Wicken Fen - Field Trip - 16th April

I made a trip to Wicken Fen last Thursday and setup 3 traps spread around the entrance area to Sedge Fen and one 100 metres South of the car park.

The day had been fairly mild at 17 degrees, nothing spectacular but with overcast conditions expected into the night, the temperature was hopefully going to hold up in the lows teens, and luckily that was the case.

 

The only caveat was a brisk westerly wind that started to whip up an hour in. It got fairly strong at one point, and it was blowing my sheet and egg trays everywhere, so I decided to pack up the two exposed traps, and leave the sheltered ones on until at least midnight.

 

Moths were rather slow to come to all of the traps, a smattering here and there and no particular volume, but the variety of species was most pleasing.

 

Several Reed Daggers were Cambs earliest records by over 2 weeks, a continuing trend year on year as early emergence records are broken. 

On the otherside, a single Grey Shoulder-knot was getting on for being too late, I very rarely see them post-hibernation past March. 

 

The micro moths were dominated by numerous species of Elachista & Agonopterix, 2 Agonopterix heracliana/ciliella were retained, and both have since been identified as ciliella.  

 

The biggest shock of the night was a whacking great Red Sword-grass, spotted along the boardwalk next to one of the traps.

This is a new moth for me and also for Wicken Fen! 2nd county record and firdt recorded in 1992! Unbelievable.

 

My thanks to Joe and Tim for the access. 

 

16/04/26 - Wicken Fen - East Cambridgeshire - 1x 125w Clear MV Trap, 1x 250w Clear Robinson Trap, 1x 40w/22w Bucket Trap & 1x 160w MBT Trap

Macro Moths

Bright-line Brown-eye 
Brindled Pug 
Chinese Character 
Clouded Drab 
Common Quaker 
Dotted Chestnut 
Double-striped Pug 
Early Tooth-striped 
Engrailed 
Frosted Green 
Hebrew Character 
Latticed Heath 
Least Black Arches 
Nut-tree Tussock 
Oak-tree Pug 
Pale Prominent 
Pale Tussock 
Pebble Hook-tip 
Pebble Prominent 
Powdered Quaker 
Purple Bar 
Reed Dagger 3
Red Chestnut 
Red Sword-grass
Ruby Tiger 
Spectacle 
Swallow Prominent 
V-pug 
Waved Umber 

Micro Moths

Agonopterix alstromeriana 
Agonopterix arenella 
Agonopterix ciliella 
Agonopterix heracliana 
Agonopterix ocellana 
Agonopterix purpurea 
Agonopterix yeatiana
Cameraria ohridella 
Depressaria daucella
Elachista canapennella
Elachista maculicerusella 
Elachista rufocinerea 
Emmelina monodactyla 
Epiphyas postvittana 
Mompha epilobiella 
Monopis crocicapitella 
Parornix sp 
Plutella xylostella 
Psyche casta (case)

Reed Dagger

160w MBT Trap

Agonopterix ciliella

Agonopterix yeatiana

Depressaria daucella

Elachista maculicerusella

Elachista rufocinerea

Grey Shoulder-knot

Red Sword-grass