FlyinginFordham: Chippenham Fen - Field Trip

The last trip out for the year was at Chippenham Fen on the last day of September, a warm and humid day of 20 degrees during the Saturday, in fact it didn't drop much below that as the night went on, with lows of a heady 17 degrees, unprecedented for nearly October.

I set up 3 traps in anticipation for a good night, but moths were rather slow to the lights and it took a few hours to start seeing the numbers I would have expected given the perfect conditions.

In fact, I found 1/3rd of my species list nectaring on a nearby large ivy bush.

By 11pm the wind had really picked up and scuppered the catch a bit, but then... what was that bright white Box-moth, surely not..YES! my first British record of Palpita vitrealis, what a stunningly delicate little moth. Slghtly smaller than the similiar Cydalima but so much more beautiful, result!

A small Large Wainscot also got the heart racing for something more unusual. Blair's Wainscot was suggested by others, but the hindwings were duly checked and nope, just a runt Large.

Some other quality moths were recorded including Acrolepia autumnitella, Brick (Which seems scarcer nowadays), Brown-spot Pinion (The form rufa-pallida), the first Merveille du Jour of the year, both forms of the Sallow and a mint Vapourer Moth which is always a treat to see.

And that was it, 2023's last field trip. I wonder what the trips out next year will yield. With a few new sites on the radar to try out, it could be an exciting year.

30/09/23 - Chippenham Fen - East Cambridgeshire - 3 traps, 125w MV Robinson Trap, 250w Clear Mercury Robinson Trap and 62w Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Barred Sallow
Beaded Chestnut
Black Rustic
Brick
Brimstone Moth
Brindled Green
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
Brown-spot Pinion
Centre-barred Sallow
Chestnut
Clifden nonpareil
Common Marbled Carpet
Copper Underwing
Dark Chestnut
Dark Sword-grass
Deep-brown Dart
Dingy Footman
Frosted Orange
Garden Carpet
Green-brindled Crescent
Grey-pine Carpet
Large Yellow Underwing
Large Wainscot 40+
Lesser Yellow Underwing
Lunar Underwing
Lunar Yellow Underwing
Merveille du Jour
Pink-barred Sallow
Red-green Carpet
Red-line Quaker
Sallow
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Silver Y
Small Wainscot
Snout
Spruce Carpet
Square-spot Rustic
Straw Dot
Turnip Moth
Vapourer Moth
Webb's Wainscot
White-point

Micro Moths

Acleris sparsana
Acrolepia autumnitella
Agonopterix arenella
Carcina quercana
Cydalima perspectalis
Emmelina monodactyla
Epinotia nisella
Epiphyas postvittana
Palpita vitrealis
Phyllonorycter messaniella
Scrobipalpa ocellatella