A couple more to add to the list

Starting to catch up now, as the weather has gone rather polar at night recently, especially with these keen east winds.

Last Friday I managed a 2nd garden record of Four-spotted Footman, another male.. fantastic!

New species for the year included two uncommon species for my garden, both rather battered sadly, the Small Wainscot much worst off! The other was a rather poorly marked Autumnal Rustic.

Cacoecimorpha pronubana had a big flurry last week, with loads of males turning up, one was a nice female though.

It's still worth running the trap on warm nights I feel. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 643 species

19/09/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Autumnal Rustic 1 [NFY] 

Small Wainscot 1 [NFY]  

 

Small Wainscot

Autumnal Rustic

Cacoecimorpha pronubana

Four-spotted Footman

Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

 

 

Some rather late species including a garden first tiddler

Like a few others, last week I recorded my latest ever Scarce Silver-lines to my trap on Wednesday night, a tiny but pristine specimen.

 

There were 5 nights previous to this date where I didn't bother trapping at all, it's also been abyssmal since as well, with recent nights very close to freezing, most odd for this time of year.

 

The new garden moth was a very welcome Agonopterix propinquella, I get subpropinquella regularly here, the slightly larger cousin to this species.

 

A rather tatty Red Underwing was new for the year and my latest Assara terebrella was certainly worth noting down.

 

Clancy's Rustic keep on coming here, with a further two, some real fresh ones too. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 641 species

17/09/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Red Underwing 1 [NFY] 

 

Micro Moths 

 

Agonopterix propinquella 1 [NFG]

  

Scarce Silver-lines

Agonopterix propinquella

Assara terebrella

Clancy's Rustic

Red Underwing

 

A result from a pheromone lure

I currently have two pheromone bucket traps deployed in the garden, one each of Ni and Slender Burnished Brass.

They've been idle for a good 3 weeks until the 9th when I could see a Noctuid sitting at the bottom of the SBB lure, imagine my initial excitement! 

Slender Burnished Brass was one of my best garden moths when I previously lived in North Hertfordshire, at the time it was the most northerly record for the UK. 

 

But... this wasn't a SBB, instead it was a year first Lunar Yellow Underwing, a moth I regularly get in two broods every year, but not this year it seemed. 

It is still the only record this year for the garden, last year I had 15 of them between May and September.

 

A Black Rustic made it my 2nd new species for the year, and the best conditioned Clancy's was nice to see.

 

Things started to get very quiet. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 639 species

12/09/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Black Rustic 1 [NFY]

Lunar Yellow Underwing 1 [NFY] 

 

Lunar Yellow Underwing

Black Rustic

Clancy's Rustic

 

A trio of decent migrant moths

Back on the 9th of September I ran my trap once more, with expected southerly winds and a warmish evening, the speculation was there for something different to turn up, and I wasn't disappointed!

Best moth of the night went to the migrant Four-spotted Footman. Since this date and beyond to the present tense, i've had another one last night! Lots of others have also tapped into the explosion of a once quite rare migrant moth.

The supporting migrant cast included only my 2nd Dark Sword-grass of the year and my 2nd Scarce Bordered Straw also.

The rest of the trap was rather mundane but that's expected this time of year, you hope for the quality and boy did it deliver on that night. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 637 species

09/09/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Four-spotted Footman 1 [NFG]

 

Scarce Bordered Straw

Dark Sword-grass

Four-spotted Footman

The Migrant Trio

 

A Surprise Pyralid!

Back on the 8th of September I potted up a rather dark pyralid that was flittering around the trap. initially it looked like a dark Ephestia species, but when brought inside and under a hand lens in good light, revealed that it was infact the scarce moth, Apomyelois bistriatella.  

A new moth for me and my garden. There are a few records from one site in Cambridge but that is it (although there are no photographs available I assume these records are correct).

 

Other good moths included a 2nd for the year Jersey Mocha! Maybe a migrant along with the Apomyelois bistriatella (which is also known to occasionally migrate).

A late Nephopterix angustella was also good to see as well as two more Plumed Fan-foots! 

 

Lower numbers of moths and the sorting and sifting takes little time at all now, but the special ones are out there, if you get lucky! 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 636 species

08/09/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Micro Moths 

 

Apomyelois bistriatella 1 [NEW!]

Plumed Fan-foot

Apomyelois bistriatella

Cypress Pug

Jersey Mocha

Nephopterix angustella

The very 'Old' Lady

The very 'Old' Lady

Yes she was rather battered, but a year tick all the same. 

Other interesting moths included three Ancylosis oblitella, a micro moth generally associated with coastlines, which is having a good year with dispersal.

Scrobipalpa ocellatella have quietened down now, with just 5 or 6 per night, they too have had a very good year dispersing northwards. 

