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 26 May 2021

My first May blank, since 2006!

Yes, that far back. When I first started recording moths in fact.
I've had a few blanks in April, a few more between December and March, but never have I ever, not managed to record at least one moth in or around my trap in May.. until last night.
To be honest, conditions weren't that favourable, with clear skies all night, a bright moon and lows of 5c. By 7am we had complete cloud cover, typical!

I did however have a quick wander around the garden this afternoon, and noted 3 species of Micro moth, one was new for the year, the tiny little metallic Cauchas rufimitrella.
It wouldn't sit still for long, so a quick shot was all I managed. I got lucky a few years ago and a few sat nice and still on Daisy heads, showing just how small this species really is!

Last night I also spied a large juicy caterpillar munching on one of our viburnum bushes, it was to be a Lesser Yellow Underwing, not a caterpillar i've seen before but the adults are prevelant for 4 months of the year.

A little birdie tells me that it's going to start finally warming up.

Good luck all, we've earned it!
 
Moth species for 2021 in the garden now stands at 62. 
 
26/05/21 - Back Garden - Stevenage - North Herts - Daytime

Cauchas rufimitrella 1 [NFY]
Adela reaumurella 3
Esperia sulphurella 1
 
Lesser Yellow Underwing Caterpillar

Cauchas rufimitrella

Cauchas rufimitrella

Cauchas rufimitrella

 

Posted by Bennyboymothman at 19:46

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