Recordbreaking mothing in 2026

It’s 7th October, it’s persisting down…last night’s mothing session wasn’t too bad, but things are gradually tailing off, even the Lunar Underwings seem to have had their day this year with just one specimen last night after a peak of more than a dozen a few nights ago. There will undoubtedly be a few more specimens braving the cooler nights and perhaps one or two more New For Garden (NFG) moths. However, the main thing to report from 2026 is a massive bounce back in specimen numbers and diversity. Indeed, it’s not just a bounce back as the numbers are bigger than they have ever been since I started mothing in the summer of 2018. This Copper Underwing Moth was the species that Mrs Sciencebase saw in our garden back in July 2018, which triggered me to borrow a moth trap from my friend Rob and get started with mothing in earnest The headlining figure for 2026 is the sheer volume of moths passing through the garden. I’ve logged more than 16000 specimens. Almost double last year’s total…