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

Wednesday, 22 July 2015

Beautiful Knights in White Satin with Swords in hand

..Lists i've written, never reaching the end...quite literally as I seem to always be writing down something new each time I trap. What a good time it is for moths after I was moaning something chronic back in April/May.
Some really good species last night and hence the play on the Moody Blues title, I managed a White Satin, Satin Beauty and 2 Dark Sword-grass.
The Satin Beauty is still quite a scarce moth in the County, but maybe it isn't? To the untrained and tired eyes perhaps it looks just like a worn Willow Beauty, but check out those antennae!
The general shape, size and appearance just didn't look right either and as always with moths, if you have the other confusion species in the same night to compare then it makes identification a much easier task. 
Sycamore surprised me. It is a species that I thought I had quite a good chance of catching, what with the 3 mature Sycamore trees running alongside the bridle path and within 50 metres of my light.
A pleasing 67 species in total.


Catch Report -  21/07/15 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

1x Satin Beauty [NFG]
1x Shaded Broad-bar [NFG]
1x Sycamore [NFG]
1x White Satin Moth [NFY]
1x Chinese Character [NFY]
1x Marbled Beauty
2x Cloaked Minor

2x Dark Sword-grass
1x Fern
3x Shuttle-shaped Dart
6x Uncertain
1x Flame Shoulder
2x Small Blood-vein
1x Herald
1x Early Thorn
2x Nut-tree Tussock
13x Dot Moth
3x Swallow-tailed Moth
3x Clay
1x Haworth's Pug
1x Elephant Hawk-moth
1x Smoky Wainscot
1x Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
5x Riband Wave
16x Silver-Y
2x Yellow-tail
2x Mottled Beauty
2x Mottled Rustic
10x Common Rustic
1x Fan-foot
2x Burnished Brass
2x Large Yellow Underwing
1x Buff Footman
3x Scalloped Oak
3x Least Carpet
1x Brimstone Moth
1x Buff Arches
5x Heart & Dart
1x Heart & Club
1x Bright-line Brown-eye
2x Dun-bar
3x Common Footman
3x Small Fan-footed Wave
13x Dark Arches
1x Double Square-spot

Micro Moths

1x Scrobipalpa acuminatella [NFY]
2x Crambus perlella [NFY]
1x Cochylis hybridella [NFY]
1x Acleris variegana [NFY]
1x Crambus pascuella
1x Agonopterix heracliana
2x Agapeta hamana
1x Yponomeuta evonymella
6x Eudonia lacustrata
5x Eudonia mercurella
4x Udea prunalis
1x Amblyptilia acanthadactyla
12x Chrysoteuchia culmella
1x Anania hortulata
2x Acleris schalleriana
3x Celypha striana
1x Plutella xylostella
4x Endotricha flammealis
1x Paraswammerdamia nebulella
1x Blastobasis adustella
1x Phlyctaenia coronata
1x Pandemis heparana

Sycamore












White Satin


Cochylis hybridella











Dark Sword-grass











Satin Beauty












Acleris variegana

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