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

Wednesday 17 February 2021

A new moth for the garden and 17 moths!

A cracking catch on Monday night, the first mild night after the snow deluge and bitter cold of last week.

Daytime rose to 12c and the minimum recorded was 9c, still and flat calm and the perfect recipe for some early season moths.

A few moths were noted before bedtime, all returning species.

Come the morning and pure shock... the count was 17 moths of 9 species, probably one of my better February catches here in my garden over the last 8 years.

Whats more, one particular species was new for my garden, a fairly regular species out in the field for me, particularly when tapping Hawthorn and Blackthorn hedging.

Acleris cristana is my 759th species for my garden since August 2012, and even better, it is a form i've not recorded before with a lovely bright orange streak down the middle.

Last night I tried once more, and also ran an actinic trap at work, the result? Absolutely nothing at work, but 7 moths to the home MV trap including two new for year Tortricodes alternella.

15/02/21 - Back Garden - Stevenage - North Herts - 125w Clear MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

Dark Chestnut 1 [NFY]
Dotted Border 1 [NFY]
March Moth 4 [NFY]
Satellite 1 [NFY]
Chestnut 2
Pale Brindled Beauty 5
Spring Usher 1
 
Micro Moths
 
Acleris cristana 1 [NFG]
Agonopterix heracliana sp 1   


16/02/21 - Back Garden - Stevenage - North Herts - 125w Clear MV Robinson Trap
 
Macro Moths

Chestnut 3
Pale Brindled Beauty 2

Micro Moths

Tortricodes alternella 2 [NFY] 
 
Acleris cristana

Dark Chestnut

Dotted Border

March Moth

Satellite

Tortricodes alternella

 

No comments:

Post a Comment