Warm Air and Desert Dust

The night of Sunday, 10th May was cold and clear. A bit of 'trap monitoring' before bed had drawn a blank, but no doubt there would be something to see in the morning. Wrong. There was not. Zero moths is what I got. The following night I didn't even bother.

Surely things would pick up soon?

I had no idea...

The World of Moth has been a total revelation to me. The learning curve was pretty steep, but I now know a ton of things that until recently I did not. Since that first night exactly four years ago tonight, my head has been filled with new stuff. For example, I didn't know that plumes of warm air that sometimes push up this way from distant, southern climes bring with them not just Sahara dust but also insects. I guess I was aware that insects migrated, but had never thought about it to any extent. Well, I think about it now. Quite a lot!

Veteran moth folk speak of 2006 as possibly the best year ever for migrant moths. However, if the hype is true, not any more! Moth people in the most favourable locations have already been inundated with a deluge of insects from North Africa, and 2026 is evidently set to break all sorts of records, if it hasn't already. Occasionally we would get in on this kind of thing back in Bridport and were fortunate enough to catch a number of desirable migrant moths, culminating in the mega Druid last June. But how would we fare in Axminster? And not just for migrants, but moths in general?

Initial efforts last autumn were encouraging. We caught a few nice moths, and I actually dared to wonder if this miniscule garden in a modern housing estate was going to be okay after all. And then, on the morning of Saturday, 15th November, one of just two moths in the trap was the scarce migrant Banded Sable, the 18th for Devon. Get in!

So this year has seen a proper bit of effort. Not just the regular trap deployment, but also the writing stuff down, entering it on spreadsheets, the lot. All the administrative bits that I normally find a massive drudge, and give up on all too readily...well, I'm quite enjoying it actually. One handy aspect of bothering with the admin is that I have some numbers to play with. The numbers tell me that our current species tally for 2026 is exactly 240. Back in 2023 I made a similar effort with numbers in Bridport, and I know that on June 18th the garden tally was 243. So...indications are that Axminster may well be better. Better! I reckon we are going to have some high old times here...

Anyway, The main point of this post is to highlight some of the migrant moth activity we've recorded here so far in 2026. I hope it provides a wee bit of inspiration to other moth folk in relatively normal locations. That is, not Cornwall or a coastal headland or similar!

Total moths so far: 1754

Diamond-back Moth - 43, across 18 nights; peak of 8 on May 27th.

Rush Veneer - 5 so far, 4 nights; peak of 2 on May 31st.

Silver Y - 17 so far, 9 nights; peak of 4 on May 26th. 

Rusty-dot Pearl - 6, over 6 nights; peak of 1 on all of them!

Small Mottled Willow - 34, across 9 nights; peak of 8 on May 23rd.

I am well aware that some moth traps have been seeing three-figure counts of Small Mottled Willow this year, but for me these are still astonishing numbers. In Bridport we caught three, ever. It's gone from 'real treat' to almost 'blah' overnight. Ridiculous.

Bordered Straw - 3; two on May 27th, one the following night. One of those species we caught a few times in Bridport, and very nice to see here too. 

So, onto the quality items...

Ni Moth - one, May 30th.

This species was new for me. A scarce migrant, with just 61 Devon records up to the end of 2025, though probably millions more since!

Ni Moth. Like a smallish, sandy-coloured Silver Y.

Gem - 2, a female on May 21st and a male on 31st.

Female Gem, trapped May 21st.

Male Gem, trapped May 31st

The Gem is another new moth for me. There are 680+ Devon records, and like the so-far-uncaught Delicate (1,160+ Devon records) one of those moths which I knew would come one day. Great to see it at last. Incidentally, both were potted whilst 'trap monitoring', reminding me why I bother with it.

Striped Hawk-moth - one, May 28th.

Opening the trap in the morning and seeing one of these beauties on the top tray is a sight for those puffy, early-morning eyes! Just brilliant! There were 170 Devon records up to the end of 2025, but I think this number is going to get a lot bigger...

Striped Hawk-moth is definitely one of those moths it's worth breaking out a bit of studio scenery for.

So that's it - Axminster migrant moths so far in 2026. Hopefully I've not missed off any species I ought to have included. That said, I'm pretty confident that next time I'll need to make room for one or two more anyway. Ever the optimist...