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

Wednesday, 24 May 2023

Latest mothy news from my back garden

A really good evening and overnight last night here in my garden.
It all started with finding a tiny black moth fluttering inside my Funebrana lure trap, bringing the trap indoors and shutting the patio door (I've learnt the hard way trying to pot outside) the moth took flight and was easily potted against the glass.
It was to be a tiny 7mm long male Pammene albuginana. 
This is a new moth for my garden and the 695th species so far.
The moth's hindwings were checked to seperate from suspectana, which I was lucky in attracting last year in early May.
 
Before dark, I did 45 minutes of dusking with my net, and was rewarded with over 20 moths, mostly Nemapogon granella, an exceptionally common moth here.
Best moth was a year first smart Cydia pomonella.

Lights on at 9pm and moths were fairly quick to respond in the fading light, several Brimstones were first as were the ever reliable Garden Carpets.
A new micro was potted up early on, an Ephestia species.

By the morning and after a warmish, dry and relatively cloudy night (at least for the first half) there were enough moths to satisfy my desires and serveral quality new species for the year, namely the fabulous Peppered Moth and Figure of Eighty, two of them! i've never seen two before in a trap ever.
 
The weather continues to stay settled with warm days but cool fresh nights under clear skies.
 
Moth garden list for 2023 stands at 156 species
 
23/05/23 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Netted at dusk

Cydia pomonella 1 [NFY]
Pammene albuginana 1 (to FUN lure) [NFG]
Bryotropha sp 3
Cameraria ohridella 1
Nemapogon granella 20

23/05/23 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Figure of Eighty 2 [NFY]
Peppered Moth 1 [NFY]
Setaceous Hebrew Character 1 [NFY]
White-point 1 [NFY]
Brimstone Moth 2
Common Pug 1
Flame Shoulder 1
Garden Carpet 2
Light Brocade 1
Pale Mottled Willow 1
Scorched Carpet 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart 4
Silver Y 1
Treble-lines 3
Turnip Moth 2
Vine's Rustic 1
Willow Beauty 3

Micro Moths
 
Ephestia sp 1 [NFY]
Epiblema scutulana 1
Epiphyas postvittana 3
 
Cydia pomonella

Ephestia sp

Figure of Eighty

Pammene albuginana

Peppered Moth

Setaceous Hebrew Character

White-point

 
Posted by Bennyboymothman at 20:35

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