Chippenham Fen - Field Trip - 13/05/24

A belated report from Chippenham Fen back on the 13th of May, where it had been a lovely warm day and with cloud cover rolling in at dusk it looked to be pretty perfect.

All perfect apart from the breeze, and the so-called cloud cover not materialising until I got home after midnight! I could see the cloud in the distance, but it was slowly moving NE from the West.

 

There were still plenty of moths to be observed though, and some great early records of the fens speciality species, all 3 (Silver-barred, Flame Wainscot & Reed Leopard) were present in reasonable numbers already.

A Grey Birch was also nice to see, an uncommon moth, particularly on garden lists.

A very smart Thyraylia nana was certainly the most colourful, with it's spectrums of blue and yellow.

A pair of Small Clouded Brindle showed a bit of variation in colouration, and a moth I dont see much around here (although it use to be common for me in Hertfordshire) Tachystola acroxantha.

 

A smart Olindia schumacherana was also potted up. This is a scarce species in Cambridgeshire, and seems to have a stronghold around this area.

A Niditinea species has been retained for dissection.

All in all, not a bad session but numbers were struggling and species were a bit lower than expected.

13/05/24 - Chippenham Fen - East Cambridgeshire - 1x 125w Trap, 1x 160w MBT Trap, 1x 250w Robinson Trap & 1x Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Alder Moth
Brimstone Moth
Common Carpet
Common Pug
Common Swift
Common Marbled Carpet
Common Wave
Coronet
Cream Wave
Flame Shoulder
Flame Wainscot
Green Carpet
Grey Birch
Light Emerald
Lime-speck Pug
Marbled Minor
Oak-tree Pug
Orange Footman
Pale Oak Beauty
Pale Prominent
Pebble Hook-tip
Pretty Chalk Carpet
Purple Bar
Reed Leopard
Red-green Carpet
Ruby Tiger
Scorched Carpet
Silver-barred
Silver-ground Carpet
Small Clouded Brindle
Small Phoenix
Straw Dot
Tawny Marbled Minor
Waved Umber
White Ermine
White Pinion-spotted
Willow Beauty


Micro Moths

Adaina microdactyla
Agonopterix ocellana
Anania hortulata
Argyresthia spinosella
Aspilapteryx tringipennella
Bactra lancealana
Cataclysta lemnata
Crambus lathoniellus
Cochylis atricapitana
Elachista humilis
Epinotia immundana
Evergestis forficalis
Eudonia angustea
Eulia ministrana
Glyphipterix thrasonella
Monopis weaverella
Niditinea sp
Notocelia trimaculana
Olindia schumacherana
Parornix sp
Scoparia ambigualis
Scrobipalpa ocellatella
Tachystola acroxantha
Thyraylia nana

125w MV Robinson Trap on the edge of the fen

Elachista humilis

Eulia ministrana

Flame Wainscot

Grey Birch

Niditinea sp

Olindia schumacherana

Pebble Hook-tip

Small Clouded Brindles

The stunning Thyraylia nana