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

Sunday, 2 August 2015

Weekend mothing and end of week round-up

Going back to Wednesday whilst washing up after dinner, I noticed a moth crawling up our patio door (this happens often for some unknown reason. Last night there was a Scalloped Oak just sitting there...there wasn't even my trap on or the kitchen light, it's as if they want to let me know that they are there!)
I potted it up carefully and on quick inspection thought it was my second garden record of Acrolepiopsis assectella, the Leek Moth.
But a more thorough look and a quick pot shot revealed that is was an Acrolepia autumnitella, a species I have never seen before and not a common moth in Hertfordshire.


Moving on to the main event, last night I ran the trap again after a relatively mild day with highs of 22 degrees, I must of admit I didn't think I would like doing a car boot sale yesterday, but it I was pleasantly surprised and coupled with the sunny day it made it feel much better.
A bit of a chilly start again this morning and more akin to an October morning, but there were plenty of moths to ponder over.
There seems to be a severe lack of Yellow Underwings this year for some reason with just one's and two's recorded each time I trap. Normally I get 10-15+. 
Other than that a nice splash of colour with a yearly appearance of Magpie moth and a pair of Pammene aurita's.

Edit : Also my second ever record of Borkhausenia fuscescens turned up initially thinking that it was Tinea pellionella, thanks to Bill Dykes for spotting this error. 



Catch Report -  01/08/15 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

1x Small Rivulet [NFY]
1x Magpie moth [NFY]
1x Maple Pug
1x Yellow Shell
1x Buff Ermine
2x Double Square-spot
2x Nut-tree Tussock
12x Common Rustic
1x Dwarf Cream Wave
2x Riband Wave
1x Willow Beauty
1x Single-dotted Wave
2x Common Footman
1x Common White Wave
2x September Thorn
2x Peppered Moth
1x Least Carpet
1x Double-striped Pug
1x Uncertain
2x Scalloped Oak
1x Lackey
1x Silver Y
3x Dark Arches
2x Large Yellow Underwing
2x Straw Underwing
1x Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
1x Mottled Rustic
1x Bright-line Brown-eye
1x July Highflyer
1x Cabbage Moth
1x Small Fan-footed Wave

Micro Moths

1x Acrolepia autumnitella [NEW!]
1x Borkhausenia fuscescens [NFG]
1x Acrobasis advenella [NFY]
2x Spilonota laricana [NFY]
2x Pammene aurita [NFY]
1x Tinea pellionella
1x Eudonia mercurella
3x Chrysoteuchia culmella
1x Cydia fagiglandana
1x Bryotropha terrella
6x Agriphila straminella
4x Agriphila tristella
1x Coleophora sp
1x Ambylptilia acanthdactyla
1x Celypha lacunana
2x Pleuroptya ruralis
1x Anania coronata
1x Blastobasis adustella
1x Yponomeuta evonymella
4x Spilonota ocellana
1x Batia unitella
2x Acleris variegana
1x Eudonia lacustrata
1x Clepsis consimilana
1x Pyrausta aurata
1x Aphomia sociella 

Pammene aurita - Pair













Magpie Moth










Small Rivulet












Acrolepia autumnitella











Maple Pug










Spilonota laricana











Borkhausenia fuscescens
Posted by Bennyboymothman at 10:50

2 comments:

  1. Billy Dykes2 August 2015 at 23:41

    Nice one Ben - never seen Pammene aurita but it's on the wish list!

    I hope you don't mind if I turn into a massive fun-sponge for a second and suggest a couple of alternative IDs? I think your laricana could be the dark form of occellana judging from the orange and blue suffusions on the wing... and the Tinea has quite prominent palps and a wing shape which might better suite Borkhausenia fuscescens.

    Keep up the huge catches!

    Bill

    ReplyDelete
  2. Bennyboymothman15 August 2015 at 18:20

    Hi Bill.
    Many thanks for your comment, sorry I hadn't realised you had left one! Yes I agree my id of Borkhausenia fuscescens, a new one for me so thank you very much!
    The Spilonota has been set and I will have it dissected just to be sure, I have had laricana in the garden last year but agree that this doesn't look like a typical laricana.
    Cheers Bill.

    ReplyDelete

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