A good night for moths, bad days for me

Terrible time lately with sciatica to a point where I now can barely put my socks on! So a few nights off for the moths in my garden as I just don't have the energy.

This was a catch from Monday night where I could feel my back twinging before bed.

 

Some really good moths were found come the morning, an absolutely stunning Cream-spot Tiger the pick of the bunch.

Followed closely by a shiney Burnished Brass and a super coloured Green Carpet.

 

Nephopterix angustella, the Spindle loving species was only my 4th for the garden.

 

A Marbled Minor species was checked and identified as a year first Tawny Marbled.

 

During the day, the first Clearwing moths arrived, with two Red-belted Clearwings to the VES lure.

 

Just 4 species off of 200 for the year, levelling out now and just 12 ahead of last year currently.

 

That was to be it until I feel better.

 

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 196 species

12/05/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Burnished Brass 1 [NFY]
Cream-spot Tiger 1 [NFY]
Green Pug 1 [NFY]
Peppered Moth 1 [NFY]
Purple Bar 1 [NFY]
Red-belted Clearwing 2 [NFY] - (To VES lure)
Sycamore 1 [NFY]
Tawny Marbled Minor 1 [NFY] - Gen Det
Vine's Rustic 1 [NFY]
White-spotted Pug 1 [NFY]
Bright-line Brown-eye 1
Buttoned Snout 1
Cinnabar 3
Common Pug 2
Coronet 6
Garden Carpet 4
Green Carpet 1
Latticed Heath 2
Oak-tree Pug 1
Pale Tussock 1
Pebble Hook-tip 1
Puss Moth 1
Red Twin-spot Carpet 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart 2
Treble Lines 1
Turnip Moth 2
Waved Umber 1
White Ermine 2
White-spotted Pug 2
Yellow-barred Brindle 1

Micro Moths

Celypha lacunana 1 [NFY]
Dichrorampha plumbagana 1 [NFY]
Nephopterix angustella 1 [NFY]
Dichrorampha acuminatana 1
Emmelina monodactyla 1
Parornix sp 1
Phyllonorycter sp 1 (tbc)
Plutella xylostella 1

White-spotted Pug

Burnished Brass

Cream-spot Tiger

Green Carpet

Nephopterix angustella

Purple Bar

Red-belted Clearwing

Sycamore

Vine's Rustic

 

Early May Sunny Days

Saturday was a lovely warm day, if a bit breezy at times (as we found out when we went fishing)

The night was once again clear, but it didn't drop as much this time, as we imported some milder air from the continent on a South-easterly air flow, still not stellar but it stayed around 10 degrees all night. 

A great array of moths were attracted to the lights overnight, it being far too breezy to bother netting at dusk.

The first specimens of sometimes the most common moths, are always special to me. Take the uber abundant Heart & Dart as an example, the year first had a lovely purple/red hue along the edge of its wings, and barely a scale out of place. 

Best moth for me was the apple loving tiny, Callisto denticulella (Aptly named the Apple Nymph) nearly an annual moth here, dipping on one last year.

My second favourite was again, one of the common pugs in my garden, the Lime-speck Pug.

Again, another super fresh moth and worthy of it's portrait.

 

We had warm days on Sunday/Monday and the trap was busier, although a cooler day today, I wonder what tonight will bring.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 183 species

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

Macro Moths

Heart & Dart 1 [NFY]
Lime-speck Pug 1 [NFY] 
Chinese Character 2
Common Pug 3
Common Wainscot 1
Coronet 1
Garden Carpet 3
Grey Pine Carpet 1
Latticed Heath 1
Least Black Arches 1
Muslin Moth 2
Puss Moth 1 
Shuttle-shaped Dart 2
Waved Umber 1
Yellow-barred Brindle 1


Micro Moths 

Callisto denticulella 1 [NFY]
Celypha striana 1 [NFY]
Prays fraxinella/ruficeps 1 [NFY]
Cameraria ohridella 1
Cochylis atricapitana 1
Epiphyas postvittana 3
Mompha subbistrigella 1
Neocochylis dubitana 2
Parornix sp 1
Platyedra subcinerea 1
Plutella xylostella 1
Scrobipalpa ocellatella 1

Prays fraxinella/ruficeps

Callisto denticulella

Celypha striana

Heart & Dart

Least Black Arches

Lime-speck Pug

Neocochylis dubitana

 

 

Good species, low numbers

Friday night continued the same theme of clear moon-lit skies and a cool breeze with lows of 7 degrees after a warm day of 19 degrees.

There is always usually some interest this time of year, as we shift from late spring to early summer.

