The Perfect Night

Well after a very warm day for practically mid-March, and highs of 20 degrees, the night promised to be overcast and mild, and indeed it was.

With winds easing at dusk and complete cloud cover, the minimum all night was 11.5c.

Precipitation was present but it was nothing to worry about and the humidity had increased by the morning with the light showers.

 

A thin layer of Saharan dust was also visible on the rain guard, sadly no exotic migrants.

What there was though, were plenty of moths!

 

A full 19 species made it the best night of 2025 so far (hardly surprising given how hard going it's been this year so far) with 63 moths noted.

 

7 new species caught me up a bit on last years total as well, and I predicted a few hours before that I will probably, in the first time in nearly two decades, catch a Brindled Beauty before a Pale Brindled Beauty. 

That realisation became apparent last night before bedtime, with a speckled Brindled Beauty nestled deep within an egg tray crevice.

  

A third Oak Nycteoline for the year was noteworthy, as was a lovely fresh Herald and a couple of decent micros to boot.

Also both Chestnuts were new for the year.

 

Getting a little cooler at night now for the forseeable, but nothing too drastic.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 32 species

21/03/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Brindled Beauty 1 [NFY]

Chestnut 1 [NFY]

Dark Chestnut 1 [NFY]

Herald 1 [NFY]

Clouded Drab 6

Common Quaker 23

Double-striped Pug 2

Early Grey 4

Hebrew Character 7

March Moth 3

Oak Nycteoline 1

Twin-spotted Quaker 1

Micro Moths 

Acleris kochiella 1 [NFY]

Caloptilia semifascia 1 [NFY]

Mompha epilobiella 1 [NFY] 

Agonopterix alstromeriana 1 

Agonopterix heracliana 1

Diurnea fagella 4

Emmelina monodactyla 3

 

Oak Nycteoline

Acleris kochiella

Brindled Beauty

Caloptilia semifascia

Dark Chestnut & Chestnut

Double-striped Pug

Herald

Mompha epilobiella