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, 19 April 2022

Two new moths for me!

Last night and indeed half an hour before sunset were incredible times in the garden.
A warmish day followed by pretty much zero wind spurred plenty of moths on the wing as the sun was melting away behind the low clouds.
I netted no less than 12 moths of 9 species before I even attempted to set the trap up!
 
26 species were recorded in all, and of that 26, 10 were new for the year/garden and two were completely new species for me.
In comparison, i've stood outside this evening for roughly the same amount of time and have seen no moths. It must have just been perfect conditions yesterday, without a niggling cool breeze which is what we currently have.
 
Pick of the catch was undoubtedly a beauty of a Pinion-spotted Pug, what a super little moth. Very very close second was a new Phyllonorycter for my records, sagitella/pastorella. I will need to get this dissected as I can't tell which one it is from my photos, any pointers appreciated.
 
Also I netted two Nemapogon granella, a seemingly rare moth here in Canbridgeshire, but that's now 4 for Fordham in a little over a week.
 
The micros were tricky to photograph as usual and the Phyllonorycter blancardella just would not stop moving, hence the blurry shot.

Still the nights are proving cool, but there moths are out there somewhere.
 
Moth garden list for 2022 stands at 78 species

18/04/22 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap
 
Macro Moths
 
Chocolate-tip 1 [NFG]
Grey Dagger 1 [NFY]
Pinion-spotted Pug 1 [NFG]
Swallow Prominent 1 [NFY]
Waved Umber 1 [NFG]
Brindled Beauty 2
Brindled Pug 2
Clouded Drab 1
Common Quaker 4
Double-striped Pug 2
Early Grey 1
Nut-tree Tussock 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart 2

Micro Moths
 
Elachista rufocinerea 1 [NFG] (Netted) 
Nemapogon granella 2 [NFG] (Netted) 
Phyllonorycter blancardella 1 [NFG] (Netted) 
Phyllonorycter sagitella or pastorella 1 [NFG] (Netted) 
Stigmella aurella 1 [NFG] (Netted around Bramble)
Agonopterix purpurea 2 (Netted)
Alucita hexadactyla 1
Caloptilia semifascia 1 (Netted)
Cameraria ohridella 3 (Netted)
Endrosis sarcitrella 1
Epiphyas postvittana 2 (1 Netted) 
Eudonia angustea 2
Platyedra subcinerea 1
 
Chocolate-tip

Grey Dagger

Nemapogon granella

Phyllonorycter blancardella

Phyllonorycter sagitella or pastorella

Pinion-spotted Pug

Stigmella aurella

Swallow Prominent

Waved Umber

 


Posted by Bennyboymothman at 20:17

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