Warming up with more new moths

With a larger catch on the 25th of innumerable species, things were really ramping up.

An extremely warm night holiding above 20 degrees when I got home at 2am from a field trip.

 

I decided to pack my trap up, as it would be impossible to get up again at 4am to go through it, then up at 6.30 for work!

 

It was busy and moths all over the place, I quickly potted up anything new and retired to my bed. 

 

11 new species were potted up, best was a garden first Shoulder-striped Wainscot, a pretty widespread and common moth that avoids my garden like the plague!

 

Other highlights included a cracking Acleris holmiana, the smart and uncommon here Buff Arches.

 

3 other scarce micros were present, they were Recurvaria nanella, Sciota adelphella & Vitula biviella.

 

There were also two tinies that I potted up. Through bleary eyes they looked the same, most probably Bucculatrix albedinella, but when I got them both under a hand lens the next morning, I discovered that the other one was in fact a Phyllonorycter comparella. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 481 species

25/06/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Buff Arches 1 [NFY]
Foxglove Pug 1 [NFY]
Shaded Pug 1 [NFY]
Shoulder-striped Wainscot 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths

Acleris holmiana 1 [NFY]
Acrobasis suavella 1 [NFY]
Bucculatrix albedinella 1 [NFY]
Catoptria pinella 1 [NFY]
Phyllonorycter comparella 1 [NFY]
Recurvaria nanella 1 [NFY]
Sciota adelphella 1 [NFY]

 

Shoulder-striped Wainscot

Shaded Pug

Sciota adelphella

Recurvaria nanella

Phyllonorycter comparella

Lesser Yellow Underwing

Foxglove Pug

Catoptria pinella

Buff Arches

Bucculatrix albedinella

Acrobasis suavella

Acleris holmiana

Vitula biviella

Another great catch, this is becoming a common theme!

What a year for moths! In my garden and locally it's been a busy summer so far here in the east, with large catches and with every night producing new moths, some scarce ones in the mix as well.

I finally got a migrant as well, a rather 'dark' Dark Sword-grass. As others were swimming in migrants, particularly on the south cosast, the east was experiencing a migrant drought, even more so away from the coast.

Best macro moth of the night easily went to a stunning Wood Carpet, this being the 3rd record for the garden. Quite similar to Common Carpet, but bigger and with a wider central white band that remains unbroken (apart from a few spots towards the apex).

Best micro moth was the iridescent Coleophora deauratella. I like these bronzy/greeny ones because they can mostly be done without need of chopping their bits up. deauratella has thick basal tufts much like mayrella, but lacks the white zebra banding on the antennae, instead sporting thick white tips.

The micro moths are 10 species ahead in the running currently, with 240 against 230 macro species.

The weather remains fine. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 470 species

23/06/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Dark Sword-grass 1 [NFY]
Drinker 1 [NFY]
Wood Carpet 1 [NFY]
Wormwood Pug 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths

Coleophora deauratella 1 [NFY]
Eucosma obumbratana 1 [NFY]

Wormwood Pug

Brown-line Bright-eye

Coleophora deauratella

Dark Sword-grass

Drinker

Early Thorn

Eucosma obumbratana

Wood Carpet

 

Some more new moths

Back on the 22nd of June, I ran the garden trap once more, and with highs of 25 degrees and lows of around 15 degrees, it wasn't as humid as I had hoped, but still a respectable 56 species were noted.

A fantastic 9 species were added to the year list, the only new macro being a cracking female Ghost Moth, a regular annual visitor in low numbers.

Once again it was all about the micro moths, and there were some good records too.

Best was a second garden record of Niditinea fuscella/striolella, retained for dissection, and Phyllonorycter platani, also a 2nd garden record.

It was all about 'seconds' with another Elegia similella, a much brighter example than the garden first specimen a week or so back.

A stunning Acleris variegana was nice to photograph as well. 

Moth photography is extremely challenging rercently with these hot days! 

Still far behind and probably won't catch up now.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 464 species

22/06/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Ghost Moth 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths

Acleris variegana 1 [NFY]
Crambus perlella 1 [NFY] 1 [NFY]
Eucosma conterminana 1 [NFY]
Niditinea fuscella/striolella 1 [NFY]
Pammene fasciana 1 [NFY]
Phycitodes binaevella 1 [NFY]
Phyllonorycter platani 1 [NFY]
Schoenobius gigantella 1 [NFY]

 

Schoenobius gigantella

Phyllonorycter platani

Phycitodes binaevella

Pammene fasciana

Niditinea fuscella/striolella

Ghost Moth

Eucosma conterminana

Elegia similella

Crambus perlella

Acleris variegana

Ashwell Quarry - Hertfordshire - Field Trip - 21st June

I made a trip to the far north of Hertfordshire on the 21st of June.

