African Bycatch

Bluesky is now a busy place. I had hoped it would become a useful resource of natural history news and information, and it has. Consequently I noticed this post a few days ago...

So, not a moth, but a rare damsel bug from hot places far, far away. The first British record came to a moth trap ten years ago at Porthgwarra, in the SW tip of Cornwall, and here was the second. I made a mental note.

Also on Bluesky is the enormously helpful Migrant Lepidoptera (GB & Ireland) account, where Steve Nash posts informative stuff like this...

To be honest, my zeal for mothing has been less intense this year, and the trap was already packed away for the winter. I am not on some grapevine of mothy mates, but Bluesky kept showing me posts like these...

This little cracker turned up just along the coast, at Weymouth.

More rare/scarce migrants, and even closer, at Abbotsbury!

Okay. Now I was hooked. The promise of North African air arriving in West Dorset yesterday evening soon saw the kit unpacked, the moth sheet and towel unfolded, and me outdoors in the dark and drizzle, full trap-monitoring mode engaged.

Pretty soon I spied a slender insect on the moth towel. Probably less than a centimetre long, its appearance rang a little bell, so I potted it. I took a rather naff in-the-pot photo and posted it on Bluesky with the obvious question. The response was quick: yes, that is indeed Nabis capsiformis, or Pale Damsel Bug. Wow! Without the heads-up provided by Bluesky I probably would not have given this rare little thing a second glance.

And then I spotted another one, on the garage fascia board. And then a third!

By bed-time, this...

Nabis capsiformis - five in pots, plus another in the trap.

And that was the final score: SIX Pale Damsel Bugs, a species which until last weekend had been recorded just once in Britain, a decade ago! Prior to last night I think the UK tally was up to about ten. Goodness knows how many it is now. Ones and twos appear to have graced several moth traps from Hampshire to Cornwall, and Chris Vincent caught five, but I've not yet heard of another catch of six or more.

Insect bycatch is part and parcel of moth trapping (and once a Common Sandpiper!) and certainly I've seen some interesting creatures in the last two years or so. But I wonder how much I overlook. The large and/or striking beasties I do tend to notice, but I'll bet all sorts of good stuff slips through the net because I am not savvy in this area. Without the education provided by Bluesky contributors, the world would have remained forever ignorant that the best place in the UK to see that sought-after rare migrant bug Nabis capsiformis on 29/11/2024 was a teeny-weeny garden in West Dorset. Possibly.

Anyway, yet again a random, bizarre creepy-crawly event makes my day. Love it!

Nabis capsiformis - Pale Damsel Bug

And a short video of it cleaning its antennae...

As well as the bugs, two definite migrant moths turned up as well. Not quite the rarity status of those featured in the Bluesky posts above, but excellent for here...

Small Mottled Willow - 2nd for the garden

Dark Sword-grass - not sure how many garden records so far, but probably fewer than five.

Not a migrant, but Varied Tortrix Acleris hastiana isn't a moth I've seen often.

Blair's Mocha. I doubt this is a migrant, but more likely from local stock. A really nice example too.

So that's it. An unforeseen night of moth-trapping, with an even more unforeseen outcome. The African air is still wafting this way, so the trap is out once again tonight. As I type, another Small Mottled Willow has turned up already. Nice.