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

Saturday, 17 May 2025

A local wander around the hedgerows

I stretched my legs (and my back) today for a good hour, with a net in one hand and a long stick in the other, disturbing the foliage as I wandered about.

With plenty of pots in my pockets I was expecting a bumper haul, as the winds were supposed to subside, in short... this wasn't true. In fact it got breezier and I struggled to find areas out of the wind (From past experience it's nigh on impossible to net moths in the wind).

It was also quite sad to see the drought taking hold on the low growing herbaceous plants, some withering away in desert like conditions.

I finally stumbled upon a hedgerow going east to west and focused on this area, shielded from the north window to a degree, it was much easier to spot the moths.

A few minutes in and I didn't expect to get a new moth for me! A slightly shabby but equally impressive Phtheochroa schreibersiana, get in!
This fantastic little micro that came from a mixed deciduous hedge, wasn't the only interest. Several Adela croesella were found, as were two day-flying macro moths, the Mother Shipton and the rarely seen (because it's so small) Small Yellow Underwing.
 
A fantastic little bit of bushcraft in challenging conditions.
 
17/05/25 - Fordham Hedgerows - East Cambridgeshire

Macro Moths

Cinnabar 1
Common Carpet 2
Mother Shipton 1
Small Yellow Underwing 1
Yellow-tail (caterpillar) 1
 
Micro Moths
 
Adela croesella 3
Crambus lathoniellus 1 
Glyphipterix simpliciella 100+
Hedya pruniana 10+
Nematopogon schwarziellus 4
Nematopogon swammerdamella 1
Notocelia cynosbatella 2
Phtheochroa schreibersiana 1 (NEW!) 

Yellow-tail Caterpillar

Struggling vegetation

Herbaceous plants during a May drought

Adela croesella

Crambus lathoniellus

Mother Shipton

Phtheochroa schreibersiana

Small Yellow Underwing


 
Posted by Bennyboymothman at 19:45

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