Winding down, what a year though!

I haven't trapped in my garden since last Tuesday now, where numbers had crashed, back last Sunday was my last good night, and going forwards I will only trap on +10 degree nights as it really isn't worth the effort or leccy on less favourable nights.

Sunday was a big milestone, a Dusky-lemon Sallow made it 666 species for the year, the best year in 4 full years of trapping.   

Can't leave it on 666 though! Hopefully a few nights looking ahead will yield a couple more of expected species.

 

Other good species was my 6th Pine Carpet of the year, all have been caught since the 10th, exceptionally late indeed.

Another Delicate was good, as was a flighty Caloptilia semifascia, just about letting me fire of a few macro shots before taking to the skies.

Musotima nitidalis also returned after a month hiatus, and my first f.capucino of the Green-brindled Crescent was noted.

 

That's it for awhile here, time to catch up on the backlog of data input and some much needed moth housekeeping. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 666 species

19/10/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Dusky-lemon Sallow 1 [NFY]

 

Turnip Moth

Caloptilia semifascia

Delicate

Dusky-lemon Sallow

Green-brindled Crescent

Musotima nitidalis

Pine Carpet

 

2025 is officially the joint best year

For diversity of species, this year has now matched the previous top year, which was 2022, with a mammoth total of 645 species.

And there's still a few species to go that should squeak on the list this year (Sprawler, December Moth, Mottled Umber, Scarce Umber & Winter Moth).

 

The two new species that made it level peggings, were my 2nd garden record of Streak, a really odd looking moth indeed and always larger than I remember, and a duo of Yellow-line Quaker's 

Late moths included Dark Arches (although these can go on until December in rare cases), Bright-line Brown-eye, Blastobasis adustella, Carcina quercana and oodles of Vine's Rustic.

109 moths of 31 species was to be an October record here, this strangely coincided with our streetlights being changed from orange incandescent to LED. I have noticed that the LED unit is much smaller and is slightly shielded and much dimmer than the orange glow we were used to. 

It will be interesting to see what the catches are like next summer. 

The nights have gone rubbish lately, but a few more catches were made prior to this storm called Benjamin.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 665 species

17/10/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Streak 1 [NFY]

Yellow-line Quaker 2 [NFY] 

 

Yellow-line Quaker

Bright-line Brown-eye

Carcina quercana

Dark Arches

Delicate

Large Wainscot

Merveille du Jour

Streak

Vine's Rustic

Yellow-line Quaker

 

A new for garden, 1 of 2 species

Last Thursday, catches had improved somewhat with 60 odd moths of 22 species, very good for October in my garden.

Grey Shoulder-knot was added to the year list, a species I dippped on earlier on in the spring (The last 3 years i've only seen it in spring).

The most interesting moth of the night was a medium sized micro moth, a tortrix spotted on the vanes of my actinic trap. Identifying it as one of the Epinotia species, things would get trickier now once it was potted!

A unincolorous form, so not easy to identify. I've ruled out sordidana on the darker hindwing, and leaning more towards caprana with the dark streak present, but then it could be maculana! A difficult one that will no doubt lead to dissection eventually, unless someone can enlighten me. 

 

Either species will be new for the garden. 

 

Cypress Carpet returned for a second brood, a rather nice example too.

 

A few more mild nights then it goes a little chilly. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 663 species

16/10/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

Grey Shoulder-knot 1 [NFY]

Micro Moths 

Epinotia caprana/maculana 1 [NFG]

Grey Shoulder-knot

Cypress Carpet

Epinotia caprana but pos maculana

Epinotia caprana but pos maculana

 

Another couple of Autumnal ticks

After a night off on Tuesday (cool with clear skies) it was back on it, on Wednesday night. 

Another similar catch, but we still seem to have late summer species hanging on, with several Brimstone Moths present and a Light Emerald. 

Another two new species for the year were present, which was pleasing.

They were..

Brindled Green - An annual moth here, though sometimes with just the one record, this year seems exceptional as i've now had 4.

Grey-pine Carpet - Missed out on the Spring brood, so it was nice to get a couple this side of the year, again like Brindled Green, i've since had several more this week.

 

A big fat cat was also spotted ambling across the patio, my first larval record of Turnip Moth. 

 

STOP PRESS ... A belated record of a Humming-bird Hawk-moth on the 1st of October, after a warm night, my wife spotted it on our front drive nectaring from the Busy Lizzies at 9am, she even took a quick snap for me. 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 661 species

15/10/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Brindled Green 1 [NFY] 

Grey-pine Carpet 2 [NFY] 

Humming-bird Hawk-moth 1 [NFY] (1st October)

 

Turnip Moth

Brindled Green

Grey-pine Carpet

Grey-pine Carpet

Humming-bird Hawk-moth

 

 

 

Autumn(al) is here

Monday night saw reasonable numbers of moths considering the conditions.

Brown-spot Pinion was good to add to the year list, it being of the form 'rufa-pallida'. Brown-spot Pinion has became a rather scarce moth for me in the last decade, slowly declining in numbers, this seems to be the case for others here in the east as well, whereas it's cousin, Beaded Chestnut, is going from strength to strength. 

