Large yellow underwing
Noctua pronuba
Migration boosts numbers so much that traps can hold hundreds in one night (UKMoths)
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Granddad’s CameraGranddad’s moth trap
British garden moths: 24 to find, and when they fly
Buy the moth trap from Pat’s stall in Millbrook (£95 in the game), switch it on in Granddad’s garden at dusk, and open the egg boxes after sunrise. Every moth here flies in its real months, and a night’s catch depends on the weather and the moon, as it does in a real garden. Facts checked against UK Moths.
How it works in the game
Switch the trap on any evening after dusk, and you’re told what the night looks like: “Hardly any moon. Cloud cover will keep it mild.” That’s a good night. Clear skies get cold, and wind, rain or a bright moon cut the catch.
In the morning the new ones go on your moth list, with a note on each. Then you let them go at dusk, in the long grass where the birds won’t find them.
In a real garden
Warm, still, cloudy nights with little moon are best, and July is the peak. Don’t touch their wings, keep them cool, and release them at dusk in thick cover. How to start mothing, from Butterfly Conservation.
Month by month
- JanuaryOnly a few, on mild nights: Angle shades.
- FebruaryOnly a few, on mild nights: Angle shades, March moth.
- MarchMarch moth
- AprilMarch moth
- MayHeart and dart, Poplar hawk-moth, Lime hawk-moth, Eyed hawk-moth, Buff-tip, Peppered moth, Ruby tiger, Brimstone moth, Green carpet
- JuneLarge yellow underwing, Heart and dart, Elephant hawk-moth, Poplar hawk-moth, Lime hawk-moth, Privet hawk-moth, Eyed hawk-moth, Buff-tip, Peppered moth, Ruby tiger, Burnished brass, Brimstone moth, Swallow-tailed moth, Green carpet, Rosy footman
- JulyLarge yellow underwing, Heart and dart, Angle shades, Elephant hawk-moth, Poplar hawk-moth, Privet hawk-moth, Eyed hawk-moth, Buff-tip, Peppered moth, Garden tiger, Jersey tiger, Burnished brass, Brimstone moth, Swallow-tailed moth, Green carpet, Rosy footman
- AugustLarge yellow underwing, Heart and dart, Angle shades, Garden tiger, Jersey tiger, Burnished brass, Brimstone moth, Green carpet, Rosy footman
- SeptemberLarge yellow underwing, Angle shades, Jersey tiger, Ruby tiger, Brimstone moth, Green carpet, Convolvulus hawk-moth, Death's-head hawk-moth, Clifden nonpareil
- OctoberAngle shades, Merveille du jour, Convolvulus hawk-moth, Death's-head hawk-moth, Clifden nonpareil
- NovemberMerveille du jour, December moth
- DecemberDecember moth
Most nights in season 13
Heart and dart
Agrotis exclamationis
Always has a black band across the front of the thorax when viewed head-on (UKMoths)
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Angle shades
Phlogophora meticulosa
Its folded wings make it look like a withered autumn leaf; recorded in every month (UKMoths)
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Elephant hawk-moth
Deilephila elpenor
Named for the caterpillar's trunk-like front end; adults visit honeysuckle (UKMoths)
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Poplar hawk-moth
Laothoe populi
When disturbed it shows hidden rusty-red hindwing patches as a flash display (UKMoths)
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Buff-tip
Phalera bucephala
Adults at rest look remarkably like a broken twig of silver birch (UKMoths)
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Peppered moth
Biston betularia
The classic case of industrial melanism: dark forms dominated parts of northern England, then declined (UKMoths)
Peppered moth (carbonaria). The all-dark carbonaria form spread through sooty industrial Britain, where pale moths on blackened bark were eaten by birds. As the air cleaned up after the Clean Air Acts, it became rare again: a famous case of evolution you can watch.
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Ruby tiger
Phragmatobia fuliginosa
Two broods in the south; brightest in the south, duller in Scotland (UKMoths)
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Burnished brass
Diachrysia chrysitis
Large areas of metallic colour on the forewings give it its name (UKMoths)
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Brimstone moth
Opisthograptis luteolata
Up to three overlapping generations in the south, only one in the far north, so it flies for months (UKMoths)
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Swallow-tailed moth
Ourapteryx sambucaria
One of our largest geometrid moths, but strictly nocturnal and on the wing mostly in July (UKMoths)
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March moth
Alsophila aescularia
The female has no wings and is seen crawling on tree trunks at night (UKMoths)
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Green carpet
Colostygia pectinataria
The green fades to yellowish-brown or whitish soon after emergence, so fresh moths look brilliant (UKMoths)
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Worth waiting for 7
Lime hawk-moth
Mimas tiliae
Common in the south; still spreading north into North Yorkshire (UKMoths)
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Privet hawk-moth
Sphinx ligustri
Britain's largest resident hawk-moth; the caterpillar (green with lilac and white side stripes and a curved black horn) is arguably more spectacular (UKMoths)
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Eyed hawk-moth
Smerinthus ocellata
Flashes intense blue-and-black "eyes" on pink hindwings when disturbed (UKMoths)
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Garden tiger
Arctia caja
Once quite common, it has declined in many places; caterpillars are the familiar "woolly bears" (UKMoths)
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Merveille du jour
Griposia aprilina
The name means "wonder of the day"; museum specimens fade to brownish yellow, so photographs of live ones matter (UKMoths)
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December moth
Poecilocampa populi
Flies from October to late December; wings look slightly see-through because the scales are thin (UKMoths)
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Rosy footman
Miltochrista miniata
Its caterpillars eat lichen; common in the south, so scarcer in the Midlands (UKMoths)
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Nights to remember 4
Jersey tiger
Euplagia quadripunctaria
Active by day at flowers and at night at light; was limited to the south coast but is spreading north (UKMoths)
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Convolvulus hawk-moth
Agrius convolvuli
A migrant that comes to garden Nicotiana; caterpillars are occasionally found but it does not breed here (UKMoths)
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Death's-head hawk-moth
Acherontia atropos
The largest moth to appear in Britain; it squeaks when handled and raids beehives for honey (UKMoths)
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Clifden nonpareil
Catocala fraxini
The "Blue Underwing" was a Victorian collector's favourite, bred in Kent and Norfolk until it died out as a breeding species, and is now recolonising southern counties (UKMoths)
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Moth trapping questions
Do moth traps hurt the moths?
Not when they’re used with care. The moths settle in egg boxes overnight and are let go unharmed. Butterfly Conservation’s advice: don’t touch their wings, keep active moths cool, and release them at dusk in thick vegetation, away from birds.
What makes a good night for moth trapping?
Warm, still, cloudy nights with little or no moon. Cold, wet or windy nights bring fewer, and fewer moths fly under a full moon. July is the peak of the year.
When is a good time to start?
Early spring, around March. Few species are flying then, so they’re easier to learn one at a time.
Which moths are in Granddad’s Camera?
24 British moths, from the large yellow underwing, which can fill a trap in late summer, to the Clifden nonpareil, a once-in-a-lifetime catch. Each flies in its real months, and the peppered moth has its dark carbonaria form.