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

Monday, 21 June 2021

A bumper night at the home trap - 16/06/21

With a low of 16 degrees at 5am, it was a really warm and muggy night last Wednesday. I was scheduled to go out, but the threat of thunderstorms and heavy rain put me off somewhat!
The rain came at dusk, but with the rain the humidity increased, just perfect for moths!

The trap was buzzing with moths after an hour of darkness, several new species for the year were potted up.

I got up in anticipation at 4:30am and was pleased with around 40 species.

It seems to be all or nothing this month, on warmer nights the species just erupt, on cooler nights species just trickle in.

Of the 40 species jotted down, 17 of them were new for the year! Including some crackers, Two new garden species were noted as well as the most pristine Elephant Hawk-moth I have ever seen, and a bonus male Psyche casta, again in mint condition.
Aethes beatricella was the best, only my second in 15 years, and a real stunner.

Only new for year species listed below.

Moth species for 2021 in the garden now stands at 178.

16/06/21 - Back Garden - Stevenage - North Herts - 125w MV Robinson Trap
 
Macro Moths
 
Coronet 1 [NFY]
Elephant Hawk-moth 1 [NFY]
Fan-foot 1 [NFY] 
Figure of Eighty 1 [NFY]
Heart and Club 1 [NFY]
Large Yellow Underwing 1 [NFY]
Maiden's Blush 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths
 
Aethes beatricella 1 [NFY]
Archips xylosteana 1 [NFY]
Cedestis subfasciella 1 [NFY] 
Lozotaenia forsterana 1 [NFY]
Monopis crocicapitella 1 [NFY]
Phyllonorycter leucographella 1 [NFY]
Pseudatemelia flavifrontella/josephinae sp 1 [NFY] 
Psyche casta 1 [NFY]
Ptycholoma lecheana 1 [NFY]
Tortrix viridana 2 [NFY]

Aethes beatricella

Cedestis subfasciella

Coronet

Elephant Hawk-moth

Fan-foot

Large Yellow Underwing

Lozotaenia forsterana

Psyche casta


Posted by Bennyboymothman at 20:13

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