Species overload!

It was really busy in my garden last night, not masses of numbers but as always, the species delivered.

The weather was calm and mild and with a hint of cloud, although this won't matter as we progress into the weekend, as the air mass we are currently importing is so mild that it is replacing any cooled down air that we lose out into the atmosphere.

I started netting at around 8pm and packed it in just after 9, netting around 40 moths of 15 species, several of them new, but dominated by Mompha subbistrigella and various Dichrorampha & Bryotropha species, the best was a pair of stunning Chrysoesthia drurella.

The list overnight went on and on, and I nearly ran out of pots when I woke up at 4am.

I make it 73 species which must be my highest May catch so far. 

30 species were new for the year, and a further 2 possibly 3 are new for the garden.

Satin Wave was a new garden macro moth, a moth I am familiar with from Herts and Essex, and a leaf mine from Hawthorn emerged revealing my first ever adult Stigmella crataegella.

Even better, a tiny grey Elachista was potted up and photographed to reveal the possibility of it being Elachista bedellella, a moth that hasn'e been seen in the county for 126 years! I've retained it for dissection.

 

There were too many other highlights to list, so i'll let the list below do the talking.

 

Never rains it pours in this country.

 

We go again tonight.... 

 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 224 species 

 

21/05/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

Bordered White 1 [NFY]
Cloaked Minor 1 [NFY]
Clouded Silver 1 [NFY]
Green Carpet 1 [NFY]
Large Nutmeg 1 [NFY]
Middle-barred Minor 1 [NFY]
Mottled Pug 1 [NFY]
Oak Hook-tip 2 [NFY]
Pale Oak Beauty 1 [NFY]
Pine Hawk-moth 1 [NFY]
Poplar Grey 1 [NFY]

Rufous Minor 1 [NFY] (Dissected)
Satin Wave 1 [NFG]

Spruce Carpet 1 [NFY]
Yellow Shell 2 [NFY]
Bright-line Brown-eye 1
Brimstone Moth 1
Cinnabar 1
Common Pug 1
Common Swift 4
Common Wainscot 1
Coronet 1
Flame Shoulder 1
Garden Carpet 3
Green Pug 2
Heart & Dart 3
Knot Grass 1
Large Yellow Underwing 1
Light Brocade 1
Lime-speck Pug 1
Marbled Minor 10
Nutmeg 1
Pale Prominent 1
Pale Tussock 5
Red Twin-spot Carpet 1
Rustic Shoulder-knot 1
Setaceous Hebrew Character 2
Shears 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart 5
Small Dusty Wave 1
Swallow Prominent 1
Treble Lines 3
Turnip Moth 7
Vine's Rustic 1
Willow Beauty 2

Micro Moths 

Celypha rosaceana 1 [NFY]
Chrysoesthia drurella 2 [NFY] (netted)
Dichrorampha petiverella 1 [NFY] (netted)
Dichrorampha sedatana/aeratana 1 [NFG] (netted)
Epinotia bilunana 1 [NFY]
Evergestis limbata 1 [NFY]
Glyphipterix simpliciella 1 [NFY] (netted)
Hedya pruniana 1 [NFY]
Lyonetia clerkella 1 [NFY]

Nemapogon cloacella 1 [NFY] (netted)
Neocochylis molliculana 2 [NFY]

Notocelia trimaculana 1 [NFY]
Sitochroa verticalis 1 [NFY]
Stigmella crataegella 1 [NFG] (Emerged from Hawthorn mine)
Swammerdamia pyrella 1 [NFY] (netted)
Anthophila fabriciana 2 (netted)
Aphomia sociella 1
Bryotropha basaltinella 5 (2 netted)
Bucculatrix albedinella 1
Cochylichroa atricapitana 2
Dichrorampha plumbagana 3 (netted)
Elachista argentella 1
Elachista sp pos bedellella 1 (netted) (TBC)
Grapholita funebrana 3
Mompha subbistrigella 10+
Nemapogon granella 1 (netted)
Pyrausta aurata 1 (netted)
Tinea trinotella 2

 

Bordered White

Chrysoesthia drurella

Elachista pos bedellella

Epinotia bilunana

Large Nutmeg

Notocelia trimaculana

Pale Oak Beauty

Satin Wave

Stigmella crataegella