Musotima nitidalis
L-album Wainscot
Feathered Ranunculus
Agonopterix nervosa
Blossom Underwing
Beautiful Marbled
Lampronia fuscatella
Gravitarmata margarotana
Perittia obscurepunctella
Black-spotted Chestnut
Cydia pactolanaI had a batch of dissections back from Peter Hall recently who kindly offered his services to check a few potentially good moths for Cambs.
They were as follows
2. Saltern Ear - Wicken Fen 9th July 2026 - NEW TO CAMBS? (There is a photo of a specimen from David Hopkins on the website so maybe the record is currently pending) - On the same night as the odd looking Blastobasis, was a classic looking Saltern Ear, a moth I am familiar with on the coasts of Norfolk. For me, it is quite easy to separate potential candidates of Large/Crinan/Saltern Ear in the field based on size and general wing length jizz. Ear Moths are extremely squat in appearance. The other 3 are much more elongate. Potted up and with the abdomen sent off to Peter, it was confirmed as a Saltern Ear, a male in this instance. It is a new moth for the Wicken Fen fauna list.
3. Choristoneura diversana - Ditton Park Wood 26th June & 5th July 2026 - The Wood Tortrix or Forest Tortrix is a rather rare resident here in Cambs, with the last record some 15 years ago from, you guessed it.. Wicken Fen. Previous to that there are a spate of records from the 70's. A new moth for me, and to get two within a couple of weeks could answer the question that this moth is established locally still. Further trapping efforts next year will be interesting.
4. Coleophora caespititiella - Fordham 2nd June 2025 - A scarce Coleophora in the county, though nationally common and probably under-recorded in Cambs. It is yet another new species of Coleophora for the garden with just 6 previous records for the VC.
5. Coleophora pennella - Fordham 30th May 2025 - 2ND FOR CAMBS - After taking the first county record in 2024, I retained a similar looking Coleophora last May. A year or so later the record was indeed correct and verified. Amazing to have both records in the garden. I would have thought that searching a few Bugloss rich areas would throw up a case or two. Unfortunately the biggest area just outside of the village, where I have seen it growing in profusion, is on a bloody roundabout!
6. Depressaria douglasella - Fordham 1st July 2026 - NEW TO CAMBS - Pretty much inseparable from Depressaria pulcherrimella, so I had to send away for dissection. Either species would be new to Cambs. I did favour douglasella on external characteristics, so I was pleased that my initial hunch was correct. A new moth for me.
7. Epiblema cnicicolana - Fordham 23rd June 2026 - 2ND FOR CAMBS - After taking the first for the county back in 2021 at nearby Chippenham Fen, I potted up a very similar tortrix moth on the night of the 23rd of June. On closer inspection with a hand lens, it looked bang on for it. Unfortunately it was another that had to be dissected, being so scarce away from Wales and the south coast. To get two locally suggests that it maybe breeding in extremely small densities, and it is possible that some previous specimens of Epiblema cirsiana/stictiana have been identified incorrectly.
8. Gynnidomorpha alismana - Fordham 10th July - Not as scarce as previous moths that were sent for dissection, nevertheless this was still a cracking good addition to the garden list. The main reasons for dissection was it's size, more akin to vectisana/minimana, both very rare in the county. It turns out that it was a male, and probably the reason why it was so small (As the females weigh in a shade bigger in general).
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| Saltern Ear |
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| Blastobasis vittata |
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| Choristoneura diversana |
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| Coleophora caespititiella |
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| Coleophora pennella |
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| Depressaria douglasella |
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| Epiblema cnicicolana |
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| Gynnidomorpha alismana |
