My first Merveille du Jour for 2007 last night. I first saw this moth in the seventies when I found one on a wall and a birding friend I was with at the time knew what it was. I wish it had inspired me to take up mothing then, as I would have seen some of the moths that were common then and are now no more or extremely scarce. Stout Dart springs to mind as one such species but there are many others. It really made me sad yesterday to see the news item on the High Court judge who had found in favour of a school governor who had complained about Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth" being shown in schools. The finding has probably done a lot to hurt the basic message that must get through - we are damaging the planet and reducing biodiversity at a great rate. I have seen and photographed what was probably the last Brighton Wainscot to be caught in the UK. This may be a source of rejoicing for some farmers as it is an agricultural pest but it is another indicator that our island is losing species as well as gaining new ones that move north as they find warmer conditions prevailing. People who record moths are in a great position to monitor and bear witness to these changes. Hopefully, the "Moths Count" project will bring more people to this interest so that the body of data can be even larger and the message can be seen clearly.

Also in the trap: Black Rustic x9 Barred Sallow x10, Rosy Rustic, Blair's Shoulder Knot x2, Brindled Green x2 and Lunar Underwing x11 - 17 species in total.

Merveille du Jour