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, I have now removed commenting as the bots were starting to appear
Contact Email : bensale@rocketmail.com

My Latest Notables and Rarities

Sunday, 11 February 2024

Another excellent night and a surprise

Well what a terrible night weather-wise it was. The rain was extremely heavy at times and it was still raining at midnight when I decided to turn in.
Despite the awfully wet conditions, the moths were not bothered, and with a temperature of 10 degrees at midnight, there were a few moths to be had and even by the morning I found a few extras.
 
The garden was soaked, and everything was so damp and cold come the morning, and I was just hanging up the sheet and towels on the washing line to dry and drain off during intermittent sunny periods...Then I spotted a moth huddled on the fence, another Acleris! brilliant! This one a little darker and is either logiana or kochiella, although many favour kochiella. The moth will be dissected soon.
 
EDIT: CONFIRMED BY COLIN PLANT AS KOCHIELLA
 
There were plenty of other good moths, in fact 5 species were added to the 24' list. Some were a little worn (Satellite & Dotted Border) but there were a couple of nice fresh Noctuids and a scale perfect Tortricodes alternella.
 
A little cooler now for a few nights so I will trap until bedtime.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 17 species
 
10/02/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths
 
Clouded Drab 1 [NFY]
Dotted Border 1 [NFY]
Oak Beauty 1 [NFY]
Satellite 1 [NFY]
Common Quaker 1
Pale Brindled Beauty 4
Early Moth 1
 
Micro Moths
 
Tortricodes alternella 1 [NFY]
Acleris kochiella 1 [NFY]
Agonopterix alstromeriana 2 
 
Acleris kochiella

Clouded Drab

Nicely marked Common Quaker

Dotted Border

Oak Beauty

Satellite

Tortricodes alternella

 



Posted by Bennyboymothman at 19:38