Welcome

Hello and welcome to my moth Blog. I now reside in a small village in East Cambridgeshire called Fordham. My Blog's aim is to promote and encourage others to participate in the wonderful hobby that is Moth-trapping.
Moth records are vital for building a picture of our ecosystem around us, as they really are the bottom of the food chain. They are an excellent early indicator of how healthy a habitat is. I openly encourage people to share their findings via social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter & Instagram.
So why do we do it? well for some people it is to get an insight into the world of Moths, for others it is to build a list of species much like 'Twitching' in the Bird world. The reason I do it....you just never know what you might find when you open up that trap! I hope to show what different species inhabit Cambridgeshire and neighbouring counties.
On this Blog you will find up-to-date records and pictures.
I run a trap regularly in my garden and also enjoy doing field trips to various localities over several different counties.
Please also check out the links in the sidebar to the right for other people's Blogs and informative Websites.
Thanks for looking and happy Mothing!

KEY

NFY = New Species For The Year
NFG = New Species For The Garden
NEW! = New Species For My Records

Any Species highlighted in RED signifies a totally new species for my records.

If you have any questions or enquiries then please feel free to email me
Contact Email : bensale@rocketmail.com

My Latest Notables and Rarities

Tuesday, 1 April 2014

Last night of the month yields something special....

With all the moths from the previous two nights still in pots, I set the trap up again under cloudy and still conditions.
We did get a spattering of rain during the night though and this morning clear and still 7 degrees.
among the usual new for year's were Early Thorn (2), Alucita hexadactyla (2) and Agonopterix alstromeriana (1) but as I turned over the second to last egg tray, wht's that tiny moth...
Agonopterix purpurea, quick pot!
This is why I was excited, it is my first Hertfordshire record and only my second one, I previously caught one way back in 2009 at Hatfield Broad Oak in Essex.
Post HERE
Other than that bit of exciement it was the usual Orthosias, although all my moaning of no Early Grey's diminished last night with another 4 added to the year total!

Catch Report - 31/03/14 - Back Garden Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

2x Early Thorn [NFY] 
3x Brindled Pug
6x Double-striped Pug
10x Hebrew Character
13x Common Quaker 
6x Small Quaker
2x Clouded Drab
3x Chestnut
1x Oak Beauty
4x Early Grey
1x Satellite

Micro Moths

1x Agonopterix purpurea [NFG]
1x Agonopterix alstromeriana [NFY]
2x Alucita hexadactyla [NFY]
2x Emmelina monodactyla
1x Diurnea fagella

Early Greys










Agonopterix purpurea











Early Thorn











Alucita hexadactyla










Agonopterix alstromeriana

Posted by Bennyboymothman at 07:40

2 comments:

  1. Broom Birder1 April 2014 at 09:49

    Never seen A. purpurea. Looks like a good few nights for you! I finally got my Dotted Border. Better late than never..............

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bennyboymothman1 April 2014 at 09:59

    Thanks Matt. Need a rest tonight I think. Will be trapping out in the field though tomorrow night to hopefully see Red Chestnut and Frosted Green. All the best.

    ReplyDelete

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