FlyinginFordham: A very tidy mid-summer catch including 1 new moth for me and 2 new for garden species!

A big catch here for mid/late July on Friday night, with highs of 28 degrees, it was to be the warmest day of the year, and night with lows of 19 degrees.

Probably in excess of 70 species, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind to count anything.

Unfortunately I was terribly unwell, what started as a cold on Wednesday, turned into a full blown virus come Friday and it was a struggle going through the trap, I probably a missed a few, but 14 new ones were secured in pots and popped in the fridge ready to photograph when I could function.

Highlight undoubtedly went to a brand new macro moth for me, a Plumed Fan-foot... well what was left of it, such a terrible state it was. At least the snout and antennae were still present I guess.

I've been lucky to encounter this species abroad a couple of times in Croatia and Slovenia.

Two more good moths, Aproaerema larseniella/cinctella (inseperable visually) & the whopping great Coleophora conspicuella were both garden firsts.

Other favourites included the lovely black Dichomeris alacella, the two-tone Cydia splendana & finally a Lunar Yellow Underwing second brood (missing out on the first brood this year).

That lot made it to the big 500 species for the year, phew! 165 to go to beat my best year in 2022.

The weather continues to be nice and settled and warm and cloudy at night.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 500 species

19/07/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Fen Wainscot 1 [NFY]
Lunar Yellow Underwing 1 [NFY]
Plumed Fan-foot 1 [NFG]
Small Rufous 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths

Aproaerema larseniella/cinctella 1 [NFG]
Brachmia blandella 1 [NFY]
Carpatolechia fugitivella 1 [NFY]
Catoptria falsella 1 [NFY]
Chilo phragmitella 1 [NFY]
Coleophora conspicuella 1 [NFG]
Cydia splendana 1 [NFY]
Dichomeris alacella 1 [NFY]
Eudemis profundana 2 [NFY]
Metzneria metzneriella 1 [NFY]