Friday night was no different, with one new macro moth, and several new micro moths, with a brief spot of netting after our family film night.

The first of the Wainscots arrived (usually Common, although Smoky being first isn't unheard of).

 

Pick of the micros was Aethes smeathmanniana, a moth that is pretty uncommon in my garden.

 

Warmer days arrived, but temperatures are still falling away under clear skies.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 178 species

09/05/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Common Wainscot 1 [NFY]
Brimstone Moth 1
Buff-tip 1
Chinese Character 1
Common Pug 1
Common Swift 1
Garden Carpet 1
Grey Dagger 1
Muslin Moth 3
Setaceous Hebrew Character 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart 3
Treble Lines 2

Micro Moths

Aethes smeathmanniana 1 [NFY]
Cacoecimorpha pronubana 1 [NFY] (Daytime)
Eudonia angustea 1 [NFY]
Monopis laevigella 1 [NFY]
Nemapogon cloacella 1 [NFY] (netted)
Alucita hexadactyla 1 (netted)
Cameraria ohridella 1 (netted)
Cochylis dubitana 2 (netted)
Elachista argentella 1
Emmetia marginea 1 (netted)
Epiphyas postvittana 1 (netted)
Nemapogon granella 2 (netted)
Platyedra subcinerea 1
Scrobipalpa ocellatella 1

Nemapogon granella

Aethes smeathmanniana

Cacoecimorpha pronubana

Common Wainscot

Elachista argentella

Monopis laevigella

Nemapogon cloacella

Chippenham Fen - Field Trip - 30/04/25

I ran 4 traps at my local nature reserve right on the last of April.

The day after was supposed to be a much warmer night (and indeed it was) but I only had the night before free, so I had to go for it.

It did get a bit cool towards the end just after midnight, but it stayed relatively mild for the time of year. 

69 species were recorded over the 4 hours I ran the traps, with highlights such as a nicely marked Seraphim, an extremely dark Caloptilia semifascia, a smasher of a Small Phoenix, and a new moth for me confirmed as Coleophora otidipennella.

All in all, a very successful trip on not the most perfect night.

30/04/25 - Chippenham Fen - East Cambridgeshire - 1x 125w Trap, 1x 160w MBT Trap, 1x 250w Robinson Trap, 1x 40w/22w Bucket Trap

Macro Moths

Alder Moth
Barred Hook-tip
Brimstone Moth
Brindled Pug
Chinese Character
Clouded Border
Common Carpet
Common Pug
Common White Wave
Coronet
Coxcomb Prominent
Dark Spectacle
Double-striped Pug
Engrailed
Eyed Hawk-moth
Figure of Eighty
Flame Shoulder
Flame Wainscot
Green Carpet
Grey Birch
Grey Pine Carpet
Iron Prominent
Knot Grass
Latticed Heath
Least Black Arches
Lime Hawk-moth
May Highflyer 2
Nut-tree Tussock
Oak Hook-tip
Oak-tree Pug
Orange Footman
Pale Prominent
Pale Tussock
Pebble Hook-tip
Pebble Prominent
Pine Beauty
Pine Hawk-moth
Poplar Grey
Purple Thorn
Red Chestnut
Red Twin-spot Carpet
Red-green Carpet
Ruby Tiger
Rustic Shoulder-knot
Scalloped Hook-tip
Scorched Carpet
Seraphim
Small Phoenix
Swallow Prominent
V-pug
Water Carpet
Waved Umber

Micro Moths

Aphomia sociella
Caloptilia cuculipennella
Caloptilia semifascia
Coleophora otidipennella
Endrosis sarcitrella
Epinotia immundana
Glyphipterix simpliciella
Monopis weaverella
Notocelia cynosbatella
Paraswammerdamia albicapitella
Parornix sp
Phyllonorycter salicicolella
Plutella xylostella
Prays fraxinella
Scrobipalpa ocellatella
Semioscopis steinkelleriana
Tinea trinotella

Seraphim

Small Phoenix

Yponomeuta evonymella Caterpillars on Bird Cherry

160w MBT Trap

Coleophora otidipennella

Common Wave

Grey Pine Carpet

Phyllonorycter salicicolella

Pine Hawk-moth

 

Mediocre May

It certainly has been mediocre May so far for me in my garden, with cooler days of late and cool breezy nights, but last night, with less breeze, cloud and a decent chance of some emergence, I felt like it might be worth it.

And indeed it was with 22 moths of 16 species and 4 new ones.

The current airflow is still from the North-North/East, so not good at all. 

