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, 16 July 2026

More catches to catch up on

Whilst the weather remained warm and dry (sadly a bit too dry now as we haven't had rain for nigh on a month now here in the East), the weather turned rather unseasonably windy and a little chilly towards dawn on some nights over the weekend and into this current working week.

Catches have decreased as a result, and new species have slowed to a crawl. This is expected as so many species have already turned up 2 to 3 weeks early this year. 

Below are the highlights of 3 recent catches as It's been a stupidly busy week I am keeping it brief.

Best moths included Plain Pug (2nd garden record), my 2nd Depressaria chaerophylli of the year, a 2nd brood of Dog's Tooth, the uncommon Peach Blossom, and the even scarcer Agriphila inquinatella.

Platytes alpinella was a new garden moth, a moth associated with coastal areas but can wander inland, sadly just a phone picture as I lost it using my camera!

A cool East wind is now blowing into the garden, so the evenings aren't ideal.

 

Moth garden list for 2026 stands at 615 species 
 
10/07/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap
 
Macro Moths
  
Lesser Common Rustic 1 [NFY] 
Plain Pug 1 [NFY]
Small Emerald 1 [NFY]
 
 
12/07/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap
 
Macro Moths
  
Peach Blossom 1 [NFY]

Macro Moths

Platytes alpinella 1 [NFG]
 
 
13/07/26 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap 

Macro Moths
  
Twin-spotted Wainscot 1 [NFY]

Macro Moths

Agriphila inquinatella 1 [NFY]
 
 
Depressaria chaerophylli

Garden Dart

Lesser Common Rustic

Limnaecia phragmitella

Plain Pug

Scrobipalpa atriplicella

Small Emerald

Platytes alpinella

Peach Blossom

Twin-spotted Wainscot

Agriphila inquinatella

Posted by Bennyboymothman at 21:23