This is an account of the various moths, insects and other creatures which have been found on various visits to Harmers Wood in 2025 by Tom Smith.
This was the first trial of moth surveys at Harmers Wood and also for me to try out a new mobile trap with battery. I hope to run similar sessions over the next year to get a feel for the species present with the woodland and will share further details on completion of each survey.
For the survey I used a 40w actinic trap and only ran the trap for a couple of hours from 9pm until 11pm and recorded 10 species. I would typically expect more species but this was an initial trial and I could not leave the trap overnight due to open access.
I hope to run similar sessions over the next year to get a feel for the species present with the woodland and will share further details on completion of each survey.
All records will be provided to the county recorder (moths) or uploaded to iRecord app to make sure all data is on the appropriate county and national databases.
Moths
Large Yellow Underwing
Brimstone
Common Marbled Carpet
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Dingy Footman
Flounced Rustic
Apotomis betuletana
Acleris laterana
Blastobasis adustella
Argyresthia geodartella
Beetle
Violet Ground Beetle
Spiders
Drapestisca socialis
Linyphia triangularis
Araneus diadematus
Harvestmen
Oligolophus hanseni
Opilio canestrinii
Dicranopalpus ramosus
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Moth Trap |
Moth traps are the usual way which people studying moth populations find out how many and what species are in the area where the trap is placed. In a garden, a moth trap can be allowed to stand overnight but the trap needs to be in a secure environment to avoid damage or being stolen. After trapping s the moths are gently put into an appropriate container and if necessary cooled in the fridge to be calmed. Then they can be photographed, identified and counted. After this they can be released alive back into the wild, ideally a good distance from where they were trapped. |
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Dingy Footman moth Eilema griseola |
The Dingy Footman is common throughout England and Wales but records rapidly decrease as you go north past the Lake District into Scotland where it is uncommon. The larvae (caterpillars) feed on lichen and a significant increase in numbers nationally was recorded as the air quality improved over the decades since the clean air act. It is usually a dull grey green colour but there is also a yellow form. |
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Acleris laterana |
Acleris laterana is a common moth in Britain but not only hard to distinguish from Acleris comariana in the same genus, but there are many colour variations, some of them much lighter brown than the specimen in the photograph. Many moths only have a Latin name and Acleris laterana is one of them. |
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Apotomis betuletana |
Apotomis betuletana is a common moth in Britain and as its specific name suggests (betuletana) the larvae feed on Silver Birch trees of which there are plenty in Harmers Wood. It is sometimes known as The Birch Marble moth. |
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Argyresthia geodartella |
Argyresthia geodartella is also known as the Bronze Alder Moth. It flies among Alder (Alnus glutinosa) or Birch species (Betula sp.) the commonest of which are Betula pendula and Betula pubescens. They only have one brood per year and fly from May to October. The larvae over-winter inside the hard, young catkins of Birch or Alder |
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Harvestman |
There are several species of Harvestman to be found in the Britain. They look at first glance like Spiders. Harvestmen have a single fused body rather than the two in spiders. Both are members of the Arachnid order and altogether there are thought to be about 6,500 different species of Harvestman in the world. |
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Violet Ground Beetle Carabus violaceus |
The Violet Ground beetle is one of the commonest flightless beetles in UK. It is found in gardens, woodlands and meadows and feeds nocturnally on caterpillars, slugs ands snails. The metallic sheen distinguishes it from similar sized black beetles and we should welcome its presence in gardens as a biological pest controller. |