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 8 May 2023

Best night of the year breaks the 100 species barrier

A great night at home in the garden, with nearly 40 moths recorded during the evening until bedtime, and then this morning going through the trap.
There still was only a handful of moths actually in the trap, most favouring the walls of the house and fence panels.
24 species was very pleasing, 9 of which were new for the year. The year list now stands at 102 species, this exact date last year I was sitting at 159 species, currently I only have one full year to compare to, having moved here in late August 2021.

Some stunningly fresh moths were really good to see, Oak Hook-tip was my favourite, with it's glossy appearance and a rather smart (and lively) Pale Mottled Willow.
The first of the Cochylis moths appeared also (Although this particular species, atricapitana, has undergone a recent genus change to Cochylichroa). 
 
 
Moth garden list for 2023 stands at 102 species
 
06/05/23 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Brimstone Moth 1 [NFY]
Chocolate-tip 1 [NFY]
Frosted Green 1 [NFY]
Oak Hook-tip 1 [NFY]
Pale Mottled Willow 1 [NFY]
Toadflax Brocade 1 [NFY]
White-spotted Pug 1 [NFY]
Willow Beauty 1 [NFY]
Brindled Pug 1
Chinese Character 3
Double-striped Pug 4
Garden Carpet 4
Muslin Moth 1
Oak-tree Pug 1
Pebble Prominent 2
Pinion-spotted Pug 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart 4
Silver Y 1
Streamer 2
Yellow-barred Brindle 2

 
Micro Moths
 
Cochylichroa atricapitana 1 [NFY]
Epiphyas postvittana 1
Eudonia angustea 1
Platyedra subcinerea 1
 
Brimstone Moth

Chocolate-tip

Cochylichroa atricapitana

Frosted Green

Oak Hook-tip

Pale Mottled Willow

Toadflax Brocade

White-spotted Pug

Willow Beauty

 
Posted by Bennyboymothman at 19:26

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