Some more garden moths

Another good catch last Wednesday, still nowhere near catching up my my reports!

A great selection of macros and micros were featured in the catch, with many new ones for the year.

 

The temperature was once again warm, even hot at 28 degrees and with lows of 18c, it was the perfect storm for moth activity.

 

Keeping it short, the best were two new garden micro moths, the first, the Rose Tortrix (Archips rosana). A really dumpy looking species compared with the longer-winged cerasana/heparana.

 

The second was a well overdue common moth, Teleiodes luculella. But it is associated more with mature Oaks, which there aren't many of round here sadly. 

 

Royal Mantle was lovely to see, as was a fresh Six-belted Clearwing to it's own lure during the day. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 420 species

18/06/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

 

Brown-line Bright-eye 1 [NFY]
Dingy Shears 1 [NFY]
Royal Mantle 1 [NFY]
Scarce Footman 1 [NFY]
Six-belted Clearwing 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths 
 

Acrobasis advenella 1 [NFY]
Archips rosana 1 [NFG]
Carcina quercana 1 [NFY]
Lozotaeniodes formosana 1 [NFY]
Pyrausta despicata 1 [NFY]
Sorhagenia sp 1 [NFY]
Teleiodes luculella 1 [NFG]
Phyllocnistis sp 1 (TBC)

 

Teleiodes luculella

Archips rosana

Brown-line Bright-eye

Cacoecimorpha pronubana - Female

Carcina quercana

Dichrorampha simpliciana

Dingy Shears

Lozotaeniodes formosana

Pyrausta despicata

Royal Mantle

Scarce Footman

Six-belted Clearwing

Sorhagenia sp

 

Macro/Micro Spl/it

A very warm day last Tuesday, with a real humid feel to the day and a cloudy evening with lows of 18 degrees, the trap was heaving from midnight, just as I turned in for the night I had potted 7 new ones, the morning was going to be busy!

Up at 3.30 and indeed there were lots of moths, I didn't have time to do a full count, but easily 70 species were in and around the trap. 

13 new species was the total, very good indeed! It also was a 50/50 split with the macro & micro moth species for the year, with 204 a-piece.

 

Best were a large female Lilac Beauty, a splash of bright colours from Rhyacionia pinicolana & Rosy Footman and most notable was only my 2nd garden record of Timothy Tortrix (Zelotherses paleana), a micro moth that used to be really common but seems to have got scarce in recent years.

 

The summer continued and the weather was set to stay above average for the time of year. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 408 species

17/06/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths 

Dark Umber 1 [NFY]
Lilac Beauty 1 [NFY]
Mottled Beauty 1 [NFY]
Rosy Footman 1 [NFY]
Rustic 1 [NFY] 

Micro Moths 

Batia lunaris 2 [NFY]
Bryotropha affinis 1 [NFY]
Epinotia nanana 1 [NFY]
Hypsopygia glaucinalis 1 [NFY]
Metalampra italica 1 [NFY]
Rhyacionia pinicolana 1 [NFY]
Yponomeuta cag mal pad 1 [NFY]
Zelotherses paleana 1 [NFY]

 

Zelotherses paleana

Batia lunaris

Bryotropha affinis

Dark Umber

Epinotia nanana

Lilac Beauty

Metalampra italica

Rhyacionia pinicolana

Rosy Footman

Rustic

Yponomeuta cag mal pad

 

Cranwich Camp - Field Trip - Norfolk - 16th June

I was joined by Leslie Gardiner, fellow village moth enthusisast and extremely knowledgeable birder at Cranwich Camp in Norfolk last Monday night.

The day had been sweltering, with highs of 27 degrees and a low of around 15 degrees.

We did a bit of dusk netting and added a few species, some in good numbers (Clepsis consimilana, Bucculatrix frangutella & Anania hortulata) and then set about getting the lights in position and ready to go.

We setup 4 lights in close proximity, the furthest around 50 metres away from base camp, a low walking effort with the impending thought of work the next day, I didn't want to overdo it!

 

In the end we recorded just over 200 species over the 4 hours we ran the lights for. 

 

I think Leslie got around 10 new species for himself, Festoon for me was the highlight, a moth i've only seen once before in Essex previously.

 

Other standout species included an absolutely pristine Purple Clay, backed up by Beautiful Golden Y, Bordered Sallow, Rosy Marbled, Grey Arches, Red-necked Footman & Marbled Brown, all species that aren't on my garden list.

