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 5 June 2023

Blacks, Whites & Greys and an alluring success

A rather monochromatic catch last night, but what fantastic patterning though.
From the mottled Sycamore to the blotchy Varied Coronet and the lovely harnessed Alder Moth, all 3 were new for the year.
Clouded Buff added a splash of pastel colours to the mix, flashing its spotty hindwings as it flew off after its photograph.
40 moths was much better than recent catches with 21 species jotted down, 6 were new for year.
 
It was a clear sky at dusk and felt cooler at 10pm whn I decided to turn in. Come the morning at 4:30am it was cloudy, so maybe that helped increase the catch.

Also, during the afternoon at some point, the MYO lure attracted a surprising six Red-belted Clearwings. I couldn't quite believe it when I did my rounds looking at all of the hanging lure traps.
 
It's slowly warming up, even at night!
 
Moth garden list for 2023 stands at 182 species


04/06/23 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Alder Moth 1 NFY
Clouded Buff 1 NFY
Sycamore 1 NFY
Varied Coronet 1 NFY

Brimstone Moth 1
Cinnabar 1
Garden Carpet 2
Heart & Dart 6
Light Brocade 5
Marbled Minor 4
Pale Mottled Willow 1
Setaceous Hebrew Character 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart 1
Treble Lines 4
Vine's Rustic 1
Willow Beauty 2
 
Micro Moths
 
Anania hortulata 1 [NFY]
Celypha rosaceana 1 [NFY]

Cochylis atricapitana 2
Crambus lathoniellus 2
Endrosis sarcitrella 1
 
Red-belted Clearwing 6 [NFY] to MYO Lure
 
Alder Moth

Celypha rosaceana

Clouded Buff

Red-belted Clearwing

Sycamore

Varied Coronet

 

 

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