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, 17 November 2015

Persistence pays off

Hello everyone.
I ran my trap on three consecutive nights from Saturday night to Monday night, something I don't do very often this time of year.
 I think it is the reports of scarce migrants that have been reported up and down the Country recently and not always at coastal sites either.
Saturday night's catch featured no Macro moths at all, a trap rarity in itself! and Sunday night wasn't much better either....just two moths again.
And then last night it all went a bit weird and there were actually some moths to count (and write down) for starter's I had to rescue the moths from a puddle at the bottom of my trap and because our patio isn't quite level, the water wells up in one corner typically, in this puddle I found three Caloptilia's and a Tortrix of somekind reminiscent of Zeiraphera isertana, but it wasn't this species it was a first for me Crocidosema plebejana! now that was worth running the trap for.
I believe there are very few records of this typical coastal moth and I am only aware of John Murray's record this year. Obviously a wanderer from a coastal population or a primary immigrant.
Another moth of note was a form of Acleris hastiana that I have never recorded before. 


Catch Report -  14/11/15 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

 None recorded!

Micro Moths
 

2x Epiphyas postvittana


Catch Report -  15/11/15 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths


1x Brick

Micro Moths
 

1x Acleris notana/ferrugana



Catch Report -  16/11/15 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths


1x Brick
1x Mottled Umber
1x Yellow-line Quaker

Micro Moths
 

1x Crocidosema plebejana [NEW!]
1x Scrobipalpa costella [NFY]
2x Caloptilia rufipennella [NFY]
1x Acleris hastiana
2x Caloptilia semifascia
2x Epiphyas postvittana 

Acleris hastiana













Caloptilia rufipennella









 
Crocidosema plebejana










Scrobipalpa costella

3 comments:

  1. C. plebejana here on 7th Nov. You commented on the posting. Where's your head at ! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. your comment was on the facebook group, not blogger

    ReplyDelete