Wicken Fen - Field Trip - 14th July

I made a return trip to Wicken Fen last week, and after a warm, but breezy day it was expected to just about hold up warm enough overnight.

16 degrees was to be the low, as I left the site at around 2am.

But... the wind did not seem to abate sadly.

 

Wicken Fen is obviously quite an open and flat site, so any breeze gets felt fully. 

Luckily there are some little nooks & crannies to tuck the traps into, just about enough to combat the howling breeze.

 

Numbers were well down compared with the previous effort, possibly due to the lower humidity levels.

 

Once again, it only takes a few species to make the late night and early mornings worth it.

 

For starters there were two new species for my records, one Macro I've been after for nearly 2 decades, the Wormwood, or what we previously called it, the Wormwood Shark (Remembered from Richard South volumes which I use to study meticulously at bedtime in my 20's). 

What a moth though! I did try for it at several known sites over the years, on the Essex coast, at Ashwell Quarry and at other seemingly suitable sites, but to no avail.

 

There are quite a few records for Cambridgeshire, spanning from 1961 to 2021, with 1 previous record from Wicken Fen exactly 20 years ago!

 

The second new species was a moth that is expanding its range, a beautiful looking Pyralid Uncinus obductella, which I sadly fumbled with out of the pot when I went to take a photo of it, drat! Thankfully I managed a few pot shots with my mobile phone, sadly they would have to suffice.

It is a new species for Wicken.

 

Other good moths included Clepsis spectrana, a stunning 'blushed' Cryptoblabes bistriga, Eudonia truncicolella, a cracking Waved Black (Never common) and an Ear Moth, showing the difference between the last Ear species we trapped (Which surely must be Saltern). 

 

The next heatwave we get? possibly early August? I hope to return. 

 

 

14/07/26 - Wicken Fen - East Cambridgeshire - 1x 125w Clear MV Trap, 1x 250w Clear Robinson Trap & 1x 30w Led/Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Black Arches 
Bright-line Brown-eye 
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 
Brown-line Bright-eye 
Brown-veined Wainscot 
Bulrush Wainscot 
Burnished Brass 
Canary-shouldered Thorn 
Chinese Character 
Cloaked Minor
Clouded Border 
Common Carpet 
Common Rustic 
Common Swift 
Copper Underwing 
Cream Wave 
Cream-bordered Green Pea 
Crescent 
Dark Arches 
Dark Umber 
Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet 
Dewick's Plusia 
Dingy Footman
Dotted Fan-foot 
Double Lobed 
Drinker 
Dun-bar 
Dusky Sallow 
Dusky Thorn 
Dwarf Cream Wave
Ear Moth 
Elephant Hawk-moth 
Fen Wainscot 
Flame Shoulder 
Ghost Moth 
Gold Spot 
Grey Dagger 
Heart & Dart 
Iron Prominent 
Jersey Tiger 
July Highflyer 
Knot Grass 
Large Emerald 
Large Yellow Underwing
Latticed Heath 
Least Carpet
Least Yellow Underwing 
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 
Lesser Cream Wave 
Lesser Yellow Underwing 
Lime-speck Pug 
Lychnis 
Maiden's Blush 
Mere Wainscot 
Mouse Moth 
Nutmeg 
Nut-tree Tussock 
Pebble Hook-tip 
Peppered Moth
Pinion-streaked Snout
Poplar Hawk-moth 
Purple Bar 
Red Twin-spot Carpet 
Reed Dagger 
Riband Wave 
Rosy Minor 
Rosy Rustic
Ruby Tiger 
Rustic
Sallow Kitten 
Satyr Pug 
Scalloped Oak 
Scarce Footman 
September Thorn 
Setaceous Hebrew Character 
Silver Y 
Single-dotted Wave 
Slender Pug 
Small Blood-vein 
Small Fan-footed Wave 
Small Mottled Willow 
Small Rufous 
Smoky Wainscot 
Southern Wainscot
Spectacle 
Straw Dot 
Swallow Prominent 
Turnip 
Twin-spotted Wainscot 
Waved Black
White-point 
Wormwood Pug
Wormwood Shark 
Yellow Shell 
Yellow-tail 

Micro Moths

Acentria emphemerella 
Acleris variegana 
Acompsia cinerella  
Acrobasis suavella 
Adaina microdactyla 
Aethes cnicana 
Agapeta hamana 
Agapeta zoegana 
Agonopterix alstromeriana 
Agonopterix arenella
Agonopterix ocellana 
Agonopterix purpurea 
Agonopterix subpropinquella 
Agriphila straminella 
Anania lancealis 
Ancylosis oblitella 
Apotomis lineana 
Aproaerema anthyllidella 
Archips podana 
Argyresthia albistria 
Argyresthia brockeella 
Argyresthia goedartella
Aspila funebrana
Aspila janthinana 
Bactra furfurana 
Blastobasis adustella 
Blastobasis lacticolella 
Bryotropha affinis 
Bucculatrix albedinella 
Calamotropha paludella 
Caloptilia cuculipennella 
Caloptilia semifascia 
Carcina quercana 
Cataclysta lemnata 
Catoptria pinella 
Celypha lacunana 
Chrysoteuchia culmella 
Clepsis spectrana 
Cnephasia sp 
Cochylimorpha straminea 
Coleophora alcyonipennella/frischella 
Crambus pascuella 
Crambus perlella 
Crassa unitella 
Cryptoblabes bistriga
Cydia splendana 
Ditula angustiorana 
Donacaula forficella
Elachista maculicerusella 
Emmelina argoteles
Emmelina monodactyla 
Endothenia gentianaeana/marginana
Endothenia quadrimaculana 
Endotricha flammealis 
Endrosis sarcitrella 
Epiblema foenella 
Epinotia nisella 
Ethmia quadrilella 
Eucosma campoliliana
Eucosma cana
Eucosma conterminana 
Eucosma obumbratana 
Eudemis profundana 
Eudonia mercurella 
Eudonia truncicolella
Euzophera pinguis 
Evergestis extimalis 
Evergestis limbata
Hofmannophila pseudospretella 
Limnaecia phragmitella 
Lobesia abscisana 
Mompha epilobiella 
Monochroa conspersella
Monopis crocicapitella 
Neocochylis atricapitana 
Neocochylis hybridella 
Neocochylis molliculana 
Nomophila noctuella 
Nymphula nitidulata
Oegoconia sp 
Oncocera semirubella 
Ostrinia nubilalis 
Pammene fasciana 
Pandemis dumetana 
Pandemis heparana 
Parapoynx stratiotata 
Parornix sp 
Pediasia contaminella
Phalonidia manniana/udana 
Phycita roborella 
Pleuroptya ruralis 
Plutella xylostella 
Ptherochroa inopiana 
Pyralis farinalis 
Pyrausta purpuralis 
Sciota adelphella 
Scoparia subfusca 
Scrobipalpa acuminatella
Scrobipalpa costella 
Scrobipalpa ocellatella 
Sitochroa verticalis 
Teleiodes vulgella 
Udea ferrugalis 
Uncinus obductella
Yponomeuta cag/mal/pad 
Yponomeuta evonynella 
Yponomeuta rorrella 
Zeiraphera isertana

 

Wormwood Shark

250w Clear MV Robinson Trap

Clepsis spectrana

Corixidae en masse

Cryptoblabes bistriga

Ear Moth

Epinotia nisella

Epinotia nisella

Eudonia truncicolella

Pinion-streaked Snout

Scrobipalpa acuminatella

Uncinus obductella

Waved Black