What the Victorians did for us.

After a few dank and slightly chilly nights, it was back to torchlight searches of ivy last night. Tony and I started out at 8.40pm and in three-quarters of an hour we had found 12 species on the ivy bank in Alton Hall Lane. Among those were two new ones for the village ivy list - Small Dusty Wave and Light-brown Apple Moth, plus a couple of migrants - White-point and a Dark Sword-grass.

Dark Sword-grass (T.Fox)

We moved on to Lower Street which had come up trumps last year. First up was an L-album Wainscot. The first record in Suffolk was at Landguard in 2000, but it is now well established across the county (inverts never seem to take long). Other new moths on ivy for me at this spot were Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Lunar Underwing and best of all, a Pearly Underwing. This is a moth I have never seen before, but the minute I clapped on that white mohican I knew what it was. Twenty-five minutes in this spot also brought us 12 species.

Pearly Underwing (T.Fox)

As I dropped Tony off, our evening list stood at 19, so I thought it rude not to have another quick check of of favourite spot. This was soon justified with the addition of four species, taking our evening haul to 23 species. The cumulative village ivy list now stands at 40 species.

Interestingly, Tony ran his 21st century trap overnight and recorded 19 species. So some times it pays to do things the old-fashioned way. I can't say that I wasn't a little jealous of this one he caught though....

Orange Sallow (T.Fox)

The Ivy League

The success of the ivy session last night was enhanced this morning when Tony (@tonyandsandy) sent through images of a Flounced Rustic and a Turnip that he had bagged earlier on in the evening and had been resting in the fridge. My thanks also to @mrshentz and @stewchat for confirming that the micro taken off ivy last night was Agonopterix arenella. So in just one hour we had found 16 species of moth on just one 20 metre stretch of ivy.

Last month, my twitter feed was alive posts about ragwort and the plethora of invertebrates associated with this plant. Hear, hear of course. You hear very little about the similar benefits that ivy holds.

If you are reading this and have an interest in wildlife, why not set yourself the challenge of getting out in your locale over the next six weeks to see how many species of moths you can find on ivy. When you have, be sure to submit your findings to your County Recorder.

In terms of wildlife-watching this is a hidden gem and it is something that is available to everyone.

Ivy - season two starts here

It was a splendid autumn afternoon down this way - warm, with mellowing tones. As dusk fell, there was not a breath of wind and the afternoon warmth lingered through. That could only mean one thing - checking ivy for moths.

As I hoped, much of the ivy down Alton Hall Lane which receives a good soaking of afternoon sun was in flower and in no time, beady pairs of orange eyes became apparent. The 'textbook' suggests that when checking ivy, it is best to use coloured light as moths will drop off in an attempt at self-preservation. In my experience, a good white light is absolutely fine. A head torch is very useful as it allows you to work with a net or pot . Moths are so intent on nectaring that you could almost pick them off with your fingers. Please don't though. Position a pot or net below in case the insect does decide to drop and just tap.

In just one hour along a 20 metre stretch, we recorded 14 species. Square-spot Rustic was the most abundant with over 20 individuals. New moths to the Stutton ivy list (standing at 25 from 2012) were Brimstone, Light Emerald, Double-striped Pug, Vine's Rustic, Emmelina monodactyla, Common Wainscot, Snout and a micro that is currently residing in the fridge.

Final scores were:

Large Yellow Underwing - 6

Lesser Yellow Underwing - 4

Square-spot Rustic - 20+

Vine's Rustic - 2

Light Emerald - 1

Brimstone - 1

Snout - 2

Emmelina monodactyla - 3

Angle Shades - 3

Common Wainscot - 1

Setaceous Hebrew Character - 1

White-point - 2

that micro - 2

A promising start to the ivy season then, which should run through to the back end of October. All things permitting, I hope to get somewhere between 30-40 species.  I don't expect to find anything earth-shatteringly rare, but that isn't the point. I am mad on wildlife, so it provides me with a fix, but more importantly it highlights how valuable this much maligned plant is as a nectar source for invertebrates as winters draws near.