By the end of October in Scotland, moths are getting a bit thin on the ground. Nevertheless those that are around are beautiful and worth seeking out on milder nights. Which is what I did. How did my catch on the Estate at the end of October 2019 compare with Alice’s records at this time of year?

Her diary, started in 1913, records species lists from her moth sessions and include the moths that she released as well as those that were taken for her collection. Although her pinned moths will more or less represent her total species list, the specimens chosen will be biased towards those in good condition (i.e. worthy of displaying). In contrast, the diary gives information on the numbers she caught, the methods she used, the frequency at which she went out looking, not to mention the frequency at which she caught the same common species. Although most modern day recorders now note these important details, probably rather few did in Alice’s day.

From 1914 she starts to record moths in a “light trap” at Whittingehame House. I have yet to discover what this light trap was, but early designs may not have been very much different from some of the traps in use today. Probably the biggest and rather significant difference will have been in light bulb technology. We now know that light with a high UV component is most effective in attracting moths, and bulbs used in modern traps are chosen accordingly. Alice’s trap seems to have been restricted to be at her house, perhaps because it used mains electricity. As my traps are powered by batteries, I have the luxury of siting them anywhere I am prepared to lug the battery to. All things considered, my equipment ought to be more effective at luring in the moths than hers and if the moths are equal in abundance and diversity now as they were then, I’d expect my catches to be significantly better than Alice’s.

Looking at the macro moths Alice caught at Whittingehame in the second half of October from 1914 until 1930 gives a list of 23 species. 1914 was probably her ‘best’ year with a total of 12 species caught. Her best single night total this year was 7 species. My records come from just one night, but I had four traps in different woodland locations to the south of the house. Total species for each trap were 9, 8, 5 and 9 and my total species list for all traps combined was 10. All the species I caught Alice caught too.

Left: Alice’s notebook for 2nd half of October 1914, Right: My notebook scrawl for October 23rd 2019

If I had trapped on several nights, or if I return to do more trapping in future years my species total would creep up a little, but I’m not sure I could ever surpass Alice’s list. What did she get that I didn’t? Streak I was hoping for. I had a trap near some gorse and broom especially with this moth in mind. Maybe I would find it with more attempts as it is still widespread in Scotland, though from my own East Lothian trapping experience it is no longer anywhere near as common as Alice’s numerous records suggest. Brick might still be at Whittingehame too, though I seldom catch it in East Lothian. It was one of Alice’s most frequently caught October moths, found on most dates she ran her light trap as well as elsewhere. She recorded Autumn-green Carpet regularly. Nowadays in East Lothian this moth tends to be more restricted to wooded upland areas such as the edge of the Lammermuirs. Juniper Carpet and Pale Mottled Willow might be encountered still, but not easily. I haven’t seen either. The record I am perhaps most envious of is Sword-grass – a few records at light but more impressively 22 came to sugared trees on 21st October 1920! If that wasn’t incredible enough to see, two nights later she had “20 or 30” at a sugaring session at Tyninghame. These were her last records of this species. This moth is no longer found in East Lothian or any of the surrounding counties, though it does remain reasonably widespread in north east Scotland. The reason for such a dramatic decline is unknown.

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Alice’s list includes species that I found at Whittingehame earlier in the year and a few that I ought to catch if I trap later in the year. I also caught moths that might not have been recognised as separate species in Alice’s day and so in the interests of fairness I haven’t included them in my totals: for example Alice doesn’t seem to distinguish November Moth and Autumnal Moth. I have yet to track down her specimens of these in the museum, but when I do I will be able to check what she found. This information wouldn’t be available if it wasn’t for her well-curated specimens.

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Yellow-line Quaker was in all of my traps and I also caught it on the Estate at the end of September. Alice had to wait until Sept 30th 1930 to see this species. She caught a few more in October that year and also records five “wings of specimens caught by bats”. Yellow-line Quaker has probably increased in range in the last century and it is now one of the more frequent moths in my autumn traps across East Lothian.

Although I didn’t catch anything that would have been new to Alice, my numbers per trap were far more impressive. My four traps caught 256 moths. There were between 16 and 47 “November Moths” (combining the three species together, as Alice would have done) in each trap and between 10 and 18 Feathered Thorn. One trap had 16 Mottled Umber and another had 4 Merveille du Jour. Alice’s recorded trap totals (53 in two weeks in October 2014) don’t come close.

What if the moth trapping equipment we have now was available a hundred years ago? We will never know for sure if many more moths would have been caught, nor how it might have influenced the people trying to find moths. Maybe it would have made the moth hunters of old lazier and their trusted methods of finding and rearing caterpillars, going out with a torch and net, or applying sticky sugar mixes to trees would have been abandoned in favour of a comfortable bed whilst the light trap did the work. This must be part of the reason why these more labour-intensive methods are not used as regularly now. But also if there are fewer moths they become harder to find, and with it the rewards of trying are less. Alice recorded more Merveille du Jour moths found resting on tree trunks by day than she did at light. Maybe she had it easy!

There is no doubt modern light traps have contributed enormously to moth surveying and the understanding of moth distributions around the world. However traps are not the best way to provide the pristine specimens old collectors desired, and they provide very limited information about the lives of the moths that are caught. Quality is always better than quantity?