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

Tuesday 29 June 2010

The Garden Moth Trap - Monday night

Yet another cracking night, I am trapping night after night and the recaptures have been at a minimal with many new species found each morning, yesterday morning was no exception! and this morning (which will be my next post) really did pull out all the stops! and the new species shocked me!
It's getting difficult to keep up and I must admit very tiring at the same time. I find getting up at 3am the best, counting and then letting the Moths fly off on their own accord so as to minimise bird predation.
Highlights were garden firsts of Large Emerald and Pretty Chalk Carpet. The local Beautiful Hook-tip was also recorded in good numbers and the stunning Orange Moth is back again!

On the micro Moth front I trapped rarities n the form of the Plume Marasmarcha lunaedactyla and Ancylis upupana.


Pictures


Large Emerald








Orange Moth - (Male) f.corylaria








Orange Moth - (Male)









Pretty Chalk Carpet









Beautiful Hook-tip









Blue-bordered Carpet










Swallow-tailed Moth








Ancylis upupana









Marasmarcha lunaedactyla










Catch Report - Hatfield Broad Oak - 28/06/10 - 125w MV Robinson Trap



Macro Moths

1x Large Emerald [NFG]
1x Pretty Chalk Carpet [NFG]
1x Blue-bordered Carpet [NFY]
3x Orange Moth [NFY]
1x Small Emerald [NFY]
1x Common Emerald [NFY]
1x Swallow-tailed Moth
2x Privet Hawk-moth
2x Common Footman
3x Riband Wave
2x Willow Beauty
1x Knot Grass
1x Blotched Emerald
1x Small Fan-foot
4x Beautiful Hook-tip
4x Heart & Dart
1x Heart & Club
1x Turnip Moth
1x Marbled Minor
1x Large Nutmeg
1x Nutmeg
2x Figure of Eighty
1x Dusky Brocade
2x Buff Arches
1x Large Yellow Underwing
2x Buff Ermine
1x Flame
1x Pale Prominent
1x Fan-foot
1x Straw Dot
1X Grey Dagger
3x Scorched Wing
1x Green Pug
2x Freyer's Pug
1x Common Pug
1x Common Swift
1x Rustic
1x Small Blood-vein
1x Treble-brown Spot
1x Small Dusty Wave
1x Barred Yellow
1x Uncertain
1x Mottled Rustic
1x Setaceous Hebrew Character
1x Least Carpet
1x Garden Carpet
1x Blood-vein
2x Clouded Silver
1x Fern
1x Snout
1x Rustic Shoulder-knot
1x Spectacle
1x Double Square-spot
1x Flame Shoulder
1x Elephant Hawk-moth
1x Dark Arches
1x Ingrailed Clay
1x Cloaked Minor
1x Clouded Border
1x Burnished Brass


Micro Moths

1x Ancylis upupana [NFG]
1x Marasmarcha lunaedactyla [NFG]
1x Nephopterix angustella [NFY]
1x Cochylis nana [NFY]
1x Crambus perlella [NFY]
1x Epiblema trimaculana [NFY]
1x Meal Moth Pyralis farinalis [NFY]
1x Cherry Bark Moth Enarmonia formosana
5x Bee Moth Aphomia sociella
2x Celypha striana
1x Clepsis spectrana
1x Udea olivalis
3x Chrysoteuchia culmella
2x Timothy Tortrix Aphelia paleana
1x Green Oak Tortrix Tortrix viridana
6x Celypha lacunana
1x Agapeta hamana
2x Large Fuit-tree Tortrix Archips podana
1x Brown China-mark Elophila nymphaeata
1x Brown House-moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella
4x Lozotaenia forsterana
2x Aleimma loeflingiana
1x Cnephasia sp.

2 comments:

  1. Superb Orange moth pics ! Haven't seen one of those before.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Orange Moths are a superb species, Ben. It goes without saying "i`m very envious".

    ReplyDelete