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

Monday 20 July 2015

My first ever Argyresthia semitestacella heads a pleasing list

It was GMS time again and because I was busy on Friday night I decided to do my contribution on Saturday night instead.
With plenty of cloud but a threat of rain, it seemed pretty good conditions. I think we may have had a few showers overnight, but the bigger ones started inevitably whilst I was going through the catch on Sunday morning at 5am.
Plenty of variety again and another plethora of new species for the year were tallied up and written down quickly as the rain persisted through the morning.
An 'interesting' Argyresthia was potted up and initially it looked like Argyresthia albistria which I have recorded before in the garden....It was later inspected under a lens to find out that it wasn't this species at all, but my first ever encounter with Argyresthia semitestacella.

All in all another 14 species were added to the year list, one of them new for me and one new for the garden. 
So far I have recorded 307 species in the garden this year, 173 Macros and 134 Micros.


Catch Report -  18/07/15 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

1x Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing [NFY]
1x Dingy Footman [NFY]
1x September Thorn [NFY]
1x Marbled Beauty [NFY]
1x Vapourer [NFY]
1x Cloaked Minor [NFY]
1x Lesser Yellow Underwing [NFY]
2x Small Emerald
10x Uncertain
2x Early Thorn
1x Nut-tree Tussock
1x Small Emerald
10x Dot Moth
2x Swallow-tailed Moth
1x Clay
1x Haworth's Pug
1x Elephant Hawk-moth
2x Engrailed
3x Smoky Wainscot
10x Riband Wave
1x Clouded Border
9x Silver-Y
2x Yellow Shell
6x Yellow-tail
2x Mottled Beauty
3x Mottled Rustic
12x Common Rustic
1x Large Yellow Underwing
1x Rustic
1x Scalloped Oak
1x Least Carpet 
1x Lackey
2x Brimstone Moth
2x Buff Arches
1x Burnished Brass
1x Brown Rustic
3x Heart & Dart
2x Bright-line Brown-eye
4x Dun-bar
8x Common Footman
1x July Highflyer
1x Common White Wave
1x Small Fan-footed Wave
8x Dark Arches
2x Double Square-spot

Micro Moths

1x Argyresthia semitestacella [NEW!]
1x Endothenia gentianaeana marginana [NFG]
1x Acleris forsskaleana [NFY]
1x Helcystogramma rufescens [NFY]
1x Epinotia abbreviana [NFY]
1x Pyralis farinalis [NFY]
2x Agriphila straminella [NFY]
1x Bryotropha terrella
1x Crambus pascuella
1x Nemapogon cloacella
3x Yponomeuta evonymella
6x Eudonia lacustrata
2x Udea prunalis
2x Amblyptilia acanthadactyla
5x Chrysoteuchia culmella
2x Anania hortulata
2x Celypha striana
1x Celypha lacunana
1x Clepsis consimilana
1x Plutella xylostella
3x Endotricha flammealis
1x Oegoconia sp
1x Blastobasis adustella
1x Phlyctaenia coronata
 
Vapourer













Argyresthia semitestacella












Acleris forsskaleana












Dingy Footman












Helcystogramma rufescens













Spilonota ocellana











Pyralis farinalis












Marbled Beauty

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