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

Monday, 29 April 2024

A glimmer of hope?

Soon, it'll be busy with the moths as the temperature starts to tick up a bit, well lets hope so!

It was pitiful last night with just one Epiphyas postivittana overnight.
 
Today, whilst out on our grass cutting round, we stopped at our small site in Beck Row which sits opposite Aspal Close Nature Reserve, after doing the bits we neede to do, it was lunch time and I had a brief wander over to it and found the Gorse in full bloom, tapping the bushes with my foot disturbed plenty of moths including lots of micro moths (probably Cydia ulicetana) and a few Carpets, but with no net there was no chance!
I did notice a moth settle on one of the Gorse sprigs and got a pot around it to inspect it. It was clear to see that it was a new species for me, given the habitat and early time of year. 
 
Graphilita internana is a species of tortrix moth associated with Gorse, the caterpillars feeding within the seed pods.

I do relish these chance quick encounters, the moth is probably quite common at the site, but it is still not on my county list here in East Cambs (Not enough foodplant).

Plentiful Gorse

Grapholita internana



 

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