Besides the Old Lady being new, there were 3 other new ones, all macro moths, two Frosted Oranges (one fresh and one worn), a super Large Wainscot, and I finally got a Scarce Bordered Straw after nearly everyone else had got one.

Not bad at all. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 635 species

06/09/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Frosted Orange 2 [NFY]

Large Wainscot 1 [NFY] 

Old Lady 1 [NFY]

Scarce Bordered Straw 1 [NFY]

Scarce Bordered Straw

Ancylosis oblitella

Ancylosis oblitella

Frosted Orange

Frosted Oranges

Large Wainscot

Old Lady

Ruby Tiger

Big 'ole Girl

On the 4th of September, the trend was still low numbers of species and moths, but still the odd good moth to brighten an otherwise dull night.

The first Clifden Nonpareil or Blue Underwing, was nice to see. A quick night time shot as I don't have many pots that fit them in (plus they go bananas I find once they are potted).

By the morning a tiny dark micro was potted up and observed. It was to be another new for the year species, Acleris rhombana, a moth that didn't feature in the 2024 line-up.

An Angle Shades was most welcome and not seen for several months. 

The weather continued to get more unsettled as we headed towards mid-September, with some warmish days, but cool, clear and windy nights.  

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 631 species

04/09/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Clifden Nonpareil 1 [NFY]

 

Micro Moths 

 

Acleris rhombana 1 [NFY]

 

Clifden Nonpareil

Acleris rhombana

Angle Shades

 

A new garden moth!

At the start of September, numbers of species were quite low and usually expected here as the overnight temperatures start to wane.

But there is always a chance of a really good moth, think quality over quantity from now until next May!

 

On the 2nd of September there was only 1 new moth for 2025, but it was a new species for the garden, a super Chevron.

 

It is the 43rd new species added to the garden this year. 

 

Other notables included a tatty late Silky Wainscot, only the 2nd Dewick's Plusia this year, and a glut of 14 Broad-bordered Yellow Uncderwings.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 629 species

02/09/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Chevron 1 [NFY]

 

Silky Wainscot

Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Chevron

Dewick's Plusia

 

A super dark Pediasia contaminella

Back on the 31st of August I trapped a total of 38 species overnight, with lots of repeats.

 

One moth however stood out, an extremely dark grass moth, sitting in it's characteristic head-down pose, it was to be a late new for year Pediasia contaminella.

 

And that was it, the one new species, August wasn't the best after the thrill of Julys catches.

 

We now move into September. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 628 species

31/08/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Micro Moths 

 

Pediasia contaminella 1 [NFY]

 

 

Nothing new, but some different species

At the end of August, things got quite slow and new species dropped off considerably.

Still, it was nice to see some returning summer species, back for another brood.

Yet another Palpita vitrealis was welcome.

The best thing to the trap wasn't a moth at all, but an incredible Wasp Spider. These Spiders I am familiar with when walking through unimproved grassland in Hertfordshire. What a beautiful creature! 

It wouldn't be too long before I saw some new species once more. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 627 species

29/08/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Wasp Spider!

Beautiful Hook-tip

Lilac Beauty

Palpita vitrealis

Early doors for a Brick

A very early Brick was the highlight of my garden catch on the 26th of August here in East Cambs, earliest for me by 19 days! 

It is also only my 2nd garden record, a once common moth that is seemingly becoming scarcer in recent times (Dot Moth & Gothic i'm looking at you as well).

 

There was one another new for the year species, a rather smartly-coloured Epinotia nisella, a highly variable moth.

 

Agonopterix arenella & Plutella porrectella were returning species after a few months absense. 

 

A Niditinea species was retained.

 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 627 species

26/08/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Brick 1 [NFY]

 

Macro Moths 

 

Epinotia nisella 1 [NFY]

 

Plutella porrectella

Agonopterix arenella

Brick

Epinotia nisella

Niditinea fuscella striolella

A better night indeed despite the breeze

A warm and breezy night here in my garden on the 25th of August, yielded a good catch of 44 species of moths.

There were a few good highlights that are listed below.

 

A late and worn Etainia decentella was good to get, I could barely see it against the white house wall.

 

Both Mottled Rustic and Small Square-spot livened the variety up a bit, from what had been mainly Vine's Rustic & Flounced Rustics!

 

A stunning and extremely fresh Palpita vitrealis was my 5th this year, after my first and only record previously on the 6th of September last year.

 

And both Phyllonorycter geniculella & Ypsolopha horridella were new for the year, the former absent last year and the latter missing for 3 years.

 

A super night so late on in the year. 

 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 625 species

25/08/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Micro Moths

Etainia decentella 1 [NFY] 
Phyllonorycter geniculella 1 [NFY]
Ypsolopha horridella 1 [NFY]

 

Zeiraphera isertana

Bucculatrix bechsteinella

Mottled Rustic

Palpita vitrealis

Phyllonorycter geniculella

Small Square-spot

Ypsolopha horridella