We're approaching the end of year two's sampling activities down on the plots but there's still time for some pitfall trapping. This is where we insert a plastic cup containing some preserving fluid into the centre of each plot. Two weeks later and the contents of the cups are all lifted and labelled.
It's always exciting (and sometimes a little gruesome!) discovering what we've caught in the traps. The bulk tends to be ground beetles, woodlice and ants but there can be some more dramatic finds. The pics above and below show what we believe is a Peppered Moth caterpillar. The adult is rather beautiful. It also has a rather intriguing history as it evolved in areas of heavy industry from being a white moth with black speckles (hence 'peppered') to nearly soot black.
Autumn is making itself felt with the first frosts this last week and plenty of dewy cobwebs. More from Plants for Bugs next week...
