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

Saturday, 26 October 2024

Warm Autumn

It has been ridiculously warm this past week, with highs of 19 degrees, most days have been above 16 degrees, certainly well above the average which hovers between 12-14 degrees, more like 10-12 by the end of the month.
At night it is still balmy, only one night this week did it drop below double digits. Some nights I have not run my trap because it's been nippy and misty. 
 
Here are two catches from last week, which saw the first Dark Sword-grass of the year (late for a year first) and several Feathered Thorns.
Other notables included a late Hypsopygia glaucinalis, Ephestia species and Brimstone Moth.
 
The first seasonal Black-spotted Chestnut have also arrived.

The smattering of migrants continues, with regular Scarce Bordered Straw, Delicate and Udea ferrugalis.
Palpita vitrealis has had a bumper year here, the first yeah i've recorded this species.

I will continue to run my trap if it stays mild.

Moth garden list for 2024 stands at 622 species

23/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Dark Sword-grass 1 [NFY]
Feathered Thorn 2 [NFY]
Angle Shades 1
Barred Sallow 1
Black Rustic 2
Common Marbled Carpet 1
Delicate 2
Garden Carpet 1
Green-brindled Crescent 4
Large Wainscot 1
Large Yellow Underwing 2
Mallow 1
Red-green Carpet 4
Scarce Bordered Straw 1

Micro Moths

Acleris variegana 1
Emmelina monodactyla 2
Epiphyas postvittana 3
Phyllonorycter messaniella 1

 

25/10/24 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Angle Shades 2
Beaded Chestnut 2
Black-spotted Chestnut 1
Black Rustic 1
Blair's Shoulder-knot 1
Brimstone Moth 1
Delicate 1
Feathered Thorn 2
Green-brindled Crescent 3
Large Wainscot 1
Large Yellow Underwing 3
Lesser Yellow Underwing 2
Mallow 1
Merveille du Jour
November Moth sp 1
Red-green Carpet 3
Scarce Bordered Straw 1
Setaceous Hebrew Character 1

Micro Moths

Blastobasis lacticolella 1
Ephestia sp 1
Epiphyas postvittana 4
Hypsopygia glaucinalis 1
Musotima nitidalis 1
Palpita vitrealis 2
Plutella xylostella 1
Udea ferrugalis 2

Large Wainscot

Dark Sword-grass

Feathered Thorn

 
Scarce Bordered Straw

Palpita vitrealis

Hypsopygia glaucinalis

Feathered Thorn

Black-spotted Chestnut

Posted by Bennyboymothman at 23:18