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 14 August 2022

Adventurer's Fen - Field Trip - 11/08/22 50/50 split, nearly

I was joined by Leslie Gardiner at Adventurer's Fen last Thursday after a very warm day of 32 degrees, it was still mid-twenties when we arrived at 8:30pm.
Unfortunately we were unable to trap in our favoured spot, as we were beaten to it by another trapper from Kent! A breakdown of communication and an apology from National Trust followed the next day.
 
It wasn't a biggie, as we settled on another area which actually required less walking about and was over-looking different aspects along the track.

4 lights were set up in record time as the light faded fast and as soon as it went dark, the supermoon rose from the East, absolutely huge and slightly distorted in shape due to the atmospherics.
 
We were going to be up against it, on location change and the enemy in the sky!

Nearly a 50/50 split with 51 species of Macro and 50 species of Micro recorded, not too bad, but not stellar during a normal second week of August.
The drought is partly responsible for the low numbers, and of course the clear skies and bright sun...sorry moon.

There were quite a few highlights though, including Barred Rivulet (A bit worn sadly), both dark forms of Bulrush & Webb's Wainscot, Elachista bisulcella (Not common in the County and restricted around Wicken & Chippenham Fen), a tentative Emmelina argoteles, paler and dusted with dots (I've taken this once before at Chippenham Fen, gen det to be 100% sure), the darkest Flame Shoulder I have ever seen, and finally only the (3rd?) County record of Ptocheuusa paupella, my 2nd example in 18 years and which on the night, looked like Elachista albidella, i'm glad I potted it!

And finally we recorded at least 4 Six-striped Rustic, a new moth for Leslie, and so it was pork pie time for me! (Any new macro moth that Leslie sees when we are out, I consume a tasty pork pie from various supermarkets), it's like taste-testing for a survey!

Photos weren't my best as I snapped away during searing 30 degree heat, not easy with lively customers.

11/08/22 - Adventurer's Fen - East Cambridgeshire - 4 traps, 125w Mercury Robinson Trap, 160w MBT Trap, 250w Clear Mercury Robinson Trap and 40w Actinic Trap

Macro Moths 

Barred Rivulet
Blood-vein
Bordered Beauty
Bordered Pug
Bright-line Brown-eye
Brown-veined Wainscot
Bulrush Wainscot
Burnished Brass
Canary-shouldered Thorn
Chinese Character
Cloaked Minor
Common Carpet
Common Rustic
Common Wainscot
Coronet
Dark Sword-grass
Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet
Dingy Footman
Drinker
Flame Shoulder
Flounced Rustic
Frosted Orange
Knot Grass
Large Yellow Underwing
Latticed Heath
Lime-speck Pug
Marbled Clover
Mere Wainscot
Nutmeg
Orange Swift
Pale Mottled Willow
Reed Dagger
Rosy Rustic
Ruby Tiger
Sallow Kitten
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Shuttle-shaped Dart
Single-dotted Wave
Six-striped Rustic
Small Rufous
Small Square-spot
Snout
Straw Dot
Swallow Prominent
Turnip Moth
Twin-spotted Wainscot
Vine's Rustic
Webb's Wainscot
White point
Wormwood Pug
Yellow Shell

Micro Moths

Acentria ephemerella
Acleris rhombana
Agapeta hamana
Agonopterix alstromeriana
Agonopterix arenella
Agonopterix heracliana sp
Agonopterix ocellana
Agonopterix purpurea
Agonopterix yeatiana
Agriphila selasella
Agriphila straminella
Agriphila tristella
Ancylis apicella
Bactra furfurana
Bactra sp
Bryotropha senectella
Calamotropha paludella
Carcina quercana
Cataclysta lemnata
Catoptria falsella
Celypha striana
Chrysoteuchia culmella
Clepsis spectrana
Cochylidia implicitana
Cochylis atricapitana
Cochylis dubitana
Cochylis hybridella
Cochylis molliculana
Cochylis nana
Coleophora alcyonipennella/frischella
Dichrorampha simpliciana
Elachista bisulcella
Elophila nymphaeta
Emmelina argoteles [TBC]
Emmelina monodactyla
Endothenia quadrimaculana
Epiphyas postvittana
Evergestis forficalis
Grapholita funebrana
Lobesia abscisana
Nomophila noctuella
Nymphula nitidulata
Parapoynx stratiotata
Phalonidia manniana
Pleuroptya ruralis
Ptocheuusa paupella
Scrobipalpa costella
Scrobipalpa ocellatella
Udea ferrugalis
Udea lutealis 

 

Webb's Wainscot

Supermoon!

A very dark Flame Shoulder

Elachista bisulcella

Cochylidia implicitana

Bulrush & Webb's Wainscot

Bordered Pug

Barred Rivulet

Agonopterix yeatiana

Acleris rhombana

Posted by Bennyboymothman at 20:51

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