Best Moths of 2025 Roundup

2025 was a really good year for moths in my garden and further afield, the consistently mild and calm evenings through late Spring in to Summer was a huge contributing factor to the diversity and numbers.

Species wise, it was my best year in the garden with 672 species recorded in my tiny village garden. Field trips were also very profitable with always something of interest turning up for the effort.

This was my first year of dipping into larger battery territory, running 1 or 2 traps from a 1500wh battery pack, this will easily run a couple of actinics or a 160w blended bulb for 6 hours, more than enough time during the summer months.

It allowed me to drive to other areas of fenland or woodland and drop it off with a trap, further away from the main base of operations (where the heavy generator would be sited).

Happy mothing all and I will see you in the new year.

1. Caloptilia falconipennella 25/03/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) Netting at dusk seems to always throw up a good moth or two, and on a warm late March evening this was no exception, with several Caloptilia species including a garden first falconipennella which was dissected by Colin Plant. It is one of the less recorded species of Caloptilia in the county, particularly in adult form.

2. Mompha jurassicella 08/04/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for Cambs) Whilst out in the garden, I spotted a small moth fluttering around our shed during late afternoon, and luckily it landed! I shouted 'You are quicker than me, grab a pot'. He ran back and returned with practically a jam jar! which was way too big and wouldn't sit flush on the shiplap wood, so I told him to go and get a glass tube, quickly potted up I could already see what it might be, a regular moth in my old Herts haunt, a potential Mompha jurassicella, a few weeks later and dissection proved it to be correct.

3. Leucoptera laburnella 17/04/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) Conditions were fairly good for late April, and with highs of 17 degrees and little wind, it was time to put the net to good use once more out on the patio. I spent close to an hour searching the sky and sweeping at tiny specks in the sky, hoping that they were moths. Now you see, when I first started this dusk netting game, I found it very difficult to differentiate between a fly and a moth, now I think i've finally cracked it. In basic analogy, flies dance and moths flutter, it's as simple as that, and once you get your eyes adjusted it becomes a breeze. The best moth netted was an extreme tiny, a Leucoptera laburnella and a garden first.

 

4. Choreutis nemorana 27/04/25 - Stetchworth, East Cambs (New species for me) New moths for my records are few and far between now, having chased moths for nigh on two decades. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw a presumed Nettle-tap, land on a leaf whilst at work, which then turned out to be my first Choreutis nemorana. I ran back to the van for a pot (my prune tub), came back and it was still there! Note to self (again), when you've used a pot up in your pocket the previous day, replace it ready for the next day.

5. Cydia servillana 28/04/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New species for me) The best moth on a busy April night was a new moth for me, netted at dusk (the deadly method strikes again) a spankingly fresh Cydia servillana was very pleasing. I did have the lure for this particular species hanging in my garden at the time, so maybe just maybe it was mildly attracted to the scent? who knows, but it was the first time i've used the lure in the garden.

6. Coleophora otidipennella 30/04/25 - Chippenham Fen, East Cambs (New species for me & 2nd for Cambs) 69 species were recorded over the 4 hours at my local fen despite it rapidly cooling down after midnight. Best moth for me was a confirmed Coleophora otidipennella, a fairly distinct looking Coleophora with streaky white stripes on a grey background.

7. Grey Carpet 11/05/25 - Cavenham Heath, West Suffolk (New species for me) I did my (what it turned out to be) annual trip to Cavenham Heath during May, I really must do more than 1 trip a year here in 2026. It is a superb site and i've had great success in the daytime netting, although the Horse-flies can be quite problematic. A single Grey Carpet was a new moth for me. It is a nationally threatened species with it's UK stronghold around the Thetford area, so it was nice after 3 years of trying to see one, to finally nab the moth.

8. Teleiopsis diffinis 11/05/25 - Cavenham Heath, West Suffolk (New form for me) Amongst 10 Teleiopsis diffinis recorded on the night of the Cavenham Heath trip, one stood out as being 'odd' an unusual brown form that seems rarely recorded was worthy of a mention on this list.

9. Phtheochroa schreibersiana 17/05/25 - Fordham Hedgerows, East Cambs (New species) A few minutes in, netting at my local mature hedgerows, I didn't expect to get a new moth for me! A slightly shabby but equally impressive Phtheochroa schreibersiana. This fantastic little micro that came from a mixed deciduous hedge. With only a handful of Cambs records, I considered it an extremely lucky capture during an hour walk with the net.

