However, as my children started to grow, and their demands on my time became greater, I was forced to stay ever closer to home in the pursuit of my hobby. When one of my friends, a keen moth trapper, offered me the loan of one of his traps, I seized the opportunity, because  it gave me the chance to make original discoveries, and learn a completely new field of wildlife without leaving my garden.

I say garden, but in reality, it’s a back yard, completely flagged, with just a few pot plants, so my hopes weren’t great, but I guess like many people, I was curious to know which moths were flying around at night. I have been astounded at the variety and numbers of moths I have caught over the years, some of which have been county rarities, such as a Blotched Emerald in June 2002, which was the first in Lancashire or Merseyside since 1998, and  a Barred Sallow in November 2002 which was only the third ever in Lancashire or Merseyside and the first since 1995. In total, I have caught over 260 species in my yard.

Moths are divided into different groups, which include micros, macros, plumes and pyralids. They come in all shapes and sizes, and can be as colourful as any butterfly. Micros can be as small as 4mm long (1/8”), whilst macros can be 90mm (3 ½”). Some are resident, and spend their whole life cycle in our gardens, whilst others are immigrants from Europe, and do not breed in Britain.

There are several different types of moth trap, usually involving  a bright light and a box, though for some species which are not attracted to light, various sugar and beer recipes are used, (this is “painted” onto wood, and the moths are attracted to the scent).

The trap my friend gave me was homemade, a square box made from plywood and perspex, with the only real cost being a choke, a small amount of electrics and a 125MV ultra-violet bulb. I run the trap almost nightly throughout the year, in most weathers, though I usually don’t bother in winter if the temperature drops below 0’C, or if there is torrential rain or gale force winds forecast. Light rain and drizzle is not a problem, and in fact often improves the catch, because the moths in the area are forced to fly lower, and therefore nearer to my trap. The moths enter the trap, and then settle on egg boxes inside, which make excellent “hiding places” for them. The beauty of moth trapping is, you don’t have to stay with the trap, you can just turn it on in the evening and then return to it next morning to view the results on the egg boxes.

None of the moths which enter the trap are killed, though I do have to find ever more ingenious ways of defeating the local sparrows, who especially during their breeding season, seem to view my trap as a fast food restaurant.

Moths are active all year, and I have even caught them on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, but activity only really starts in March, with numbers gradually increasing to a peak in July and August (when there might be 200 moths from 50 species in the trap). As we enter September, numbers drop dramatically, and the first “moth free” night is usually around the beginning of October, with just the occasional record in the last two months of the year.