Spend your summer thinking of magnificent moths...

A trip away to monitor the moth population had some big surprises – even for the experts – says Attenborough Nature Reserve nature centre manager TIM SEXTON

IF you have ever left the lights on at night with the window open, then you will have inadvertently welcomed a great many species of moth into your home during the recent hot weather. Far from being a nuisance, these uninvited guests should be celebrated for the magnificent job they do pollinating our wild flowers, as well as providing food for other species of wildlife such as birds and bats.

In the UK we have a fortunate to have a great diversity of moths, ranging in size from just a few millimetres to almost as big as your hand. While they are often perceived as being plain brown and boring, you may be surprised to know that many British moths are as colourful as our butterflies.

At the Attenborough Nature Reserve we have been studying moths on the site for over 30 years, recording over 550 species in that time. Having spent over ten years personally recording the smaller species, the micro moths, at Attenborough, I was given the chance last weekend to assist the Lound Moth Group at our Idle Valley Nature Reserve in the north of the county.

Like Attenborough, the Idle Valley Nature Reserve is a wetland site that was formed through the process of sand and gravel extraction over 70 years. At 450 hectares it is the largest wetland site in Nottinghamshire.

Moths have been extensively studied at the site by the Lound Moth Group since 2010. In that short time, an incredible 634 species have been recorded to date.

The perfect weather conditions on Friday night contributed to a mammoth moth-trapping session, lasting well into the early hours. Three light traps were situated around Bellmoor Lake, and were monitored by members of the group. One of the traps was left running through the night at the Nature Centre.

Returning to the Nature Reserve on Saturday morning, it took a further three hours to identify all the moths caught overnight. In total 1,139 moths of 119 species were recorded! Among these were 175 water veneer, 92 mother of pearl, 48 straw dot (formerly a scarce moth in Nottinghamshire) and five new species of micro moth. After all the species were identified, they were released.

The final surprise came when we were packing away on Saturday morning and discovered a red underwing (pictured) in the corridor of the Nature Centre. This large moth, with a wingspan of up to 80mm, looks rather drab until it is disturbed and then displays its bright red hind wings to ward of potential predators. Despite being a relatively common moth, this was only the fourth record of this species for the Idle Valley and a delight to see.