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

Friday, 15 April 2022

Latest from the garden trap - 13/04/22

Catches are getting less here in my garden now, but don't fret, this is normal and happens every year as the early spring and Orthosia species start to tail off, it takes a few weeks for bigger catches to once again materialise.
Nevertheless, we shouldn't get disheartened when we are seeing such beautiful fresh new species for the year.
I managed 5 new for the year on Tuesday night, including two more Caloptilia species for the garden list! semifascia & another elongella (On the same night I trapped one just a mile away at Chippenham).

The best moth however was a Depressaria species that I only saw at last knockings, it looks good for Depressaria chaerophylli, with the rusty brown shoulders still evident despite the moth itself being worn.
It was sent off for dissection just to confirm.

The moths are coming, stock up on some more pots!

Moth garden list for 2022 stands at 55 species

13/04/22 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap
 
Macro Moths
 
Lesser Swallow Prominent 1 [NFG]
Shuttle-shaped Dart 1 [NFY]
Brindled Beauty 8
Common Quaker 3
Double-striped Pug 6
Hebrew Character 3

Micro Moths
 
Depressaria pos chaerophylli [NFG]
Caloptilia elongella 1 [NFG]
Caloptilia semifascia 1 [NFG]
Agonopterix alstromeriana 1
Agonopterix heracliana sp 5
Alucita hexadactyla 1
Emmelina monodactyla 3

Caloptilia elongella

Caloptilia semifascia

Depressaria pos chaerophylli

Lesser Swallow Prominent

Shuttle-shaped Dart


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