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, 16 April 2024

Cooler snap = slow

Currently the weather is a bit chilly and windy and I haven't bothered running my trap for a few nights now, maybe Thursday might be the next outing.

On Saturday night I got one of my earliest Poplar Hawk-moths, a rather small proportioned male, and during the day I spotted a Carnation Tortrix flying around the garden, they are quite distinct as nothing else flies during the day with bright orange hindwings.
But there wasn't much else to write home about, the Quaker's are dropping in numbers and getting tatty now, particularly the Common Quakers.

On Sunday night it was more of the same, but a few differnces with a few more spring species returning for the second time this year.
A flighty noctuid moth was netted early doors and initially I thought it was Poplar Grey, but it turns out it was a Knot Grass, certainly more expected this early on.

In the daytime my wife said that there was a moth or fly or thingie in the bedroom, thinking it maybe a year first house moth, it wasn't to be.
I turned out to be a year first of the very common Mallow feeder, Platyedra subcinerea.
It must have blown in through the open windows earlier on in the day.

When will this wind end?
 
Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 89 species
 
13/04/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths
 
Poplar Hawk-moth 1 [NFY]
Clouded Drab 1
Common Quaker 1
Early Grey 1
Muslin Moth 2
Nut-tree Tussock 2
Oak-tree Pug 2
 
Micro Moths 
 
Cacoecimorpha pronubana 1 [NFY]
Agonopterix alstromeriana 1
Emmelina monodactyla 1


14/04/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths
 
Knot Grass 1 [NFY]
Chinese Character 1
Clouded Drab 1
Common Quaker 1
Muslin Moth 2
Pebble Prominent 1
Powdered Quaker 1
Scorched Carpet 1
 
Micro Moths 
 
Platyedra subcinerea 1 [NFY]
Alucita hexadactyla 1

Cacoecimorpha pronubana

Poplar Hawk-moth

Knot Grass

Platyedra subcinerea



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