A second new species for the year was a dissected Epirrita species that on initial inspection, looked good for Autumnal Moth. It being a male (as the females aren't doable) I had a crack, and the fairly straightforward dissection proved to be correct, my third garden record.

Other bits included another Acleris rhombana and another form of Beaded Chestnut.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 658 species

13/10/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Autumnal Moth 1 [NFY] 

Brown-spot Pinion 1 [NFY] 

 

Brown-spot Pinion

Acleris rhombana

Autumnal Moth

Beaded Chestnut

 

Green Theme

Saturday night the moth trap was switched on once more in the anticipation of catching some new moths.

 

It was a rather good night, with little wind and cloud cover once more, but because of the time of year it's still feeling a little chilly early morning.

 

Two stunning green species were observed before bedtime, a year first Merveille du Jour (always a treat) and two returning Red-green Carpets (the one photographed was particularly vibrant). 

 

A 2nd yearly record of Pink-barred Sallow was also worth mentioning, a scarce moth here.

 

The next few nights are still warm enough for some moth activity, so it's lights on! 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 656 species

11/10/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Merveille du Jour 1 [NFY] 

 

Red-green Carpet

Merveille du Jour

Pink-barred Sallow

Another couple of year listers

The weather is a bit dull lately and there is a chill in the air now early evening and first thing, with dewy conditions, kind of expected really.

For the time of year it is fairly mild, well.. Friday was fairly pleasant hitting 18 degrees, but the weekend has struggled under blankets of cloud. 

Friday night was a rather good catch, with lows of 13 degrees, cloud and little wind, 21 species was a very good return for mid October. 

My latest Pine Carpet was good to get, and there were two of them, they are also the first this year! Usually a July/August moth here in small numbers.

The second tick was not one, but 3 Phyllonorycter messaniella, a seemingly rare moth here for unknown reasons, and not seen for 4 years! 

Other species included several moth Mallows including a fresh one, and a couple of Acleris schalleriana.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 655 species

10/10/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Pine Carpet 2 [NFY] 

 

Micro Moths 

 

Phyllonorycter messaniella 3 [NFY] 

 

Phyllonorycter messaniella

Pine Carpet

 

Mallow

Acleris schalleriana

Couple of new ones, couple of migrants

Tuesday night saw a slightly warmer night and we had much needed cloud which was nice, especially as the moon is still rather bright and rising at around 8pm.

Two migrants were noted, a lovely 'dark' Dark Sword-grass and there were also 3 Udea ferrugalis to back it up.

The new species were November Moth (earliest by 6 days) and my earliest garden record of Red-line Quaker by 9 days, the trend year on year it seems, as we still hold onto mid to high teen temperatures during the day.

Another couple of Blair's Shoulder-knot were good to see, a moth that seems to be on the increase here, and a spied a furry caterpillar making a bid for freedom across the patio, potted up and later photographed, it was to be a White Ermine larvae.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 653 species

07/10/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

November Moth 1 [NFY] 

Red-line Quaker 1 [NFY]

 

White Ermine Caterpillar

Blair's Shoulder-knot

Dark Sword-grass

November Moth

Red-line Quaker

Udea ferrugalis

 

 

 

A good mixture of moths post storm

A blip of squally weather put to bed the idea of running my trap, so a few nights rest was welcome.

 

By Sunday night, the weather had calmed down somewhat and the trap was back on. 

 

There were two new species that attended the trap, the first of many Feathered Thorns and a sparkly Green-brindled Crescent, a common but stunning species. 

 

A single Rush Veneer was good to get, another rare species this year following on from how scarce the Diamond-back Moth has been in my garden.

A returning Grey-pine Carpet was good (Last seen in July) and both species of  Hypsopygia still hanging on, possibly my latest records of both.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 651 species

05/10/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Feathered Thorn 1 [NFY] 

Green-brindled Crescent 1 [NFY]

 

Feathered Thorn

Green-brindled Crescent

Grey-pine Carpet

Hypsopygia costalis

Hypsopygia glaucinalis

Nomophila noctuella

October moth fest

The start of October was the busiest i've ever known it in my garden trap, a lot of returning species of course, but with good numbers of Clancy's Rustic and L-album Wainscots, species that were unheard of inland 10 years ago.

Warm day-time temperatures and fairly mild nights, but blustery at times were the key feature of the weather.

Migrants are still very poor in my garden this year, a single Plutella xylostella on the 1st was only the 10th this year. 

The first two nights of October, featured some lovely variation of Beaded Chestnut.

 

A Caloptilia stigmatella was potted up as it was flitting around the actinic tube, this example being only the 3rd garden record with one in 2022 and one in March this year.

 

The only new moth was a Mallow on the 2nd, a welcome addition and annual in small numbers here.  

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 649 species

02/10/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

 

Mallow 1 [NFY] 

 

Beaded Chestnut

Beaded Chestnut

Mallow

Red-green Carpet