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

Saturday, 15 October 2016

Field Trip - Roughdown Common - New to Herts Jersey Mocha!

Our last visit of the year to this prolific nature reserve that always springs a surprise on us, and this night was no different.
With a warm South-westerly breeze dominating the weather forecast and lows of a comfortable 15 degrees, we once again decided to run traps on the Boxmoor Trusts land.
The hope was to turn up something unusual for the site or intercept a migrant (for which there were plenty about).
We succeeded on both accounts and star of the show had to go to a worn Maiden's Blush looking moth which Ian Bennell found in the long grass, several feet away from one of my traps.
Passing it around to everyone it just didn't look right for this species and the brain thought of other possibilities which were quickly narrowed down to either a worn Maiden's Blush (likely) a Clay Triple-lines (still quite likely) and then the absurd (Jersey Mocha).
The moth was retained and dissected the next day and I was literally on the edge of my seat awaiting the results back from Graeme Smith. When he said that it is a Jersey Mocha, that inkling to retain the moth was all worth it! Graeme had to promptly get a cup of coffee to calm down as neither myself or he could believe it, another new to Herts this year! And hat's off to Ian Bennell for spotting it and not just discarding it as a worn Maiden's Blush.

Other good species included a pair of Psoricoptera gibbosella (Only my 2nd and 3rd examples in 10 years), Hellinsia carphodactyla (Which was new to me) and Depressria badiella (Which was retained and also dissected by Graeme Smith and a great record for Herts, again NEW TO ME!)

What a fantastic night it was and thanks go out to David, Roger and Ian for helping me make the night a success and for being as eagle-eyed as ever.

Species counted but numbers not noted.
 
Catch Report - 07/09/16 - Roughdown Common - Hemel Hempstead - 2x 125w MV Robinson Trap 1x 160w MBT Robinson Trap 1x 80w Actinic Briefcase Trap & 1x 40w Actinic/26w BLB Trap

Macro Moths - 40 Species

Angle Shades
Beautiful Hook-tip
Brimstone Moth
Brindled Green
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Centre-barred Sallow
Common Carpet
Common Marbled Carpet
Common Rustic
Common Wainscot
Copper Underwing
Double-striped Pug
Dun-bar
Dusky Thorn
Feathered Gothic
Flame Shoulder
Flounced Rustic
Garden Carpet
Jersey Mocha [NEW!]
Large Yellow Underwing
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Lesser Yellow Underwing
Light Emerald
Lime-speck Pug
Maiden's Blush
Marbled White-spot
Pink-barred Sallow
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Shuttle-shaped Dart
Silver-Y
Small Dusty Wave
Small Square-spot
Square-spot Rustic
Snout
Spectacle
Square-spot Rustic
White-point
Willow Beauty
Yellow-barred Brindle
Yellow Shell

Micro Moths - 51 Species

Acentria ephemerella
Acleris rhombana
Acleris variegana
Acrobasis advenella
Agonopterix arenella
Agonopterix laterana/comariana
Agonopterix nervosa
Agriphila geniculea
Agriphila tristella
Ancylis laetana
Archips podana
Argyresthia semifusca
Blastobasis adustella
Cameraria ohridella
Caloptilia robustella
Caloptilia syringella
Celypha lacunana
Cochylis dubitana
Cydia pomonella
Cydia splendana
Depressria badiella [NEW!]
Ectoedemia decentella
Emmelina monodactyla
Emmetia marginea
Epinotia nisella
Epinotia ramella
Epiphyas postvittana
Eudonia mercurella
Eudonia pallida
Galleria mellonella
Hellinsia carphodactyla [NEW!]
Hypatima rhomboidella
Metalampra italica
Hofmannophila pseudospretella
Pandemis cinnamomeana
Pandemis corylana
Pandemis heparana
Phyllonorycter harrisella
Pleuroptya ruralis
Plutella xylostella
Prays fraxinella
Psoricoptera gibbosella
Pyrausta aurata
Rhopobota naevana
Stenolechia gemmella
Tinea semifulvella
Udea ferrugalis
Ypsolopha alpella
Ypsolopha parenthesella
Ypsolopha scabrella
Ypsolopha sequella

Agonopterix nervosa














Depressaria badiella










Ectoedemia decentella












Metalampra italica












Jersey Mocha!











Hellinsia carphodactyla












Psoricoptera gibbosella











Pink-barred Sallow














Pandemis cinnamomeana











Ypsolopha alpella

Posted by Bennyboymothman at 21:44

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