Warm Autumn

It has been ridiculously warm this past week, with highs of 19 degrees, most days have been above 16 degrees, certainly well above the average which hovers between 12-14 degrees, more like 10-12 by the end of the month.

At night it is still balmy, only one night this week did it drop below double digits. Some nights I have'nt run my trap because it's been nippy and and misty. 

 

Here are two catches from last week, which saw the first Dark Sword-grass of the year (late for a year first) and several Feathered Thorns.

Other notables included a late Hypsopygia glaucinalis, Ephestia species and Brimstone Moth.

 

The first seasonal Black-spotted Chestnut have also arrived.

The smattering of migrants continues, with regular Scarce Bordered Straw, Delicate and Udea ferrugalis.

Palpita vitrealis has had a bumper year here, the first yeah i've recorded this species.

I will continue to run my trap if it stays mild.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 622 species

23/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Dark Sword-grass 1 [NFY]
Feathered Thorn 2 [NFY]
Angle Shades 1
Barred Sallow 1
Black Rustic 2
Common Marbled Carpet 1
Delicate 2
Garden Carpet 1
Green-brindled Crescent 4
Large Wainscot 1
Large Yellow Underwing 2
Mallow 1
Red-green Carpet 4
Scarce Bordered Straw 1

Micro Moths

Acleris variegana 1
Emmelina monodactyla 2
Epiphyas postvittana 3
Phyllonorycter messaniella 1

 

25/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Angle Shades 2
Beaded Chestnut 2
Black-spotted Chestnut 1
Black Rustic 1
Blair's Shoulder-knot 1
Brimstone Moth 1
Delicate 1
Feathered Thorn 2
Green-brindled Crescent 3
Large Wainscot 1
Large Yellow Underwing 3
Lesser Yellow Underwing 2
Mallow 1
Merveille du Jour
November Moth sp 1
Red-green Carpet 3
Scarce Bordered Straw 1
Setaceous Hebrew Character 1

Micro Moths

Blastobasis lacticolella 1
Ephestia sp 1
Epiphyas postvittana 4
Hypsopygia glaucinalis 1
Musotima nitidalis 1
Palpita vitrealis 2
Plutella xylostella 1
Udea ferrugalis 2

Large Wainscot

Dark Sword-grass

Feathered Thorn

 

Scarce Bordered Straw

Palpita vitrealis

Hypsopygia glaucinalis

Feathered Thorn

Black-spotted Chestnut

Marvel of the Day

A wet trap this morning was brightened up by the first 'Marvel of the day' Merveille du Jour moths to grace the trap this year. The 620th species recorded thus far. This figure is 23 species behind 2023 and a whopping 45 species behind 2022's total. Fordham, East Cambs

19th October 2024

Merveille du Jour

Another weeks mothing round-up

Still quiet, but some good moths still around, and plenty of migrants (which could also be home grown species now, who knows.

3 new species for the year this week, all on different days. Sprawler on Monday, November Moth on Tuesday & Acleris notana/ferrugana on Friday

Other notables included some late'ish flying species, Clepsis consimiliana, Blastobasis lacticolella, White-point and an odd Noctua retained for dissection (in case of it being tertria) It's a female, so we will see.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 619 species

15/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Sprawler 1 [NFY]
Angle Shades 1
Black Rustic 1
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 3
Clancy's Rustic 1
Delicate 1
Garden Carpet 1
Green-brindled Crescent 1
L-album Wainscot 4
Large Yellow Underwing 1
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 1
Lesser Yellow Underwing 2
Mallow 2
Red-green Carpet 1
Sallow 2 f.flavescens
Scarce Bordered Straw 1
Square-spot Rustic 1
Willow Beauty 1

Micro Moths

Acleris variegana 1
Epiphyas postvittana 2
Palpita vitrealis 1
Phyllonorycter messaniella 1

 

16/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

November Moth sp 1 [NFY]
Black Rustic 2
Clancy's Rustic 5
Delicate 1
Green-brindled Crescent 1
L-album Wainscot 1
Large Yellow Underwing 4
Lesser Yellow Underwing 1
Red-green Carpet 1

Micro Moths 

Carcina quercana 1
Clepsis consimiliana 1
Emmelina monodactyla 1
Epiphyas postvittana 4
Scrobipalpa ocellatella 1

18/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Black Rustic 6
Clancy's Rustic 1
Delicate 2
Green-brindled Crescent 2
Large Yellow Underwing 2
Lesser Yellow Underwing 2
Red-green Carpet 1
White-point 1

Micro Moths 

Acleris notana/ferrugana 1 [NFY]
Blastobasis lacticolella 1
Emmelina monodactyla 1
Epiphyas postvittana 5

Sprawler

Sallow f.flavescens

Noctua sp

November Moth sp

Clepsis consimiliana

Blastobasis lacticolella

White-point

Acleris notana/ferrugana

 

Weeks mothing round-up

This week hasn't been too bad at all in my garden, with warmer nights and extremely mild days (19c at the top end is silly for October).

