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

Tuesday, 15 August 2023

Back from holiday and back to trapping

It's been a while since I last ran my trap, and Monday night was the first time in a week.
 
It was a really good catch under muggy and humid conditions, and with highs of 24 degrees, it wasn't overly warm, but the humidity has been incredible and moth numbers have been very good on my return as a result.
Around 50 species were noted including many 2nd and possibly third brood species now on the wing.
 
It was nice to photograph even some of the commoner species and noticing the variation in them, Turnip Moth for example is always so varied.
 
There were also many new for year species, including two new for garden moths, Small Phoenix and the long overdue Ypsolopha dentella. Honeysuckle is very common around my garden!
 
At least 3 Gypsy Moths were attracted to it's own lure in the afternoon, a mere 20 mins after the first deployment of the year, they don't seem to hang around for long I find, and quickly drift off.

Coleophora vestianella was retained as it needs double checking but i'm quietly confident it is this species, and fits the local environment.  

A field trip was made to my local fen, which featured around 170 species, a cracking but exhasting night indeed, post soon.
 
Moth garden list for 2023 stands at 558 species


14/08/23 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths
 
Dark Spectacle 1 [NFY]
Gypsy Moth 3 [NFY] - to Lure 
Small Phoenix 1 [NFG]
Square-spot Rustic 1 [NFY]
Square-spotted Clay 1 [NFY]
Tawny Speckled Pug 1 [NFY]
Tawny-barred Angle 1 [NFY]
 
Micro Moths

Coleophora vestianella 1 [NFY]
Eucosma hohenwartiana 1 [NFY]
Pandemis corylana 1 [NFY] 
Ypsolopha dentella 1 [NFG]

Coleophora vestianella

Dark Spectacle

Figure of Eighty

Gypsy Moth

Pandemis corylana

Small Phoenix

Square-spot Rustic

Square-spotted Clay

Tawny Speckled Pug

Tawny-barred Angle

Turnip Moth

Turnip Moth

Ypsolopha dentella



Posted by Bennyboymothman at 20:23

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