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| Clifden Nonpareil, Catocala fraxini, the blue underwing, 15th September 2020. Angus continues to run moth traps and amazingly he continues to add to the 600+ moth species he has already recorded here. In September 2020 we were beyond amazed when an unexpected, new to us and very rare moth came to his trap in the garden.... a Clifden Nonpareil, the third Irish record, previously only recorded in Ireland in 1896 and 1845. This beautiful and very large moth has a wingspan when fully open of more than 8 cm, here the blue band on the very pretty underwing is just partly visible. |
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| There was a wow moment when we first saw the uncommonly distinct markings on it's underside. It flew off into the trees after we took a few photos. |
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| This is where the moth trap had been set up. |
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| Tivon's Clifden Nonpareil, 30th September 2021. Tivon began to do his own traps and the following year we were amazed all over again when incredibly, in late September, in his trap on the farm 600m from the garden, Tivon recorded the 6th Irish record of the Clifden Nonpareil! The 4th record had been near the Hook peninsula, Wexford and the 5th was on the Wicklow coast, both a couple of weeks earlier in mid-September 2021. |
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| 15th September 2021. Another fantastic record by Tivon this year is the impressive and very rare migrant, the Convolvulus Hawk-moth, Agrius convolvuli, here photographed resting on Alfie's hand. |
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| 3rd October 2020. Tivon at the moth trap in the garden at dawn. |
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| 3rd October 2020. Tivon |
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| Moth trap magnetism affecting Zoë and Alfie! |
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| September 2020. |
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Alfie and Angus identifying and recording moths. |
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| Some moths require close examination. |
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| 3rd August 2020. One of Zoë's lockdown interests, before she thought of sitting the Leaving Certificate exams, was to identify some of the many parasitic wasps that have evolved with moths. |
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9th July 2021. There can be so many moths in Angus's traps that they can be hard to count. I affectionately snapped this photo looking out the window from inside the house. Angus has brought the moth trap inside a pop up tent on the deck, the moths once identified and recorded are released. |
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| 24th January 2021. The lockdown of a moth enthusiast! |
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| The egg cartons make safe resting places for the moths until they are identified and released. |