I ran my trap on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday here, but won't run it for the next couple of nights as its set to drop to low single figures.

The best night of the week was Monday night with 35 species jotted down, probably an October species record for here (without checking for sure).

Just the 2 new species for the year, with a superb glinting Green-brindled Crescent and a rather plainer (but scarcer) Brick, in fact it's a new species for the garden!

Last night, the only moth of note was a mint Satellite, the first of the season.

 

Common migrants are still in great supply, with regular Scarce Bordered Straw, Palpita vitrealis, Clancy's Rustic, L-album Wainscot & Delicate. The latter 3 species are probably resident here now.

 

Wrap up, it's getting cold now until Sunday night at the earliest.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 616 species

07/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths 

Green-brindled Crescent 1 [NFY]
Angle Shades 1
Beaded Chestnut 1
Black Rustic 2
Blair's Shoulder-knot 1
Brimstone Moth 1
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 2
Burnished Brass 1
Clancy's Rustic 3
Dark Spectacle 2
Delicate 1
Grey-pine Carpet 1
L-album Wainscot 3
Large Yellow Underwing 10
Lesser Yellow Underwing 3
Light Emerald 1
Lunar Underwing 2
Pale Mottled Willow 1
Pink-barred Sallow 1
Setaceous Hebrew Character 4
Silver Y 1
Vine's Rustic 1
Willow Beauty 4

Micro Moths 

Acleris rhombana 1
Acleris sparsana 1
Aproaerema anthyllidella 1
Carcina quercana 1
Emmelina monodactyla 2
Eudonia angustea 1
Musotima nitidalis 3
Nomophila noctuella 2
Palpita vitrealis 1
Plutella xylostella 1
Scrobipalpa ocellatella 1
Udea ferrugalis 1

08/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Brick 1 [NFG]

09/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Satellite 1 [Season First]

Palpita vitrealis

Carcina quercana

Green-brindled Crescent

Musotima nitidalis

From Pale to Dusky!

With a cracker of a Pale-lemon Sallow yesterday night, imagine my excitement of finding a Dusky-lemon Sallow in the garden trap this morning!

I have never caught both in one year let alone a day apart, incredible.

It was extremely satisfying photographing the pair side by side.

Other good moths included several Delicate's, Scarce Bordered Straws, a single Clancy's Rustic and Scarce Bordered Straw. 

 

The robinson trap is really working much better than my storage box at retaining, and the trap had plenty of moths inside this morning.

 

A tiny Phyllonorycter messaniella was new for the year and what I thought was late, isn't actually in certain parts of the country, the peak flight season for them is now! A species of Phyllonorycter that multi-broods and possibly overwinters during mild winters.

A welcome yearly addition having seen my last one on the 29th June 2022! 

 

Today whilst releasing the moths in my garden from last night, I spied a lovely Grey Dagger caterpillar, my first of this species in larval form.

Milder conditions are here now, but it could be windy and wet.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 614 species

05/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Dusky-lemon Sallow 1 [NFY]

 

Micro Moths

 

Phyllonorycter messaniella 1 [NFY] 

 

Delicate

Pale-lemon Sallow & Dusky-lemon Sallow

Dusky-lemon Sallow

Grey Dagger Caterpillar

Phyllonorycter messaniella

Scarce Bordered Straw

 

A new moth for the garden, what a little gem

Mothing has been rather hit and miss lately, with very wet days and nights, followed by some milder days upto 16 degrees, but then followed by colder nights. Infact some nights have dropped as low as 4 degrees.

I ran the trap twice this past working week, on Wednesday and again last night.

I was rewarded with 3 new species for the year, with a lovely Pink-barred Sallow on Wednesday, and two much scarcer moths last night, one being new for the garden and the other a nationally scarce A species.

The new garden moth was a male Gem, this species is sexually dimorphic, meaning that the males differ from the females in markings. Sadly it was a rather worn out specimen, but the all count! It is the 863rd moth to be recorded in my garden so far.

The second really good moth was a year first Pale-lemon Sallow, never a common moth anywhere and I haven't heard any reportefd yet this year. It is my 2nd garden record after my first ever in 2021, so it's been missing for two years.

Other moths of note were the presence of several Blue Underwings on both nights, and L-album Wainscot & Clancy's becoming a regular occurence here now.

I couldn't also resist taking a snap of a nice fresh Red-green Carpet with its wings open.

