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

Thursday 15 June 2023

An unbelievable night

Sunday night was very warm again, not dropping below 16 degrees and cloudy for most of the night, it was hard getting to the trap for flies!

And with the trap next to the living room door, I ended up letting a few flies in as I was in and out working the trap up until midnight, but it was well worth the tiredness! 
 
The trap was heaving again with around 70 species present and many many new ones to a point where I had to fetch some more pots from the shed. In fact there were 25 new species for 2023.
 
The main highlight undoubtedly went to the first adult record of Rannoch Looper. A bit of digging around has revealed that there was a caterpillar found at Wicken Fen in 1920.
I have since recorded two more last night at my nearby fen! Local breeding perhaps or genuine vagrants? Who knows. 
It is a new moth for me, and adds to my growing UK list.
 
Pandemis cerasana was unbelievably a new moth for the garden, 
 
Other good records included the second of the year Cydia inquinatana (Palps intact this time) two Orange-tailed Clearwing to the VES lure, Gypsonoma oppressana and two stunning Aethes species.
 
A Coleophora species was also retained for dissection.
 
Things just keep getting better and better, but we do need some rain! 
 
Only new for year species listed, as I struggle to keep up! 


Moth garden list for 2023 stands at 250 species


11/06/23 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Beautiful Hook-tip 1 [NFY]
Brown Rustic 1 [NFY]
Clouded Silver 1 [NFY]
Cream Wave 1 [NFY]
Rannoch Looper 1 [NFG]
Yellow Shell 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths

Acentria ephemerella 4 [NFY]
Aethes beatricella 2 [NFY]
Aethes tesserana 1 [NFY]
Ancylis achatana 2 [NFY]
Aphelia paleana 1 [NFY]
Argyresthia cupressella 2 [NFY]
Chrysoteuchia culmella 1 [NFY]
Crambus pascuella 1 [NFY]
Cydia inquinatana 2nd one for the year
Endothenia gentianaeana/marginana 1 [NFY]
Ethmia dodecea 1 [NFY]
Ethmia quadrillella 1 [NFY]
Euzophera pinguis 1 [NFY]
Grapholita tenebrosana 1 NFY
Gypsonoma oppressana 1 [NFG]
Isotrias rectifasciana 1 [NFY]
Niditinea fuscella sp 1 [NFG]
Pandemis cerasana 1 [NFG]
Scythropia crataegella 2 [NFY]
Sitochroa verticalis 1 [NFY]
Coleophora sp 1 TBC

Aethes beatricella

Aethes tesserana

Brown Rustic

Bryotropha affinis

Coleophora sp

Cydia inquinatana

Ethmia quadrillella

Gypsonoma oppressana

Orange-tailed Clearwing to VES

Pandemis cerasana

Rannoch Looper

Sitochroa verticalis

 

Posted by Bennyboymothman at 15:57

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