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

Thursday 12 May 2016

Latest from the trap

Back to the garden trapping last night and a nice selection of species greeted me at 5am whilst sorting through the trap.
Not masses of moths but certainly quality over quantity.
A completely new species for me was found, the pretty little Phyllonorycter nicellii. The larvae feed on Hazel for which there are a few trees in the near vicinity.
A stunning metallic grey Oak Nycteoline was lovely to see also.

Here are the last two nights trapping efforts with 10 new for year species things are finally creeping up.

The weather seems to be a very mixed bag at the moment with temperatures around 19 degrees day and 12 at night and unfortunately cooling down for the weekend, typical as we have a field trip scheduled.
 

Catch Report - 09/05/16 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

1x Oak-tree Pug [NFY]
2x Oak Nycteoline [NFY]
2x Pale Mottled Willow [NFY]
2x Brindled Pug
1x Double-striped Pug 

Micro Moths

1x Phyllonorycter nicellii [NEW!]
1x Alucita hexadactyla [NFY] 
1x Argyrotaenia ljungiana [NFY]
1x Mompha subbistrigella
4x Epiphyas postvittana 


Catch Report - 10/05/16 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

1x Spruce Carpet [NFY]
1x Shuttle-shaped Dart [NFY]
1x Clouded Border [NFY]
1x Double-striped Pug 

Micro Moths

2x Epiphyas postvittana 


Pale Mottled Willow













Phyllonorycter nicellii











Oak Nycteoline











Clouded Border











Argyrotaenia ljungiana










Alucita hexadactyla

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