Wicken Fen - Field Trip - 23rd May

I was invited to trap at Wicken Fen for a mini blitz of two areas at once, Adventurer's Fen to the South-west of Wicken Fen, and several trappers also around Sedge Fen and visitors area.

I was just to the south of the visitor centre, positioned with 4 traps primed and ready for the arrival of moths.

I did a bit of dusking but there were very few moths that I saw flying, as it was fairly breezy at time. Tapping a few trees and bushes dislodged a couple of specimens to the back of the net, but the night soon closed in and the traps were on.

Two of the traps were a bit exposed and did not fare very well, I opted to close down the actinic trap as it was just full of flies and only a couple of moths seemed interested.

But the 125w clear near the car park area did very well for variety, even better though was the trap that never lets me down, the 250w clear robbo.

Most of the nights moths and species came to this lamp and by the time I packed up at 2am I had amassed an incredible 157 species, for May this was very pleasing indeed.

 

Highlights included several Dentated Pug, one was pretty fresh and good to see, as all my previous ones have been battered.

15 Poplar Hawk-moth was a nightly record for me. 

 

There were surprises of fresh Clouded Drab & Powdered Quaker, both are my latest ever records, and looked particularly funny flying alongside Elephant Hawk-moths! 

 

There were also a few migrants present including one Delicate and five Small Mottled Willows.

Best moth of the night were two examples of the tiny Vine Moth (Eupoecilia ambiguella) sadly both a bit worn.

A nice selection of moths and good to get together with a few other fellow trappers.

 

23/05/26 - 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

Alder Moth
Angle Shades 
Brimstone Moth 
Brindled Pug 
Buff-tip 
Buff Ermine 
Burnished Brass 
Chocolate-tip 
Cinnabar 
Clouded-bordered Brindled 
Clouded Border 
Clouded Drab 
Clouded Silver 
Common Carpet 
Common Pug 
Common Swift 
Common Wainscot 
Common Marbled Carpet 
Common Wave 
Common White Wave 
Coronet 
Coxcomb Prominent 
Cream-bordered Green Pea 10
Cream Wave 
Dark Arches 
Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet 
Delicate
Dentated Pug
Dog's Tooth 
Dotted Fan-foot 
Elephant Hawk-moth 
Eyed Hawk-moth 
Figure of Eighty 
Flame 
Flame Shoulder 
Flame Wainscot 
Garden Carpet 
Green Carpet 
Green Pug 
Grey Pug 
Heart & Dart 
Iron Prominent 
Knot Grass 
Large Nutmeg 
Large Yellow Underwing 
Latticed Heath
Least Black Arches 
Leopard Moth 
Light Brocade 
Lime-speck Pug 
Light Emerald 
Marbled Minor 
Lobster Moth 
Marbled White-spot 
Miller
Mottled Pug 
Mottled Rustic 
Orange Footman 
Pale Oak Beauty 
Pale Prominent 
Pale Tussock 
Pebble Hook-tip 
Pebble Prominent 
Peacock Moth 
Peppered Moth 
Pinion-streaked Snout 
Poplar Grey 
Poplar Hawk-moth 15
Powdered Quaker 
Purple Bar 
Puss Moth 
Reed Dagger 
Reed Leopard 
Rustic Shoulder-knot 
Sandy Carpet 
Satyr Pug
Scorched Wing
Seraphim 
Setaceous Hebrew Character 
Shuttle-shaped Dart 
Silver Barred 
Silver Y
Silver-ground Carpet 
Silky Wainscot 
Small Clouded Brindle 
Small Seraphim
Small Mottled Willow 5
Smoky Wainscot 
Snout 
Spruce Carpet 
Straw Dot 
Swallow Prominent 
Tawny Marbled Minor 
Tawny-barred Angle 
Treble Lines
Turnip Moth 
White Ermine 

Micro Moths

Acentria emphemerella 
Ancylis mitterbacheriana
Agapeta hamana 
Agonopterix purpurea
Anania hortulata 
Anania perlucidalis 
Aphomia sociella 
Brachmia inornatella 
Bryotropha affinis 
Bryotropha basaltinella 
Celypha cespitana 
Celypha lacunana 
Celypha rosaceana 
Chilo phragmitella
Clepsis consimilana
Cochylidia implicitana
Coptoptriche marginea 
Coleophora alcyonipennella/frischella 
Coleophora amethystinella 
Cosmopterix lienigiella
Cosmopterix scribaiella
Crambus lathoniellus 
Elachista maculicerusella 
Elachista utonella
Endothenia gentianaeana/marginana
Endrosis sarcitrella 
Epiphyas postvittana 
Epinotia immundana 
Ethmia quadrilella 
Eucosma cana 
Eudonia pallida 
Epermenia falciformis
Eupoecilia ambiguella 2
Evergestis forficalis
Evergestis limbata 
Glyphipterix thrasonella 
Hedya pruniana 
Hofmannophila pseudospretella 
Monopis weaverella 
Neocochylis molliculana 
Nemapogon koenigi 
Nematopogon metaxella 
Notocelia cynosbatella 
Notocelia trimaculana 
Pandemis cerasana 
Paraswammerdamia albicapitella 
Phalonidia manniana 
Phyllonorycter viminiella
Plutella xylostella 
Pseudargyrotoza conwagana 
Phtheochroa schreibersiana
Phyllonorycter stettinensis
Pterophorus pentadactyla
Ptycholoma lecheana
Scoparia ambigualis 
Scoparia pyralella 
Scrobipalpa ocellatella
Syndemis musculana 
Tinea trinotella 
Tortrix viridana

Sunset at Wicken

The 250w Clear Robinson Trap

Ancylis mitterbacheriana

Chilo phragmitella

Dentated Pug

Elachista utonella

Eupoecilia ambiguella

Ptycholoma lecheana

Satyr Pug

Silky Wainscot

Small Mottled Willow