Blowing in the wind

In the Summer birders turn into "moth-ers" and start searching out harder targets. Moths and butterflies are present in vastly larger species numbers than birds in the UK. There are about 600 species of bird on the UK list, but over 2,500 moths and butterflies. They are also harder to see, with many moths being nocturnal and butterflies extremely local. I have been running a light-trap in the garden which lures moths in and you can collect and ID them in the morning. The hard part is working out what they are though.
An alternative method, which only works for a limited number of species called clearwings, is to use chemical lures. These are impregnated with pheromones which the insects find irresistible. You can buy them online and they are species specific. They come with a trap as well. All seemed very interesting so I invested in one with two lures and have tried them both.
It was remarkable. Both lures worked for their target species, within a matter of minutes for one and a couple of hours for the other.
The first lure was for a smallish moth called a red-belted clearwing.

They are well-named, with their wings being pretty much transparent and having a red belt across their abdomen. I put the lure out, which is a small plug above a plastic bucket and literally within 10 minutes I had 5 in the trap and you could see others flying around. The pheromones disperses on the wind and lures them in, but the short time shows they must be present nearby.
The second species is much larger, and if often mistaken for something else - it is the hornet moth.

It has that black and yellow banding seen in wasps and hornets and the stocky structure is certainly reminiscent of hornets. I only caught one but it was a handsome beast. Again the speed though with which it appeared must mean they are present locally but you never see them.
I will try again and next year you can get other lures (they have sold out this year) for other species as well. Amazing how well it worked....