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

Thursday, 9 May 2024

Another amazing night

Following on from Saturday night, Sunday night was just as good here in my garden, considering that I didn't have time for any dusk netting (as I went out for the night).
It was great to see the return of some fresh common species, namely a pin perfect Common Carpet and Turnip Moth.
Figure of Eighty isn't a common visitor to my garden so it was super to get one of those as well.
 
Other highlights included the palest Nutmeg i've ever taken, which almost looks like its descended from Desert habitus, and the lovely lumpy bumpy  Phtheochroa rugosana which would not sit still for a photo, so a semi-blurry shot had to suffice.

Cooler nights are still around as the surface temperature hsn't warmed up yet, coupled with mostly clear skies here, it's still dropping to between 7 and 10c.
 
Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 131 species
 
05/05/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Common Carpet 1 [NFY]
Coronet 3 [NFY]
Figure of Eighty 1 [NFY]
Nutmeg 1 [NFY]
Spectacle 1 [NFY]
Turnip Moth 1 [NFY]
Willow Beauty 1 [NFY]
Angle Shades 1
Chinese Character 1
Chocolate-tip 1
Common Pug 2
Double-striped Pug 1
Garden Carpet 6
Hebrew Character 2
Iron Prominent 1
Knot Grass 1
Muslin Moth 2
Oak-tree Pug 2
Pale Mottled Willow 3
Pale Tussock 2
Puss Moth 1 (Male)
Scorched Carpet 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart 6
Spruce Carpet 2
Waved Umber 1


Micro Moths

Evergestis forficalis 1 [NFY]
Phtheochroa rugosana 1 [NFY]
Nemapogon granella 1 [NFY]
Alucita hexadactyla 1
Epiphyas postvittana 5
Eudonia angustea 1
Neocochylis dubitana 1
Platyedra subcinerea 2
Scrobipalpa ocellatella 1


Common Carpet

Common Footman Caterpillar

Coronet

Evergestis forficalis

Figure of Eighty

Nemapogon granella

Nutmeg

Ptherochroa rugosana

Puss Moth

Spectacle

Turnip Moth

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