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

Sunday 29 October 2017

An update on moths in the back garden

Finally got round to posting a few recent catches and highlights.

Best moth last week was a garden first Cydalima perspectalis and only the second example i've seen in this Country (the first being from last year's Herts Moth Group field trip to Rye Meads in August).

Also 2 more Vestal, one on Monday night and one just last night (Which are different specimens which is nice), making it 5 in total for my garden over 5 years.

Not much else to shout about really with Macro's... lots of November Moth aggs with a few to check for either Pale November or Autumnal Moth and a season first of Mottled Umber.

On the Micro front an explosion of Acleris schalleriana with specimens turning up most nights and a high count of 6 on Wednesday night, also lots of Tachystola acroxantha, Emmelina monodactyla, Amblyptilia acanthdactyla and of course Epiphyas postvittana.

What was nice to see was a dinky little Epermenia chaerophyllella, only the second record this year but one that has turned up every year apart from last year. Such an unusual looking species.

The weather has been challenging to say the least. Either warm and windy or cold and clear and some mornings have been as cool as 4c. 

Below are the three catches.
 
Catch Report - 23/10/17 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

1x Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
1x Brick
1x Feathered Thorn
1x Green-brindled Crescent
1x Lesser Yellow Underwing
1x Mottled Umber
7x November Moth
1x Red-line Quaker
1x Vestal
1x Yellow-line Quaker

Micro Moths

1x Cydalima perspectalis [NFG]
2x Acleris schalleriana
4x Acleris sparsana
1x Blastobasis adustella
3x Epiphyas postvittana
1x Hypsopygia glaucinalis
4x Tachystola acroxantha

Catch Report - 25/10/17 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

1x Angle Shades
1x Barred Sallow 
4x Brick
5x Green-brindled Crescent
1x Lesser Yellow Underwing
8x November Moth
1x Red-green Carpet
1x Red-line Quaker
3x Yellow-line Quaker

Micro Moths

6x Acleris schalleriana
2x Acleris sparsana
1x Epermenia chaerophyllella
3x Epiphyas postvittana
2x Tachystola acroxantha

Catch Report - 28/10/17 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x 40w Actinic Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

1x Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
5x Brick
1x Green-brindled Crescent
1x Lesser Yellow Underwing
6x November Moth
1x Red-line Quaker
1x Vestal
4x Yellow-line Quaker

Micro Moths

2x Acleris schalleriana
1x Acleris sparsana
2x Amblyptilia acanthadactyla
5x Epiphyas postvittana
2x Emmelina monodactyla
 
Bricks

Cydalima perspectalis

Epermenia chaerophyllella

Mottled Umber

Vestal pair

Vestal from last night

 
 
 
Posted by Bennyboymothman at 14:41

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)