It had been a really hot and humid day with highs of nearly 30 degrees, and with plenty of thick cloud cover to keep the temperature up.

 

Storms were a threat, and apart from 5 minutes of light but heavy droplets of rain, it remained dry.

 

The wind was the big issue though, and luckily, knowing a bit about the geology of the land, it was fairly easy tucking the traps out of the southerly breeze that constantly featured through the night.

 

But with the warm winds, I did manage a Silver Y, several Plutella xylostella and 5 very welcome Delicate.

 

Species included the typical chalk/scrub fair with grassland species in the mix as well. 

 

Moth of the night for me and one that seems to be on the increase, a Ruddy Carpet, but not just any Ruddy Carpet, the brightest specimen i've ever taken.

Pugs were common as usual at this reserve, with large numbers of Satyr (30+) with Shaded Pug in second place with 14.  

 

Pick of the micros went to the rather unusual Eidophasia messingiella, a moth i've only taken once before, and a really fresh Metzneria lappella was photo-worthy. 

 

As I got home at half 2, the outside temperature still read 23 degrees, unchanged during the 45 minute drive back, then it was time to go through the home trap.

 

21/06/25 - Ashwell Quarry - Hertfordshire - 1x 125w Trap, 1x 250w Robinson Trap, 1x 40w/22w Bucket Trap & 1x 20w Bucket Trap

 

Macro Moths

Angle Shades 
Barred Straw 
Barred Yellow 
Beautiful Hook-tip 
Blue-bordered Carpet 
Bordered Beauty 
Bordered Sallow 
Bright-line Brown-eye 
Brimstone Moth 
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 
Brown Scallop 
Buff Arches 
Burnished Brass 
Cinnabar 
Clay 
Clouded Brindle 
Clouded Silver 
Common Carpet 
Common Emerald 
Common Footman 
Common Marbled Carpet 
Common Pug 
Common Wainscot 
Common Wave 
Coronet 
Dark Arches 
Dark Umber 
Delicate 5
Dotted Fan-foot 
Double Square-spot 
Double-striped Pug 
Dun-bar 
Elephant Hawk-moth 
Fern 
Flame 
Flame Shoulder 
Garden Carpet 
Green Carpet 
Green Pug 
Grey Dagger 
Grey Pug 
Heart & Club 
Heart & Dart 
Large Nutmeg 
Large Yellow Underwing 
Latticed Heath 
Leopard Moth 
Light Arches
Lime-speck Pug 
Marbled Minor 
Middle-barred Minor 
Miller 
Mottled Beauty 
Mottled Pug 
Mottled Rustic 
Nut-tree Tussock 
Oak Nycteoline
Obscure Wainscot 
Pale Oak Beauty 
Peppered Moth
Phoenix 
Pine Hawk-moth 
Poplar Grey 
Poplar Hawk-moth 
Riband Wave 
Royal Mantle
Ruby Tiger 
Ruddy Carpet 
Rustic 
Satyr Pug 
Scalloped Oak 
Scarce Footman 
Scorched Carpet 
Setaceous Hebrew Character 
Shaded Pug 
Silver Y 
Single-dotted Wave 
Small Elephant Hawk-moth 
Small Emerald 
Small Square-spot 
Snout
Spectacle 
Straw Dot 
Swallow-tailed Moth 
Treble Brown Spot
Turnip Moth 
Uncertain 
White-point 
Willow Beauty 
Yellow Shell