10. Tinagma ocnerostomella 28/05/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) The best moth of the night was the rare and tiny Tinagma ocnerostomella, with it's fairly plain grey speckled wings and it's distinct 'Terminator' eye. The eye proved very hard to get a photograph of as the light wouldn't play ball. The moth was a nightmare itself to calm down as it raced around the pot even after fridging it. Then I lost it! with just a pot photo oops. Then luckily I caught another and then another. I think I ended up recording 5 during the course of the year.

11. Alder Kitten 30/05/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New species for me) A gloriously marked Alder Kitten was the highlight of a busy trap of 80 species, a May record for here. This completes the Kitten checklist for my garden.

12. Elegia similella 09/06/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (2nd for Cambs) Elegia similella Represented the 878th moth species for the garden at the time of going to press, and a second record for Cambs to boot. A moth that was more regular in broad-leaved ancient woodland in my old stomping ground in Hertfordshire. Even better was that I recorded another on the 26th.

13. Monochroa tenebrella 13/06/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (3rd for Cambs) After recording the first and the second of this species for Cambs in years past (In the garden and at Chippenham Fen) It was great but less surprising to record another at home. Sheep's Sorrel is its foodplant, and there are areas where it grows in dense sporadic patches locally.

 

14. Monopis fenestratella 19/06/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (Not seen in Cambs since 1877) Probably my best moth of the year, a drab little Tinea species. Luckily it didn't need the chop to get to species level. Monopis fenestratella is a jittery Tinea species that just wouldn't sit still. Finally it cooled down in the fridge for a few hours I was able to get it under a hand lens and notice that it wasn't all the same colour, with pale patches dorsally and ventrally, and a distinctive opaque window marking (fenestra meaning window in Latin). A new moth for me, and even more exciting was that it hadn't been seen in the county since 1877, which was the 1st British record! Since there have been less than 12 records nationwide.

15. Scarlet Tiger(s) 25/06/25 - Chippenham Fen, East Cambs (Sheer Abundance) The most shocking thing that happened on my late June trip to Chippenham Fen was a huge influx of Scarlet Tigers, counting over 500 in and around one trap, and a further 200 odd in the grass and on the walls, I then went to the next trap, and it was the same! All 4 traps were like this, so a conservative estimate would be around the 2500 mark, utter madness and sadly it was hard to see past them all and pick out the micros.

16. Small Mottled Willow 29/06/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) A migrant moth that has particularly good years and on others it is almost absent. This year was a good one, and I was lucky to bag two, one at home and one at my local nature reserve.

17. Hornet Moth 04/07/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) When I got home from work, I did the lure bucket trap rounds and saw a large yellow moth buzzing around inside one of them. It was to be a garden first Hornet Moth (In the initial excitement I mis-identified it as a Lunar). An excellent garden record and the 9th Clearwing species to be recorded in my garden, even better was that overnight I had two Hornets arrive at my trap, so it was nice to pop them side by side, showing the differences and also the similarities side by side.

18. Ypsolopha vittella 06/07/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) At the start of July there was a real drop in species and numbers of moths, with cooler conditions throughout the day and night, a north breeze was blowing into the garden (being north facing made this worse). But it was well worth the effort of getting up at 4am, as there was a tiny non-descript moth on one of the outer egg trays that I didn't initially recognise. 

A quick fumble with a glass tube and it was safely retained for a better look.

The moth turned out to be Ypsolopha vittella, a first for the garden and the 8th species of Ypsolopha to be recorded here.

19. Mompha sturnipennella 10/07/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) A species I am familiar with from trapping on chalk grassland in Hertfordshire a couple of times. The biggest of the group, and when fresh like this one, sports black longitudinal streaks.

20. Depressaria sordidatella 10/07/25 - Hadstock, NW Essex (3rd for Essex) A second visit to this small nature reserve yielded some lovely moths. Of note was at least 20 Magpie Moths. One micro really stood out as something different, and indeed it was. I sent the moth off to Chris Lewis in Essex, and the genitalia dissection came back as Depressaria sordidatella a moth I recorded once on my parents old farm in Hertfordshire, a similar chalky habitat and both sites being roughly 400m above sea level. This record being the 3rd for Essex.

21. Isophrictis striatella 13/07/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) An unexpected species here. The caterpillars feed on the stems of Tansy & Sneezewort, neither of which I have seen locally. There are currently 7 county records, all at one site on the south Cambs/north Herts at RSPB Fowlmere, so a very good record indeed, and only my 2nd record of this species having taken my first one in Bedfordshire in 2021.

