I think it must have been about the first dry night for several weeks. Anyway the 6W actinic trap had no fewer than 39 March Moths in and on it. Also an Oak Beauty. I thought this was a species new to me. However a trawl through records suggests that I recorded one in 1991.
It was also the first night that I used a new battery, the subject of recent heavy investment. It is described as an 18 Hole Lithium Golf Trolly battery, 16aH and weighs only 2.2 kg. It is said to last for 2000 rounds of golf which must equate to a lot of moth trapping. After 14 hours use with the 6W lamp, it recharges in about 3 hours. It will certainly widen my field of operation, hitherto limited by how far I was prepared to push a tractor battery in a wheelbarrow.
39 in 1 trap is very impressive. Waring says that they can be numerous at light. There are only 7 records of more than 39 individuals in a single trap in Ceredigion. They are all from the Rothamsted trap at Tregaron: 28/2/87 (65),22/3/87 (41),23/3/87 (105),24/3/87 (106),30/3/87 (49),30/3/95 (55),6/4/95 (54).
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