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

Wednesday, 10 June 2026

Unstable times ahead

With the jet stream sitting firmly over the central belt of the country currently, we are continuously being buffeted by storm after storm, it's been tough for lepidoptera and the moth trap has been very sparse.

Field trips are currently on hold, but there is a sign that things will be picking up next week, fingers crossed.

A few nights off then we spin forward to the 5th of June, a warmish night but still dipping to 12 degrees, it was just about doable, unfortunately with the cloud cover came rain on and off all night.

Despite the cooler conditions, 8 new species was more than I expected.

A lovely female Ghost Moth was nice to see, although very active straight out of the fridge. Short-cloaked Moth was also nice and not common here with maybe 1 a year.

Micros included the uncommon Elachista freyerella and the increasing in abundance, Pyrausta despicata.

 
 
Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 366 species 
 
05/06/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap
 
Macro Moths

Clouded Border 1 [NFY]
Ghost Moth 1 [NFY]
Short-cloaked Moth 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths
 
Chrysoteuchia culmella 1 [NFY]
Elachista freyerella 1 [NFY]
Eudonia mercurella 1 [NFY] 
Pyrausta despicata 1 [NFY] 
Zelotherses paleana 1 [NFY] 
 
Short-cloaked Moth

Clouded Border

Elachista freyerella

Eudonia mercurella

Ghost Moth

Pyrausta despicata

 
 
Posted by Bennyboymothman at 20:13