Brace of Brindles

Two Brindled Beauties made it 46 species for the garden this year on Monday night. No trapping for a few nights now as temperatures falter and drop rapidly overnight to freezing. Fordham, East Cambs

Not much else to report currently! 

 

Brindled Beauty

 

An early arrival

Rather quieter than late, and probably now past the peak of the early spring Orthosia species.

It tends to go a little quiet now through the rest of March into early April, with better moths over bigger numbers.

My earliest Nut-tree Tussock (By a whole week) was the most surprising, and there was also another new for year species, the regular but never common, Agonopterix subpropinquella of the form rhodochrella.

A nicely marked Clouded Drab was also nice to photograph.

The weather continues to be around average, with some cold nights still a prominent feature. 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 45 species

22/03/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Nut-tree Tussock 1 [NFY]

Clouded Drab 3

Common Quaker 5

Double-striped Pug 1

Early Grey 1

Hebrew Character 2

March Moth 2

Red Chestnut 1 

Small Quaker 2

Micro Moths 

 

Agonopterix subpropinquella f rhodochrella 1 [NFY] 

Agonopterix alstromeriana 1 

Emmelina monodactyla 1

 

Clouded Drab

Agonopterix subpropinquella f rhodochrella

Nut-tree Tussock

 

 

The Emperor Returneth

Joint earliest date for the Emperor Moth in my garden yesterday (21st of March).

A single male came to the lure at approximately 4.15pm after it had been out for nearly 5hrs. Temperature in the shade was only 10c. 

Here's an improved photo of the specimen.

 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 43 species

21/03/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Emperor Moth 1 [NFY]

Emperor Moth

 

A trio of Pine Beauties

A quieter home trap last night, but a trio of Pine Beauty was the most noteworthy of the lot. I usually only record 1 or 2 per year, this trio makes it 4 for 2026 now. Cracking little moths. Fordham, East Cambs.

Very little else because of how cold it has been recently at night. 

 

 

Cold and quiet but worth it!

The last few nights i've ran my trap more out of chance than anything. 

With soaring daytime temperatures upto the high teens, it surely would spur some new emergences to take place, it's been slow but a few new species have been recorded.

The 3rd garden record of Water Carpet was the best moth on Tuesday night and last night, a completely new moth for the garden made the getting up at quarter to six in the freezing cold worth it.

It was that cold that I had to defrost my car, the gauge read 0.8c 

Yellow Horned is new for the garden and the 920th species recorded here so far. 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 42 species

17/03/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Water Carpet 1 [NFY]

Clouded Drab 5

Common Quaker 10

Double-striped Pug 2 

Early Grey 3

Hebrew Character 5

Small Quaker 4

Micro Moths 

 

Agonopterix alstromeriana 1 

Diurnea fagella 2

Epiphyas postvittana 2 

 

18/03/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Yellow Horned 1 [NFG]

Clouded Drab 3

Common Quaker 5

Double-striped Pug 1

Early Grey 2

Hebrew Character 2

March Moth 4 

Small Quaker 2

Micro Moths 

 

Agonopterix alstromeriana 2

Emmelina monodactyla 1

 

Water Carpet

Yellow Horned

 

A glimmer of Spring

Recently we have had some lovely sunny warm March days, coupled with some rather chilly nights, although Monday night was cooler during the day at 14 degrees, but we held onto thick cloud for the evening, levelling off at around 10 degrees by 6am.  

30 moths of 11 species were sorted and sifted, and with the inclusion of two new species for the year.

A rather pale and worn Satellite was the first one, a regular moth in fairly small numbers in Spring and again in Autumn.

The second new species was an Early Thorn, the first of this group to come on the wing, and always a frequent moth here usually in 1's and 2's per session.

An even warmer day today with highs of 19 degrees, but currently dropping like a stone with clear skies.

 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 40 species

16/03/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Early Thorn 2 [NFY] 

Satellite 1 [NFY]

Chestnut 1 

Clouded Drab 4

Common Quaker 5

Double-striped Pug 2 

Early Grey 1

Hebrew Character 3

March Moth 6

Oak Beauty 5

Red Chestnut 2 

Small Quaker 2

Micro Moths 

 

Diurnea fagella 3

 

Satellite

Early Thorn 1

Early Thorn 2

 

Mad as March Moths

Well, an insane Orthosia emergence has happened here locally, with no less than 124 individuals counted between this morning and when I returned back home from work, a clear record catch for March by a long shot!

Amongst 50 odd Common Quaker, which made up the bulk of the catch, there were some quality moths.

Engrailed was the single year tick, but certainly worth it. A nice large female specimen, a seldom seen moth in my garden and more likely to be encountered amongst preferred habitat.  

A second Lead-coloured Drab record for 2026 was also most welcome.

I doubt I will top these numbers again!