Micro Moths

Acentria emphemerella
Acleris forskalleana 
Acleris notana/ferrugana 
Aethes beatricella 
Agapeta hamana 
Agapeta zoegana 
Agonopterix alstromeriana 
Agonopterix arenella 
Aleimma loeflingiana 
Anania coronata 
Anania fuscalis
Anania hortulata 
Anarsia innoxiella 
Ancylis achatana 
Aphomia sociella 
Aproaerema larseniella
Archips podana 
Archips rosana 
Archips xylosteana 
Argyresthia pruniella 
Batia lunaris 
Blastobasis lacticolella 
Bucculatrix frangutella
Celypha lacunana 
Celypha rosaceana 
Chrysoteuchia culmella 
Clepsis consimilana
Cnephasia longana
Cnephasia sp
Cochylichroa atricapitana
Cochylimorpha straminea 
Coleophora alcyonipennella/frischella 
Coleophora mayrella 
Crambus lathoniellus 
Crambus perlella 
Crassa unitella 
Cydalima perspectalis 
Cydia fagiglandana 
Dichrorampha alpinana/flavidorsana 
Ditula angustiorana 
Eana incanana 
Eidophasia messingiella
Elachista stabilella 
Elachista triatomea
Endothenia gentianaeana/marginana
Epermenia chaerophyllella 
Ephestia sp 
Epiblema costipunctana
Epiblema foenella 
Epinotia abbreviana 
Epinotia signatana
Epiphyas postvittana 
Ethmia dodecea 
Eucosma cana 
Eucosma hohenwartiana 
Eudonia lacustrata 
Eudonia mercurella 
Eudonia pallida 
Eudonia pallida 
Euzophera pinguis 
Gelechia scotinella 
Grapholita funebrana 
Gypsonoma dealbana 
Hedya nubiferana 
Hedya pruniana 
Hedya salicella 
Homoeosoma sinuella 
Hypsopygia costalis 
Hypsopygia glaucinalis
Isotrias rectifasciana
Lyonetia clerkella 
Marasmarcha lunaedactyla 100+ around foodplant 
Metzneria lappella
Mompha ochraceella 
Mompha raschkiella
Mompha subbistrigella 
Myelois circumvoluta 
Neocochylis molliculana 
Notocelia trimaculana 
Notocelia uddmanniana
Ostrinia nubilalis 
Pammene aurana
Pandemis cerasana 
Pandemis heparana 
Parornix sp 
Phtheochroa sodaliana
Phycita roborella 
Phycitodes binaevella 
Pleuroptya ruralis
Plutella xylostella
Prays fraxinella 
Pseudoswammerdamia combinella 
Pyrausta purpuralis 
Scoparia ambigualis 
Scoparia subfusca 
Scythropia crataegella 
Sitochroa verticalis 
Spilonota ocellana 
Stenoptilia pterodactyla 
Teloides vulgella 
Udea olivalis 
Yponomeuta cag/mal/pad
Yponomeuta evonynella 
Zeiraphera isertana

 

Satyr Pug

250w MV Clear Robinson Trap

Actinic Trap

Anania fuscalis

Aproaerema larseniella

Ashwell Quarry up on the ridge

Bucculatrix frangutella

Delicate

Eidophasia messingiella

Elachista triatomea

Isotrias rectifasciana

Marasmarcha lunaedactyla

Metzneria lappella

Obscure Wainscot

Ruddy Carpet

 

No signs of slowing down

Absolutely crazy mothing conditions that we've had for the past 2 weeks or so, it's still very hard to catch up.

Most nights i'm averaging between 70 and 100 species, a couple of times i've gone over the 100sp mark, a rare occurence in my garden up until this year! 

 

Last Saturday was another high 20's day and lows of 16 degrees. It was however rather blustery at times and with thick dark clouds, there posed a sharp downpour threat (Which never materialised). 

 

I was also out on the same night to a chalk pit in North Hertfordshire, where we had a light rain shower at dusk.

 

Pick of the moths in the garden were a large female Archips crataegana (The Brown Oak Tortrix), fresh Scalloped Oak, Large Twin-spot Carpet & White-line Dart and a rather sad looking year first Tawny Wave.

Best moth of the night, and amongst 20 or so Riband Wave, was a garden first Plain Wave. 

 

A pale Phyllonorycter species was retained. 

 

Warm warm warm...a constant exhausting theme but by jolly the moths are good, still need some rain though... 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 455 species

21/06/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Dun-bar 1 [NFY]
Large Twin-spot Carpet 1 [NFY]
Plain Wave 1 [NFG]
Scalloped Oak 1 [NFY]
Tawny Wave 1 [NFY]
White-line Dart 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths

Archips crataegana 1 [NFY]
Hedya salicella 1 [NFY]
Lobesia abscisana 1 [NFY]

White-line Dart

Archips crataegana

Dun-bar

Gypsonoma dealbana

Hedya salicella

Large Twin-spot Carpet

Lobesia abscisana

Plain Wave

Scalloped Oak

Tawny Wave