FlyinginFordham: An unbelievable night

Sunday night was very warm again, not dropping below 16 degrees and cloudy for most of the night, it was hard getting to the trap for flies!

And with the trap next to the living room door, I ended up letting a few flies in as I was in and out working the trap up until midnight, but it was well worth the tiredness!

The trap was heaving again with around 70 species present and many many new ones to a point where I had to fetch some more pots from the shed. In fact there were 25 new species for 2023.

The main highlight undoubtedly went to the first adult record of Rannoch Looper. A bit of digging around has revealed that there was a caterpillar found at Wicken Fen in 1920.

I have since recorded two more last night at my nearby fen! Local breeding perhaps or genuine vagrants? Who knows.

It is a new moth for me, and adds to my growing UK list.

Pandemis cerasana was unbelievably a new moth for the garden,

Other good records included the second of the year Cydia inquinatana (Palps intact this time) two Orange-tailed Clearwing to the VES lure, Gypsonoma oppressana and two stunning Aethes species.

A Coleophora species was also retained for dissection.

Things just keep getting better and better, but we do need some rain!

Only new for year species listed, as I struggle to keep up!

Moth garden list for 2023 stands at 250 species

11/06/23 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Beautiful Hook-tip 1 [NFY]
Brown Rustic 1 [NFY]
Clouded Silver 1 [NFY]
Cream Wave 1 [NFY]
Rannoch Looper 1 [NFG]
Yellow Shell 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths

Acentria ephemerella 4 [NFY]
Aethes beatricella 2 [NFY]
Aethes tesserana 1 [NFY]
Ancylis achatana 2 [NFY]
Aphelia paleana 1 [NFY]
Argyresthia cupressella 2 [NFY]
Chrysoteuchia culmella 1 [NFY]
Crambus pascuella 1 [NFY]
Cydia inquinatana 2nd one for the year
Endothenia gentianaeana/marginana 1 [NFY]
Ethmia dodecea 1 [NFY]
Ethmia quadrillella 1 [NFY]
Euzophera pinguis 1 [NFY]
Grapholita tenebrosana 1 NFY
Gypsonoma oppressana 1 [NFG]
Isotrias rectifasciana 1 [NFY]
Niditinea fuscella sp 1 [NFG]
Pandemis cerasana 1 [NFG]
Scythropia crataegella 2 [NFY]
Sitochroa verticalis 1 [NFY]
Coleophora sp 1 TBC