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

Thursday, 23 July 2026

Back to back Clyps

Last night it was a little warmer and calmer, but with a slight breeze still coming from the east coast.

Lows of 15.8c was decent enough for the time of year and highs of around 26 degrees during the daytime.

Less species than the previous night, but some more quality.

Firstly my 2nd garden record of Bordered Straw was sitting proudly on the underside of one of my external egg trays, more than enough reason to always put egg trays around the outside of your trap! If you don't currently do it... do it tonight!
The last one I saw in 2022, a sporadic migrant that has good years and bad years, much like its congener the Scarce Bordered Straw.
 
Tawny-speckled Pug was the 2nd new for year species, and staying on the pug front, a White-spotted was nice to see, having had a 3 month hiatus. 

Coleophora clypeiferella was recorded again! 2 in 2 nights and pretty special to say the least, specimen checked to confirm.

Other good returning micros included Dioryctria simplicella & Nephopterix angustella.

 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 622 species 
 
22/07/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap
 
Macro Moths

Bordered Straw 1 [NFY]
Tawny-speckled Pug 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths 
 
Coleophora clypeiferella 1
Dioryctria simplicella 1
Nephopterix angustella 1
 
White-spotted Pug

Bordered Straw

Coleophora clypeiferella

Dioryctria simplicella

Nephopterix angustella

Tawny-speckled Pug

 
Posted by Bennyboymothman at 20:58