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
Contact Email : bensale@rocketmail.com

My Latest Notables and Rarities

Sunday 18 September 2016

Back on the farm for a slice of the migrant action


Another warm day but with threats of rain and everything was literally soaked in the morning at my parents farm and as a result the catch was pretty low but it was quality over quantity and I was lucky to pick up on a few of the recent arrivals from mainland Europe, namely 2 specimens of Vestal (Sadly one had succumbed to the wicked ways of the wasps or hornets, take your pick...there were about 20 of each!)

3 new Micro Moths for me were great to see including Caryocolum blandella, Gypsonoma minutana and Ypsolopha horridella. All three are quite scarce in the County particularly Gypsonoma minutana.

Sadly I fumbled with the pot and the Ypsolopha horridella went skywards...a photo next time hopefully.

There was quite an explosion of Anthophila fabriciana found around the trap that was alongside swathes of Nettles, these must be 2nd brood. 

A single Sallow was my earliest record ever, my previous earliest was on the 05th of September in 2013.
 
Catch Report - 24/08/16 - Farmland - Braughing Friars - 2x 125w MV Robinson Trap 1x 160w MBT Robinson Trap 1x 80w Actinic Briefcase Trap & 1x 40w Actinic/26w BLB Trap

Macro Moths - 35 Species

Angle Shades 4
Blood-vein 1
Brimstone Moth 12
Burnished Brass 2
Common Carpet 3
Common Wave 4
Dark Arches 1
Dingy Footman 2
Dun-bar 6
Feathered Gothic 2
Flame Shoulder 10
Flounced Rustic 3
Green Carpet 6
Large Twin-spot Carpet 2
Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing 15
Maple Pug 4
Mouse Moth 1
Orange Swift 9
Poplar Hawk-moth 1
Riband Wave 11
Sallow 1
Setaceous Hebrew Character 400+
Six-striped Rustic 1
Snout 17
Spectacle 2
Square-spot Rustic 22
Square-spotted Clay 2
Straw Dot 4
Straw Underwing 3
Svensson's Copper Underwing 1
Swallow Prominent 1
Tree-lichen Beauty 2
Vestal 2
Vine's Rustic 4
Yellow Shell 2

Micro Moths - 43 Species

Caryocolum blandella 1[NEW!]
Gypsonoma minutana 1 [NEW!]
Ypsolopha horridella 1 [NEW!]
Acentria ephemerella 3
Acleris forsskaleana 1
Acleris notana/ferrugana 1
Acrobasis advenella 1
Aethes smeathmanniana 1
Agapeta hamana 3
Agonopterix heracliana 2
Agriphila geniculea 5
Agriphila tristella 1
Anthophila fabriciana 20+
Apotomis betuletana 1
Blastobasis adustella 4
Calamotropha paludella 1
Caloptilia alchimiella/robustella 3
Catoptria falsella 5
Celypha lacunana 11
Clepsis spectrana 2
Cnephasia sp1
Cochylis atricapitana 3
Cochylis molliculana 1
Cochylis hybridella 9
Cryptoblabes bistriga 1
Cydia splendana 1
Epinotia nisella 4
Eudonia mercurella 1
Endrosis sarcitrella 2
Eudonia angustea 1
Euzophora pinguis 1
Evergestis forficalis 1
Galleria mellonella 1
Grapholita janthinana 1
Limnaecia phragmitella 2
Mompha epilobiella 1
Pandemis heparana 1
Phycita roborella 1
Pleuroptya ruralis 2
Plutella xylostella 20+
Spilonota ocellana 4
Udea ferrugalis 2
Ypsolopha scabrella 2


Epinotia nisella











Vestal













Gypsonoma minutana












Sallow













Caryocolum blandella









 
Apotomis betuletana











Feathered Gothic

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