The weather now goes a little chilly and wet at night, so a quiet period coming up. 

 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 38 species

09/03/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Engrailed 1 [NFY] 

Clouded Drab 12

Common Quaker 58

Double-striped Pug 2 

Early Grey 4

Hebrew Character 15

Lead-coloured Drab 1 

March Moth 14

Oak Beauty 5

Red Chestnut 1 

Small Quaker 9

Micro Moths 

 

Emmelina monodactyla 2

 

Twin-spotted Quaker

Clouded Drab

Clouded Drab Variation

Engrailed

Lead-coloured Drab

 

 

 

Bitter Sweet

I trapped once again last night as it was fairly overcast and mild (with lows of 8.5c and no wind). The trap was steady up until bedtime at around 11pm.

On my check around the trap at around 9pm I noticed an orangey dead moth entangled in a spider's web, drat! Not long is this mega frustrating, it's even worse when it's a cracking moth like a Dotted Chestnut! The 5th garden record, an annual singleton visitor to my garden.

 

But I was rewarded with only my 2nd Acleris cristana sitting on the vanes of the trap, i'm unsure how this species is so scarce here as there are ancient hedgerows full of Hawthorn & Blackthorn and it is a regular visitor to the lights at my local fen.

 

Other good moths included the second Red Chestnut of the year, a rather tw-toned example as well.

 

There were also many forms of Clouded Drab, one particular specimen stood out, with it's brown-blotched appearance.

 

61 moths was the best catch so far this year, or 11 different types.

 

The weather stays unsettled into the working week sadly. 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 37 species

07/03/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Dotted Chestnut 1 [NFY] 

Clouded Drab 7

Common Quaker 24

Early Grey 3

Hebrew Character 9

March Moth 3

Oak Beauty 3

Red Chestnut 1 

Small Quaker 8

Micro Moths 

 

Acleris cristana 1 [NFY] 

Emmelina monodactyla 1

 

Red Chestnut

Acleris cristana

Clouded Drab

Dotted Chestnut

Hebrew Character Variation

 

Shades of Grey

A real drop in moth numbers come Tuesday night with cooler and clear conditions overnight.

The day had been warm though, and this spurred me on to pop a few pheromone lures out (Both FUNebrana and ARGyrana) 

After work I checked the buckets and was pleasantly surprised to find two Pammene giganteana in each of the traps.

The traps are now away in the shed until other species come on the wing towards April.

 

Overnight, just the one new species for the year, an Early Grey, I also got another grey moth, the 4th specimen of Grey Shoulder-knot this year, unprecedented for my garden!

 

The continuing theme is warm days cold nights. 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 35 species

03/03/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Early Grey 1 [NFY] 

Clouded Drab 2

Common Quaker 8

Grey Shoulder-knot 1 

Hebrew Character 3

March Moth 3

Oak Beauty 1

Small Quaker 1

Micro Moths 

 

Pammene giganteana 4 [NFY] 

Emmelina monodactyla 2

 

Pammene giganteana

Clouded Drab

Early Grey

Grey Shoulder-knot and Early Grey

 

Trapping & netting

It's nearly that time again, where the net gets a bit of action once more, if conditions allow and I made a brave effort on Monday evening after dinner whilst my son played in the garden and was potting as many Ladybirds as he could find!

One micro found the back of the net, a new species for the year, an Epermenia chaerophyllella fresh out of hibernation.

I did see one other moth but a gust of wind blew it away from my garden.

 

It's still not quite warm enough for dusking just yet, but you've got to try.

 

Overnight the trap did very well despite lows of 5 degrees, I think it had something to do with the 17 degrees recorded during the day!

 

Two new species were added, a couple of nice Twin-spotted Quaker's the biggest of the Orthosia genus (Although recently changed to Anorthoa), and a Pale Pinion, an annual but scarce moth here.

 

30 moths was a nice return indeed. 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 33 species

02/03/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Pale Pinion 1 [NFY] 

Twin-spotted Quaker 2 [NFY]

Clouded Drab 3

Common Quaker 4

Early Moth 1 

Hebrew Character 3

March Moth 3

Oak Beauty 3

Small Quaker 2 

Micro Moths 

 

Epermenia chaerophyllella 1 [NFY] (netted)

Agonopterix heracliana 3

Diurnea fagella 3 

Emmelina monodactyla 2

 

Twin-spotted Quaker

Twin-spotted Quaker

Diurnea fagella

Diurnea fagella

Epermenia chaerophyllella

Pale Pinion

 

March starts with a fast-paced stride

What incredible weather we have been experiencing lately, with some unseasonably warm days heading towards the high teens and fairly mild nights (Although that is all change now, with typical early spring warm days and cold nights a feature in the coming days).

