Moths bonkers for conkers.

Perhaps I should elucidate. I have found a new wildlife drug. Checking for moths on ivy (at night) is utterly compelling and tonight it was all about Horse Chestnuts. The BBC website forecast showed twelve celsius so I was out the door just after eight full of hope. I was on the back foot straight away as my breathe was frosting and then I remembered the addage "never trust anything you read on the internet" - particularly weather forecasts.

I wasn't going to let a bit of a nip in the air put me off, so I got on the bike and headed out to virgin territory. The first 200 metres was cold and moth-less, despite there being a fair amount of ivy worth checking. Once I was out of the built up area (if there is such a thing in a small village), it was down to checking the ivy-clad maiden trees loosely spread along the roadside. It was pleasing to note that the temperature had risen too.

Two pairs of twinkling orange eyes soon showed in the white light of my torch beam - both belonging to Angle Shades. They were probing ivy wrapped around a Horse Chestnut that was still holding plenty of leaf cover. Four more trees drew blanks, but then I came to another Horse Chestnut and bingo! Another Angle Shades and two Setaceous Hebrew Characters were on show. It then occurred to me that I was only looking at the north side of the tree. Duh. The other side was teeming: Sallow, Large Yellow Underwing, Chestnut, Silver-Y, seven Angle Shades and five Setaceous Hebrew Characters. I also have a couple of moths in the fridge that I need to check up on.

After my fill of this chestnut, I headed back to the first one and checked the south-facing flowers. Success again. Black Rustic, Green-brindled Crescent, L-album Wainscot, Brick and Square-spot Rustic all showed along with more Angle Shades and Setaceous Hebrew Characters.

Only the Setaceous Hebrew Characters were bothered by the light, either flying off or hiding amongst the foliage.

Thirteen species in an hour. Magnificent and it was nice to see some new species for my growing "Moffs wot I have seen at Ivy" list. I suspect that the heavy leaf cover of the horse chestnuts was keeping the temperature up below the canopy, making things more moth-friendly.