Recording

Methods

Recording takes place throughout the year when conditions are favourable using the following methods:

MV	125W mercury vapour lamp in combination with a Robinson-style trap, mains supplied or generator when out and about. Traps are sited on the ground unless in a fit of desperation one is hoisted up a tree!
15W actinic	15W UV tube in combination with a homemade Skinner trap, mains supplied or generator/12Vbattery when out and about.
Dusking	Catching moths with a net as the light fades.
Sugaring	The use of a variety of sweet-smelling, sticky concoctions painted onto tree trunks around the garden or using wine ropes suspended from branches.
Larva collection	Collecting moth larvae by sweeping vegetation with a net, beating branches or searching by torchlight. These may then be reared on to confirm identification.
Ova collection	Many moths lay eggs in a trap and some of these are reared on.
Trunking	Searching tree trunks at night where the flightless females of certain species can be found.
Walking	Casually recording the species encountered on a walk.

Area

The Marsland Water is the county boundary between North Cornwall (VC2) and North Devon (VC4).

All records within the valley bottom are considered as having been from both VC2 and VC4.

Much of the recording is carried out in our garden where Marsland Water divides it into two, half in Cornwall, the other half in Devon.

Status

The Highlights pages include a simplified guide to species distribution and is referred to in the following terms:

National Status
Common	Very well distributed throughout the country.
Local	Restricted to certain areas and habitat.
Nationally notable	Scarce.
Migrant	A species arriving from overseas and not normally resident in the UK.
Marsland status
Previously recorded	Due to insufficient data it is difficult to assess the status of many species. "Previously recorded" may refer to both common and rare species.
First record	A species that, as far as we are aware, has not been recorded in the valley.