A smaller but still decent catch on the night of the 1st of the month, with 11 species attending the trap, with two new species for the year, a crumpled up Double-striperd Pug, and my annual one specimen of Pine Beauty, an uncommon but regular moth here between the end of February and end of March.

Mainly a macro show, the micros haven't really got going yet.

The weather ahead looks very good for early March. 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 30 species

01/03/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Double-striped Pug 1 [NFY] 

Pine Beauty 1 [NFY]

Clouded Drab 1

Common Quaker 6

Grey Shoulder-knot 1

Hebrew Character 4

March Moth 1

Oak Beauty 3

Small Quaker 2 

Micro Moths 

 

Agonopterix alstromeriana 1  

Emmelina monodactyla 1

 

Double-striped Pug

Pine Beauty

 

A new garden micro moth!

It's always nice to get a new species for the garden.

It was Ypsolopha mucronella's turn last night, a sporadic visitor to light, and looking back at my previous records it's not that common. The caterpillar feeds from Spindle.

Overall it was the best night of the month (And possibly best night ever in February) with 40 moths of 12 species.

Two other species were new for the year, a very nicely marked Lead-coloured Drab, and an equally impressive smart Acleris literana. 

 

The 2nd Black-spotted Chestnut of the year was also recorded.

 

Hebrews and Quakers are going neck and neck for top position currently, making up over half of the catch.

 

The trap is getting a break for a few nights now. 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 28 species

27/02/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Lead-coloured Drab 1 [NFY] 

Black-spotted Chestnut 1 

Clouded Drab 2

Common Quaker 12

Dotted Border 1

Hebrew Character 10

March Moth 6

Oak Beauty 3

Small Quaker 1 

Micro Moths 

 

Acleris literana 1 [NFY]

Ypsolopha mucronella 1 [NFG]

Agonopterix alstromeriana 1  

Agonopterix heracliana 2 

 

Ypsolopha mucronella

Acleris literana

Black-spotted Chestnut

Lead-coloured Drab

 

Another double catch

A brief post on two catches I made on Tuesday & Wednesday night.

Tuesday was the better night despite being cooler, but Wednesday was warmer with a keen breeze, so that probably had a lot to do with it.

Best moth was a Shoulder-stripe, only the third garden record and one I dipped on last year.

Clouded Drab was new also and several forms were observed.

4 new ones for the year on Tuesday, but only 1 on Wednesday, a pair of dainty little Twenty-plume moths. 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 25 species

 

24/02/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Clouded Drab 1 [NFY]

Dotted Border 1 [NFY]

Shoulder-stripe 1 [NFY] 

Common Quaker 6

Hebrew Character 10

March Moth 6

Oak Beauty 4 

Micro Moths 

 

Emmelina monodactyla 1 [NFY]

Agonopterix alstromeriana 1  

Agonopterix heracliana 2 

 

 

25/02/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Clouded Drab 3

Common Quaker 10

Dotted Border 1 

Hebrew Character 3

March Moth 9

Oak Beauty 3

Small Quaker 3 

Micro Moths 

 

Alucita hexadactyla 2 [NFY]

Agonopterix alstromeriana 1  

 

Emmelina monodactyla

Shoulder-stripe

Alucita hexadactyla

Clouded Drab

Clouded Drab

 

 

 

First signs of Spring

On the same day as the local Sallow trees bursting into life, with their bushy catkins glowing bright yellow in the morning twilight, the trap was busy with moths once more.

It had been quite wet leading up to the start of the week, and a few of the moths were a bit worse for wear.

I've also had issues with my patio being extremely damp and thus moths sticking to it upside down, so i've had to lay sheets and towels out! Nightmare.

Monday night started brilliantly, with 6 new species added to the year list. 

Red Chestnut was a good recortd, sadly worn but it represents my earliest ever in nineteen years by 14 days.

A 2nd garden record of Small Brindled Beauty was also a nice surprise alongside a couple of Oak Beauties which in contrast, are much more regular here.

 

The first Small Quaker of the year was spider food, rescued from a web on our fence. By the morning it was dead sadly. 

I ended up with 20 moths of 12 species. 

 

I always find photography challenging this time of year, with poor light.

 

The temperature remains mild during the days (14-17c) and couple spur on a few more species to come on the wing.

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 20 species

 

23/02/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

  

Oak Beauty 2 [NFY] 

Oak Nycteoline 1 [NFY]

Red Chestnut 1 [NFY] 

Small Brindled Beauty 1 [NFY] 

Small Quaker 1 [NFY] 

Common Quaker 4

Grey Shoulder-knot (2nd example for the year) 

Hebrew Character 5

March Moth 1

Pale Brindled Beauty 1

Micro Moths 

 

Diurnea fagella 1 [NFY]

Agonopterix alstromeriana 1  

 

Small Quaker

Diurnea fagella

Oak Beauty

Small Brindled Beauty