Tonight could be worth a punt as well, good luck.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 612 species

02/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Pink-barred Sallow 1 [NFY]

04/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Gem 1 [NFG]

Pale-lemon Sallow 1 [NFY]

 

Tommie and Clif

Beaded Chestnut

Pink-barred Sallow

 

Pale-lemon Sallow

Gem

Red-green Carpet

A flurry of inland migrant activity

Finally the temperature at night was ok on Sunday night, and with lightish winds I had hoped of something new for the year, and indeed there was.

2 new species were added to the year list including a flurry of Scarce Bordered Straw.

 

Other possible migrants included 2x Delicate, 1x Clancy's Rustic and a Turnip Moth.

The trap has been off at the start of this week due to the heavy rain and floods.

I will try again soon.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 609 species

29/09/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Barred Sallow 1 [NFY]

Beaded Chestnut 1 [NFY]

Scarce Bordered Straws

Barred Sallow

Beaded Chestnut

Scarce Bordered Straw

Scarce Bordered Straw

Latest from the garden moth trap, Sallows & Mallows

Very sparse lately, and once more we have entered a wet spell followed by a cold front which just isn't worth lighting up for in my garden.

Below are a few catches from last week, which included 4 new species for the year and Cambs latest ever Lilac Beauty on 23rd.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 607 species

22/09/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Brown-spot Pinion 1 [NFY]

Large Ranunculus 1 [NFY]

Double-striped Pug 1 (Unusual Looking Specimen)

23/09/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Sallow 1 [NFY]

Lilac Beauty 1 (Latest Cambs Record)

 

24/09/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Mallow 1 [NFY]

 

 

Large Ranunculus

Brown-spot Pinion

Double-striped Pug

Lilac Beauty

Sallow

Mallow

Best September Garden Catch Ever!

On Saturday night I was going to pop out for some mobile moth recording, but the threat of storms spreading up from the south was imminent, with pockets of torrential downpours on the cards from midnight, I safely wimped out.

So, not wanting to miss out on the very mild night, with lows of 17 degrees, I stayed up until half midnight, and rose at 5am.

I expected to be woken up by some rumbles and flashes, but nothing.... got up at 5, walked out to the trap and it was bone dry! Crazy, it must have skirted around us more westerly over Canbridge.

Even before I went to bed I was up to 40 species, adding a further 18 come the morning, a crazy good night for my garden.

Even better was the species cast! with 2 new species for the garden, 1 of which was a completely new moth for me, the titchy Cosmopterix pulchrimella.

Barred Red was the other newbie, a very uncommon moth on my spreadsheet over the last 18 years.

Whats more, 8 other species were added to the 2024 roster.

The full total was 122 moths of 58 species.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 603 species

21/09/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Autumnal Rustic 1 NFY
Barred Red 1 NFG
Blair's Shoulder-knot 1 NFY
Large Wainscot 1 NFY
Pine Carpet 1 NFY
Angle Shades 1
Black Rustic 3
Brimstone Moth 2
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 3
Common Wainscot 3
Delicate 1
Double-striped Pug 1
Dusky Thorn 1
Flounced Rustic 6
Garden Carpet 5
L-album Wainscot 1
Large Yellow Underwing 5
Lesser Yellow Underwing 2
Light Emerald 2
Lime-speck Pug 1
Lunar Underwing 2
Lunar Yellow Underwing 1
Marbled Beauty 1
Nutmeg 1
Pale Mottled Willow 1
Setaceous Hebrew Character 3
Silver Y 1
Small Dusty Wave 1
Snout 1
Spruce Carpet 1
Square-spot Rustic 1
Tree-lichen Beauty 1
Vine's Rustic 1
White-point 1
Willow Beauty 7

Micro Moths

 

Bucculatrix nigricomella 1 NFY
Coleophora hemerobiella 1 NFY
Cosmopterix pulchrimella 1 NFG
Udea ferrugalis 1 NFY
Ypsolopha sequella 1 NFY
Acleris variegana 2
Aproaerema anthyllidella 1
Blastobasis lacticolella 1
Caloptilia semifascia 2
Cameraria ohridella 10
Clepsis consimilana 2
Coleophora sp 1
Cydalima perspectalis 5
Epiphyas postvittana 4
Hypsopygia glaucinalis 1
Lyonetia clerkella 1
Monopis crocicapitella 1
Musotima nitidalis 1
Neocochylis molliculana 1
Nomophila noctuella 1
Plutella xylostella 2
Pyralis farinalis 1
Scrobipalpa ocellatella 12

 

Pyralis farinalis

Autumnal Rustic

Barred Red

Blair's Shoulder-knot

Bucculatrix nigricomella

Caloptilia semifascia

Coleophora hemerobiella

Cosmopterix pulchrimella

Large Wainscot

Nomophila noctuella

Pine Carpet