It was also nice to tap into a smidgen of migrant activity, with Silver Y, Plutella xylostella and 4 superb Four-spotted Footman, all males. 

 

Onto the micros and highlights included a scale perfect Agonopterix assimilella, the pretty Eupoecilia angustana and the scarcer of the Pandemis, Pandemis cinnamomeana (with it's characteristic white head, although only in the males).

 

A trip well worth doing and I will hope to return next month. 

 

16/06/25 - Cranwich Camp - Norfolk - 1x 125w Trap, 1x 250w Robinson Trap, 1x 40w/22w Bucket Trap & 1x 20w Bucket Trap

Macro Moths

Barred Straw 
Beautiful Golden Y
Beautiful Hook-tip 
Blood-vein 
Blue-bordered Carpet 
Bordered Sallow
Bordered White
Bright-line Brown-eye 
Brimstone Moth 
Brindled White-spot
Brown Rustic 
Brown Scallop
Brown Silver-line 
Buff Arches
Buff-tip 
Burnished Brass 
Cinnabar
Clay
Clay Triple-lines 
Clouded Border 
Common Carpet
Common Emerald
Common Footman 
Common Marbled Carpet 
Common Rustic 
Common Swift 
Common Wave 
Coronet
Coxcomb Prominent 
Dark Arches 
Double Square-spot 
Double-striped Pug 
Dwarf Cream Wave 
Elephant Hawk-moth 
Engrailed
Eyed Hawk-moth 
Fan-foot
Festoon 4 (3m, 1f)
Figure of Eighty 
Flame
Four-dotted Footman
Four-spotted Footman 4 
Fox Moth 
Goat Moth 
Grass Emerald 
Green Carpet 
Green Pug 
Green Silver-lines 
Grey Arches
Grey Pug
Grey-pine Carpet 
Heart & Club 
Heart & Dart 
Kent Black Arches 
Large Yellow Underwing 
Least Black Arches 
Leopard Moth 
Light Arches 
Light Emerald 
Lobster Moth 
Maple Prominent 
Marbled Brown 
Marbled Coronet 
Marbled Minor 
Miller
Mottled Beauty 
Mottled Rustic 
Nut-tree Tussock 
Oblique Striped
Orange Footman 
Pale Oak Beauty 
Pale Prominent 
Pale Tussock 
Peach Blossom 
Peppered Moth 
Phoenix 
Pine Hawk-moth 
Poplar Grey 
Privet Hawk-moth 
Purple Bar 
Purple Clay 
Reddish Light Arches 
Red-necked Footman 2
Riband Wave
Rosy Footman 
Rosy Marbled 
Sandy Carpet 
Satin Wave
Scarce Footman 
Scorched Wing 
Setaceous Hebrew Character 
Sharp-angled Carpet
Shears 
Shoulder-striped Wainscot 
Silver Y 
Silver-ground Carpet 
Single-dotted Wave 
Small Angle Shades 
Small Blood-vein
Small Elephant Hawk-moth 
Snout 
Spectacle 
Spruce Carpet 
Straw Dot 
Swallow-tailed Moth
Sycamore 
Tawny Shears 
Tawny-barred Angle 
Treble Brown Spot 
Turnip Moth 
Uncertain 