22. Acrobasis tumidana 14/07/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (2nd for garden) Another migrant that has done well this year, much like the Small Mottled Willow. I recorded 4 in the garden in 2025. It can be distinguished from the similar Acrobasis repandana by the ridge of reddish raised scale tufts next to a white crossbar.

23. Ground Lackey 17/07/25 - Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk (2nd for Norfolk) My first time at this site, which is technically a car park near the sea, I won't over-glamourise it! It did well though, with a spectacular female Ground Lackey, only the 2nd record for Norfolk, a female was found out of habitat in Norwich in 2013. My previous records have come from Dungeness.

24. Scrobipalpa nitentella 17/07/25 - Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk (New species for me) A new moth for me, and there were several present to the trap nearest the sea. It is listed as one of the more regular Scrobipalpa along the coastlines of Norfolk.

25. Dark Crimson Underwing 18/07/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New species for me) Some real quality moths as we headed just past the peak of moth trapping. A brand new moth for my records, a stunning Dark Crimson Underwing took top spot, the third Catocala species to grace my garden trap (Red & Blue being the other two). I have seen this moth before at Bramfield Woods in Hertfordshire, where two came to Trevor Brownsell's trap, but it felt like cheating ticking them off!

26. Scythris limbella 18/07/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) The best micro on the same night as 'big red', were not one but two Scythris limbella. My first encounter of this species was in 2017 in Hertfordshire.

27. Jersey Mocha 19/07/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden & 2nd for Cambs) A cooler night and it seemed the early rise wouldn't be worth it, with lots of repeats of brown moths. However, it only takes one moth to be worth it. Jersey Mocha was rather unexpected to say the least. It was to be the 2nd county record for Cambridgeshire, with the 1st one recorded in 2019 in Stretham. My first one was also extremely unexpected when Ian Bennell and I took one in Hertfordshire in 2016, nearly a decade ago! And then a second one turned up on the 8th of September, unbelievable.

28. Hellinsia carphodactyla 16/08/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) I was extremely pleased to pot up a Hellinsia plume species on the fence early evening in mid August. This is my second of this genus after taking Mugwort Plume (Hellinsia lienigianus) 3 years on a trot. This newest addition being the Citron Plume (Hellinsia carphodactyla) and was the 909th species for the garden.

29. Dark Spinach 19/08/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) Another new macro moth was a really fresh Dark Spinach on the 19th of August. It is one i've taken a few times before in Essex, and more recently in nearby Norfolk, a stunning looking moth.

30. Coleophora lineolea 20/08/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New species for me) Coleophora lineolea is a species I have never seen before, so I was very pleased to get two to my trap late on in the year. I must get out more to look for the larval cases next year.

31. Chevron 02/09/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) An expected species eventually I guess, a regular species at Wicken & Chippenham Fen and I've also taken it over the border in Norfolk a few times. Lively and hard to photograph!

32. Apomyelois bistriatella 08/09/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New species for me) Back on the 8th of September I potted up a rather dark pyralid that was flittering around the trap. initially it looked like a dark Ephestia species, but when brought inside and under a hand lens in good light, revealed that it was infact the scarce moth, Apomyelois bistriatella.

A new moth for me and my garden. There are a few records from one site in Cambridge but that is it (although there are no photographs available I assume these records are correct).

33. Four-spotted Footman 09/09/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) Best moth of the night went to the migrant Four-spotted Footman. A seemingly good year for this species in the south and east. I recorded another a week later and whilst on holiday in Hampshire back in August.

34. Agonopterix propinquella 17/09/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) A very welcome Agonopterix propinquella was potted up on a breezy night, I get subpropinquella regularly here, the slightly larger cousin to this species.

35. Epinotia caprana/maculana 16/10/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) The most interesting moth of the night was a medium sized micro moth, a tortrix spotted on the vanes of my actinic trap. Identifying it as one of the Epinotia species, things would get trickier now once it was potted!

A unincolorous form, so not easy to identify. I've ruled out sordidana on the darker hindwing, and leaning more towards caprana with the dark streak present, but then it could be maculana! A difficult one that will no doubt lead to dissection eventually, unless someone can enlighten me. Specimen retained for the time being.

36. Crocidosema plebejana 07/11/25 - Fordham, East Cambs (New for garden) Crocidosema plebejana, a small migrant moth much like Plutella xylostella and Udea ferrugalis. I get these sporadically at various sites, but never in the garden, until this night.