so it can be useful information even if you don't see many moths. We need to know how they are doing each year.
Where do moths go in the winter?
!BEER
Like many other insects, adult moths generally have short life spans, so that many of the ones that appeared in the Summer have already mated/laid eggs and died.
That said, the actual lifecycle from egg to caterpillar to adult is longer, and all species exist over winter in some form. Some eggs are laid in Autumn, and they won't hatch until Spring, Some are laid in Summer, emerge as caterpillars and those caterpillars will hibernate somewhere out of the way over Winter, but still feeding on warm days. Some caterpillars finishing feeding before winter, and so overwinter as a chrysalis, emerging as an adult in the spring.
And then of course there are some hardy species which emerge as adults in late Autumn, and will fly all through Winter (weather dependent of course!)
Long story short, they are still there, just harder to see. And to be fair, many humans practically hibernate over winter too, so they won't see them anyway ;-)
Cheers for the lesson. With winters getting warmer there may be changes in habits. You don't see many bugs over winter, but we've had a few more spiders in the house lately.
Now that I notice, in your post there's a page just for identifying moths, right? Do you upload your data there, or do you only use it for identification?
I use the website - ukmoths.org.uk to check ID's (I also use books as well)
I have a spreadsheet of data from my recording sessions, and each year they are sent to the local moth recorder, who checks/questions and ultimately validates my records. These then go to a central database, so that research can be done into the changing population trends
eg: when a publication claims "X species has declined by 40% in the last 20 years", that is using recorder data
I'd not have thought it was a moth, the diamond back moth, if I'd just seen it sitting somewhere. But Light Brown Apple Moth wins favorite this time around. Cool you got some to come!
It was a poor return really, considering what other people can get at this time of year, but like you say... its still good to see something!
The Light Brown Apple Moth is quite nice, I just get bored as I see it everywhere lol!
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