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

Monday, 21 July 2025

Hadstock - NW Essex - Field Trip - 10/07/25

I made a second trip to this small nature reserve in North-west Essex about 3 months later than the initial trip, a little later than I would have liked, but it's been busy!
 
I set-up 3 traps wihin the reserve, all out of site of each other.
 
It had been a hot day with highs of 30 degrees, and with temperatures not set to dip below 20c in towns and cities, but here in the sticks and over 100 metres above sea level, with a brisk wind it dropped to 16c by the time I left at 2am.
The wind was a constant feature sadly, blowing moths everywhere, and then the full moon came up! I was going to be up against it.
Luckily it was very much worth the effort to see some different species, and particularly to attract a plain brown unusual Depressaria species, which is currently being looked at by Chris Lewis. 
 
Two Coleophora species were also retained.
 
Top species included some real splashes of colour, with at least 20 examples of the fabulous Magpie Moths, a mint Pyrausta purpuralis, the orange form of Agapeta zoegana and my earliest ever Epinotia nisella.
 
It was also good to get both Lunar & Lesser Spotted Pinions side by side.
 
Plain Golden Y being the best macro moth of the night, a seldom seen species compared with it's sister species, the Beautiful Golden Y.
 
Gelechia scotinella was a good record and amongst many Argyresthia albistria, one specimen stood out, lacking the usual white dorsal markings near the head.
 
A really good night made tough with challenging condirtions.

10/07/25 - Hadstock - NW Essex - 1x 75w Actinic/Synergetic Robinson Trap, 1x 250w Clear MV Robinson Trap & 1x 160w MBT Trap

Macro Moths

Beautiful Hook-tip     
Bright-line Brown-eye     
Brimstone Moth     
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing     
Brown Scallop     
Brown-line Bright-eye     
Chinese Character     
Clay     
Cloaked Minor     
Clouded Silver     
Common Footman    
Common Rustic     
Common Wainscot     
Coronet     
Dark Arches     
Dark Umber     
Dingy Footman     
Double Square-spot     
Drinker     
Dun-bar     
Dusky Sallow     
Dusky Thorn     
Dwarf Cream Wave    
Elephant Hawk-moth     
Fern     
Green Pug     
Grey Dagger     
Haworth's Pug     
July Highflyer     
Large Yellow Underwing     
Latticed Heath     
Least Carpet     
Leopard Moth     
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing     
Lesser Common Rustic     
Lesser-spotted Pinion     
Lime-speck Pug     
Lunar-spotted Pinion     
Magpie Moth 20    
Marbled Minor     
Nutmeg    
Oak Eggar    
Plain Golden Y    
Red Twin-spot Carpet     
Riband Wave     
Rosy Minor     
Ruby Tiger    
Rustic     
Scalloped Oak     
Scarce Footman     
Scorched Carpet     
Shaded Broad-bar     
Slender Brindle     
Slender Pug     
Small Blood-vein     
Small Emerald     
Small Fan-foot    
Small Fan-footed Wave     
Small Scallop     
Small Waved Umber     
Smoky Wainscot     
Snout     
Southern Wainscot     
Spectacle    
Straw Dot     
Swallow-tailed Moth     
Tree-lichen Beauty     
Turnip Moth     
Uncertain     
Vapourer Moth     
V-pug     
White Satin    
Willow Beauty     
Yellow Shell     
Yellow-tail 

Micro Moths

Acentria emphemerella 
Acleris forskalleana 
Acleris variegana 
Acompsia cinerella 
Acrobasis advenella 
Acrobasis repandana 
Acrobasis suavella 
Agapeta hamana 
Agapeta zoegana 
Agonopterix heracliana sp 
Agonopterix purpurea 
Agriphila straminella 
Anania hortulata 
Ancylis achatana 
Aproaerema anthyllidella
Archips podana 
Archips xylosteana 
Argyresthia albistria 
Argyresthia bonnetella
Argyresthia goedartella 
Batia lunaris 
Blastobasis lacticolella 
Blastodacna hellerella 
Borkhausenia fuscescens 
Brachmia blandella
Bryotropha senectella
Bucculatrix bechsteinella
Bucculatrix cristatella 
Bucculatrix nigricomella 
Carcina quercana 
Catoptria pinella 
Celypha lacunana 
Celypha striana 
Chrysoteuchia culmella 
Clepsis consimilana 
Cnephasia longana
Cnephasia sp 
Cochylichroa atricapitana
Coleophora alcyonipennella/frischella
Coleophora sp 2 (TBC)
Crambus perlella 
Cydalima perspectalis 
Depressaria sp pos sordidatella (TBC)
Dichrorampha petiverella
Dichrorampha simpliciana 
Ditula angustiorana 
Elachista stabilella 
Emmelina monodactyla 
Endothenia gentianaeana/marginana
Endothenia quadrimaculana
Endotricha flammealis 
Epiblema costipunctana
Epiblema foenella 
Epinotia abbreviana
Epinotia nisella 
Epinotia signatana 
Eucosma cana 
Eucosma hohenwartiana 
Eucosma obumbratana 
Eudemis profundana 
Eudonia mercurella 
Euspilapteryx auroguttella
Evergestis limbata 
Gelechia scotinella
Grapholita funebrana 
Grapholita janthinana 
Gypsonoma aceriana
Gypsonoma dealbana 
Gypsonoma sociana 
Hedya nubiferana 
Helycystogramma rufescens
Hypsopyqgia costalis 
Hypsopyqgia glaucinalis 
Mompha epilobiella 
Mompha ochraceella 
Monopis crocicapitella
Neocochylis hybridella
Ostrinia nubilalis 
Oxypteryx atrella
Pandemis heparana 
Paraswammerdamia albicapitella 
Parornix sp 
Phycita roborella 
Plutella xylostella 
Pyrausta purpuralis
Recurvaria leucatella 
Scoparia ambigualis 
Scrobipalpa ocellatella 
Spilonota ocellana 
Teleiodes vulgella 
Tinea trinotella 
Yponomeuta cag/mal/pad 
Yponomeuta evonynella 
Yponomeuta rorrella 
Ypsolopha scabrella 
Zelotherses paleana

Oxypteryx atrella

Plain Golden Y

Pyrausta purpuralis

250w Clear MV Robinson Trap

Agapeta zoegana

Argyresthia albistria

Coleophora sp

Coleophora sp

Depressaria sp pos sordidatella

Epinotia nisella

Gelechia scotinella

Harrison Sayer NR

Harrison Sayer NR view looking west

Lesser-spotted Pinion

Lunar-spotted Pinion

Magpie Moth