14/04/19 - Oak Beauty

Until the cold snap returned, we were enjoying running the moth trap during the mild and dry weather, allowing us to monitor the early season species on the wing. Our catches tend to be fairly small at this time of year with 20-30 moths expected on the average night – but over the last few weeks we’ve been seeing catches of up to 150-200 moths. One species we have enjoyed seeing recently is the Oak Beauty - a rather large, thick bodied and attractive species, with alternate bands of chestnut and white with black speckles. They are reasonably common throughout England and Wales, flying in March and April and frequenting deciduous woodland and suburban habitats. The caterpillars feed on a number of deciduous tree species and are not, like their name would suggest, restricted to Oak trees.

As well as helping with the moth recording, over the last two weeks our team of staff and volunteers have been busy on the reserve starting the first of our annual weed control. This involves spot spraying docks on the riverbanks to help the local farmers manage these areas more effectively, and to deliver the ideal sward for breeding waders and wintering waterfowl. It’s great to see the improvements and how much difference has resulted from the teams’ efforts last year, and we’re crossing our fingers that the favourable weather continues to get the rest of the programme completed over the coming weeks. We’ve also been spot spraying docks on Wheldrake Ings, where the team has enjoyed seeing the Snake’s-head Fritillaries in flower. When visiting the site please don’t trespass out into the meadows as this causes considerable disturbance to the breeding birds and to those enjoying the views from the hides - please respect the information provided on the signs around the site, thank you.