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 6 June 2022

Soggy moths!

Rain, a bit of drizzle, then heavy rain, then some more rain for a change. It's been like that for a few days here now in East Cambs, great for the garden, not so good for our delicate mothy friends.
That's why I use two cellular sponges in the bottom of my trap to soak up any rain that manages to get past the beefy 'over-sized' rain-guard, which is set on a tilt to allow run-off.

A healthy 34 species were recorded, not bad for a damp and breezy night, the mild conditions must have helped somewhat.
 
A nice variety of species including Buff Ermine, an early season Caloptilia stigmatella, Middle-barred Minor, Riband Wave and an alive Small Square-spot this time.
 
4 new for year species, the best was a single groggy specimen of Hypochalcia ahenella. I've taken this moth before in several counties, but it is far from common, this one was a bit tatty but still a great addition to the garden.

A knackered Agonopterix could be a number of species...I did contemplate getting it dissected, but it's so horribly worn that i've just let it go.

Moth garden list for 2022 stands at 276 species

05/06/22 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap
 
Macro Moths

Buff Ermine 1 [NFG]
Middle-barred Minor 1 [NFG]
Riband Wave 1 [NFY]
Bright-line Brown-eye 1
Buff-tip 1
Common Marbled Carpet 1
Common Pug 1
Common Wainscot 2
Clouded Silver 1
Flame 1
Garden Carpet 5
Grey Pug 1
Heart & Dart 2
Large Nutmeg 2
Light Brocade 1
Peppered Moth 1
Poplar Grey 2
Rustic Shoulder-knot 1
Shears 1
Silver Y 1
Small Square-spot 1
Snout 3
Treble Lines 1
Turnip Moth 2
White Ermine 2
White-point 1
Willow Beauty 8
 
Micro Moths
 
Hypochalcia ahenella 1 [NFG]
Agonopterix sp 1
Argyresthia cupressella 1
Caloptilia stigmatella 1
Cnephasia sp 1
Hedya pruniana 1
Tortrix viridana 5
 
Buff Ermine

Caloptilia stigmatella

Hypochalcia ahenella

Middle-barred Minor

Riband Wave

Small Square-spot

 

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