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est. 1974 · vadu lung, tulcea county · 45°09'N 29°03'E

the lower danubeMoth Census

We sit up with the moths so someone does.

Every night from May Day to the end of September since 1974, on the edge of the Danube Delta, we peg a white bedsheet to a washing line, switch on a 250-watt lamp and count whatever comes to it until the sky goes the colour of skimmed milk. Then we fold the sheet.

On the sheet tonight

The lamp counts every landing on the sheet. Press the clicker only if you saw one land.

seasons
52
nights sat
7,208
moths clicked
1,904,316
species in ledger
1,122

Lamp warming up. 250 W, mercury vapour.

Sheet No. 4 · cotton · 230 × 250 cm

the method · five steps, in this order

How we count

Unchanged since 1974, apart from the sheet, which is on its fourth life, and the thermos, which is on its ninth.

  1. No. 1The sheet

    A white cotton double sheet, pegged to the washing line so it drops straight and doesn't flap into the lamp. Cotton, because a moth can grip it. The current sheet is the fourth. The second was eaten by a cow in 1991.

    230 × 250 cmcotton, never polyester11 pegs

  2. No. 2The lamp

    A 250-watt mercury-vapour bulb in a tin reflector, hung 40 cm in front of the sheet at chest height. Most of its light is a violet we can barely see and they can't ignore. It takes four minutes to warm up. We use the four minutes to argue about the wind.

    250 W, mercury vapour40 cm from the sheetruns off the ferry office socket

  3. No. 3The thermos

    Two litres of linden tea with the sugar already in. Opened at midnight and not a minute before. Whoever brings the thermos brings the cups, a rule that has failed us four times since 1974.

    2.0 litreslinden, sugaredopens 00:00

  4. No. 4The clicker

    One steel tally counter per recorder, zeroed at dusk. Individuals go on the clicker. Species go in the ledger, in pencil, because ink runs in the dew.

    4 digitsmaximum 9,999never reached

  5. No. 5Patience

    Sit on the bench, three and a half metres back. Don't stand between the lamp and the sheet. The rare ones come after one in the morning, once everyone has privately decided to go home, so nobody goes home.

    bench at 3.5 muntil 05:30second cardigan by 22:30

drawer 3 · six plates

The ones we stand up for

Drawn from the ledger by a member with steady hands. We haven't pinned a real moth since 1981, when we voted 14 to 2 against, and the two came round by August.

DRAWER 3 · LARGE AND REMARKABLE
PL. I10 mm

Saturnia pyri

([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)

giant peacock moth

wingspan 100 to 150 mm · 61 nights on the sheet

The largest moth in Europe, and it arrives like a dropped glove. Recorders stand up when it lands. Nobody has ever said why.

PL. II10 mm

Acherontia atropos

(Linnaeus, 1758)

death's-head hawkmoth

wingspan 90 to 130 mm · 9 nights in 52 seasons

Squeaks if handled, which we don't do. Steals honey from hives. Last on the sheet at 02:40 on 14 August 2019. The recorder on duty wrote only "yes".

PL. III10 mm

Catocala fraxini

(Linnaeus, 1758)

clifden nonpareil

wingspan 75 to 106 mm · 11 records, all in capitals

Grey as bark on top. It shows the blue band underneath only as it leaves, like someone who tells you the good news in the doorway.

PL. IV10 mm

Arctia caja

(Linnaeus, 1758)

garden tiger

wingspan 45 to 65 mm · 212 in 1979, 31 last year

The one children draw. Since the numbers fell we say its name out loud when it lands, so it knows it was counted.

PL. V10 mm

Hyles euphorbiae

(Linnaeus, 1758)

spurge hawkmoth

wingspan 55 to 75 mm · most nights in July

Breeds on the spurge along the dyke road. Comes in fast at about 23:30 and hovers in front of the lamp as if it has a question.

PL. VI10 mm

Utetheisa pulchella

(Linnaeus, 1758)

crimson-speckled footman

wingspan 29 to 42 mm · 27 records, all after a southerly

A migrant blown up from the south, printed like an old calico apron. It turns up in the worst Augusts and cheers everyone up.

Plates are drawn to fit the tray. Each has its own 10 mm bar, so the footman is not as big as it looks.

20:40 to 05:30 · a clear night in early July

One night, timetabled

The same timetable since 1974, give or take the thermos. Tally marks are the average arrivals in the half hour after each time, early July, 1974 to 2025.

  1. Sheet up

    Eleven pegs, top edge level, bottom edge a hand's width clear of the grass. Last night's earwigs are asked to leave.

  2. Lamp on

    The bulb warms from a sulky blue to full violet. Clickers zeroed. The ledger opens at a new page and someone writes down the wind.

  3. The usual

    Small grey-brown noctuids, which the ledger calls "the usual" in a tone of real affection. The first tally marks of the night.

  4. Bats

    The bats arrive, having heard. We don't count bats. We note them, under protest.

  5. Second cardigan

    The dew comes up off the river and the first cardigan gives up. Put the second one on before you feel cold, because after is too late.

  6. Torches down

    From now on no torch is pointed at the sheet. Red headlamps only, aimed at the ledger, never at a face.

  7. Hawkmoth window

    Spurge hawkmoths come in fast and hover. Stand still. Speak in the voice you'd use in a library.

  8. Thermos

    Linden tea, one cup each. The first cup goes to whoever is holding the pencil.

  9. The good ones

    Fewer arrivals, bigger ones. If a giant peacock is coming, it comes now, and the bench stands up.

  10. The low hour

    Someone says "one more hour". Nobody leaves. This has happened every night for fifty-two years.

  11. First bird

    A blackbird starts up behind the ferry office. The sky goes from black to a very dark blue that you would only notice after six hours of staring at a sheet.

  12. Last tally

    Clickers are read aloud, longest-serving member first. The ledger is signed in pencil by everyone still awake.

  13. Lamp off

    The sheet is checked for sleepers. Each one is carried to the elder hedge on a fingertip and left somewhere dim.

  14. Sheet folded

    In thirds, then in thirds again. Everyone goes home and sleeps until lunch, which the society counts as part of the method.

vadu lung · 1 may to 30 september

Join the count

Anyone can come. You don't need to know a single name, Latin or otherwise. You need to stay awake and write neatly.

Where the sheet hangs

In the orchard behind the old ferry office at Vadu Lung, 23 km east of Tulcea along the dyke road. Park by the pump. Walk towards the only light.

Every night from 1 May to 30 September. Rain cancels. Wind above force 4 cancels. A full moon doesn't cancel, but it thins the count, and we write that down so nobody takes it personally.

Sketch map: the Danube flows east past Tulcea and splits into the Sulina and St George branches. Vadu Lung sits on the dyke road 23 km east of Tulcea. Tulcea Vadu Lung (the sheet) Sulina branch St George branch Danube BlackSea 010 km N
Not to scale where it matters. The dashed line is the dyke road.

What to bring

Tick things off as you pack.

  • No torches pointed at the sheet after 23:00.
  • Don't stand between the lamp and the sheet.
  • Pencil only in the ledger. Ink runs in the dew.
  • Whoever brings the thermos brings the cups.
  • If one lands on you, you're the sheet now. Sit still.

the only rule that matters

Everything that lands on the sheet leaves on its own wings.

You become a member on your third night of staying until the lamp goes off. The badge is a clothes peg with your initials on it. There is no fee. There is a tin by the socket for the electricity.