Micro Moths

Acompsia cinerella 
Aethes beatricella 
Agonopterix arenella
Agonopterix assimilella
Aleimma loeflingiana 
Anania hortulata
Anania lancealis 
Anania perlucidalis 
Anthophila fabriciana 
Apotomis capreana
Archips crataegana 
Ancylis achatana 
Archips podana 
Archips xylosteana 
Argyresthia pruniella 
Batrachedra confusella/pinicolella
Blastobasis lacticolella
Nymphula nitidulata
Bryotropha terrella 
Bucculatrix frangulatella 
Celypha cespitana
Celypha lacunana
Celypha rosaceana 
Chrysoteuchia culmella 
Clepsis consimilana 
Coleophora vestianella
Crambus lathoniellus 
Crambus pascuella 
Crassa unitella 
Cydia fagiglandana 
Delplanqueia dilutella/inscriptella
Ditula angustiorana 
Emmetia marginea 
Ephestia sp
Epiblema foenella 
Epinotia subocellana 
Ethmia dodecea 
Eucosma cana 
Eudonia lacustrata 
Eucosma campoliliana
Eupoecilia angustana
Exoteleia dodecella
Evergestis limbata 
Gypsonoma sociana 
Gypsonoma oppressana
Hedya nubiferana 
Hedya ochroleucana
Hedya salicella 
Homoeosoma sinuella 
Hofmannophila pseudospretella 
Lathyronympha strigana 
Lozotaeniodes formosana 
Musotima nitidalis 
Luquetia lobella 
Nemapogon cloacella 
Nemapogon koenigi 
Neocochylis dubitana 
Notocelia trimaculana 
Notocelia uddmanniana
Ostrinia nubilalis 
Pandemis cerasana
Pandemis heparana
Pandemis cinnamomeana
Paraswammerdamia albicapitella 
Parornix sp 
Phycita roborella 
Phyllonorycter stettinensis
Piniphila bifasciana 
Platytes csrrusella 
Plutella xylostella 
Pyrausta purpuralis
Pyrausta despicata
Parapoynx stratiotata
Rhyacionia buoliana
Scoparia ambigualis 
Sorhagenia sp 
Spilonota ocellana 
Stenoptilia pterodactyla
Strophedra nitidana
Strophedra weirana 
Teleiodes luculella 
Thisanotia chrysonuchella
Tinagma ocnerostomella 
Tinea semifulvella 
Tinea trinotella 
Tortrix viridana 
Udea olivalis 
Yponomeuta evonynella 
Yponomeuta cag/mal/pad 
Zeiraphera isertana

Thisanotia chrysonuchella

Actinic Trap

Agonopterix assimilella

Beautiful Golden Y

Bordered Salllow

Cranwich Camp

Eupoecilia angustana

Festoon - Female

Festoon - Male

Four-spotted footman

Grey Arches

Marbled Brown

Pandemis cinnamomeana

Purple Clay

Rosy Marbled

Strophedra nitidana

 

A few more new moths including a rarity (possibly)

Still running a week behind here with reports, it's been that good here that I haven't been able to keep up and also count all of the moths of every species. 

Hats off to people who do, but from the end of May until around September (when numbers are generally lower ) I mostly just list the new ones.

The heat last week continued to build, and every day was above 26 degrees peaking on Saturday at aroiund 33.

Warm nights but not always calm nights were the order of the day, with next to no rain at all.

 

Best of the larger moths from Monday night included some real star quality in the shape of Barred Red, White Satin, Toadflax Pug & Silky Wainscot of the form bipunctata, sadly a little damaged.

 

Best smaller moths included a well-marked and vivid Rhodophaea formosa and an almost certain Haplotinea insectella (although can't rule out ditella until dissection). 

There are just 3 records for Cambs, with a gap of 120 years between the 2nd and my 3rd one trapped last year at nearby Chippenham Fen. Moth has been retained.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 395 species

16/06/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths 

Barred Red 1 [NFY]
Toadflax Pug 1 [NFY]
White Satin 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths 

Haplotinea insectella ditella TBC 1 [NFG]
Rhodophaea formosa 1 [NFY]

 

White Satin

Barred Red

Haplotinea insectella ditella

Rhodophaea formosa

Silky Wainscot

Toadflax Pug

 

On the catch up

A cooler day after the blazing hot Friday, with highs of 22 degrees and a brisk wind, it felt less oppressive.

The night still remained warm enough for plentiful moth activity, but much less species were obsevered, in fact less than half!

As a result there were less new ones, but being the middle of June, every night should yield at least a couple of  new species, and indeed last Saturday night did.

Two early Underwing species showed up, the first darker form of Box-moth appeared and a tiny Pug was of course a year first Haworth's.

 

Micros were sparse, I think it was the wind. Therefore I could only muster a Wax Moth (Galleria mellonella) & the ghostly white Pterophorus pentadactyla.

 

Only new species listed below.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 390 species

14/06/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths 

Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 1 [NFY]
Haworth's Pug 1 [NFY]
Lesser Yellow Underwing 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths 

Galleria mellonella 1 [NFY]
Pterophorus pentadactyla 1 [NFY]

 

Pterophorus pentadactyla

Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Cydalima perspectalis

Galleria mellonella

Haworth's Pug

Lesser Yellow Underwing