 

Some good species were observed and the first, 2nd and 3rd of many Setaceous Hebrew Character's arrived. Dark Spectacle was my favourite, the less common of the pair.

With warmer temperatures incoming and a swing in the wind, it can only get better. The two downsides will be clear skies and the enemy in the sky (A big bright full moon).

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 172 species

07/05/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

Macro Moths

Dark Spectacle 1 [NFY]
Setaceous Hebrew Character 3 [NFY]
Toadflax Brocade 1 [NFY]
Treble Lines 2 [NFY]
Buff-tip 1
Chinese Character 1
Coronet 1
Double-striped Pug 1
Garden Carpet 1
Lime Hawk-moth 1
Rustic Shoulder-knot 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart 4
Turnip Moth 1

Micro Moths

Cochylis atricapitana 1
Epiphyas postvittana 1
Evergestis forficalis 1

Turnip Moth

Dark Spectacle

Setaceous Hebrew Character

Toadflax Brocade

Treble Lines

 

Cold once more

After Thursday's bumper haul of 69 species, you would think that the night after would follow suit or be maybe a little bit less.

How wrong I was, with just 10 species, yes 10! A much cooler night though dropping to 6 degrees and with a cold northerly air mass sinking down upon us.

The only good thing was that there were 4 moths new in the pretty paultry haul for early May.

A stunning example of Red Twin-spot Carpet was the highlight, as was only my 3rd Powdered Quaker of the year. 

There were just two micros, a new for year Cochylimorpha straminea, a species I missed out on last year, the other one was the migrant/transient resident Plutella xylostella.

The nights since just haven't been worth writing about, as some nights it's been half of this catch, and i've either not bothered or only ran my trap up until bedtime. 

Moving forward, it warms up a bit at the weekend.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 168 species

02/05/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths

Blood-vein 1 [NFY]
Marbled Minor 1 [NFY]
Pebble Hook-tip 1 [NFY]
Lime Hawk-moth 1
Poplar Grey 1
Powdered Quaker 1
Red Twin-spot Carpet 1
Streamer 1

Micro Moths

Cochylimorpha straminea 1 [NFY]
Plutella xylostella 1

Red Twin-spot Carpet

Blood-vein

Cochylimorpha straminea

Marbled Minor

Pebble Hook-tip

Powdered Quaker

 

Another new moth!

New moths for my records are few and far between now, having chased moths for nigh on two decades. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw a presumed Nettle-tap, land on a leaf whilst at work, which then turned out to be my first Choreutis nemorana.

I ran back to the van for a pot, came back and it was still there!

Note to self, when you've used a pot up in your pocket the previous day, replace it ready for the next day.

27/04/25 - Stetchworth, East Cambs

 

Choreutis nemorana

 

May the 1st be with moths

What an incredible evening and night the first day of the month was! with a record high of close to 29 degrees, the evening was balmy and felt mildly humid, a first for this year. 

Strangely dusk netting wasn't that profitable, with only a smattering of regular species and no new ones, but as soon as it was lights on, micros started showing up, so working the trap every 10 or 15 minutes up until midnight was the order of the night.

Everytime I went out, another species was noted and potted up, it certainly was a moth fest of blinding diversity, who needs numbers when the species rack up!

All in all I make it 69 species jotted down, an early May record and numbers that don't usually become surpassed until early June.

When I turned in at midnight, the temperature guage was still reading 20 degrees! Insane for start of May, and with lows of 14 degrees overall, it made it the warmest day and night of the year.

Highlights included Cinnabar, Marbled Clover, Scalloped Hook-tip, Etainia louisella/sericopeza & 3 species of Bucculatrix.

And then it went much quieter, that's mothing for you.

Moth garden list for 2025 stands at 164 species

01/05/25 - Back Garden - Fordham - East Cambridgeshire - Actinic Trap

 

Macro Moths 

Cinnabar 1 [NFY]
Common Carpet 1 [NFY]
Common Pug 2 [NFY]
Common Swift 1 [NFY]
Figure of Eighty 2 [NFY]
Flame Carpet 1 [NFY]
Green Carpet 1 [NFY]
Marbled Clover 1 [NFY]
Pale Mottled Willow 1 [NFY]
Scalloped Hook-tip 1 [NFG]
Scorched Carpet 1 [NFY]
Bright-line Brown-eye 1
Brimstone Moth 2
Buttoned Snout 1
Chinese Character 1
Chocolate-tip 1
Coronet 7
Double-striped Pug 2
Garden Carpet 2
Grey Dagger 2
Hebrew Character 1
Light Brocade 1
Muslin Moth 3
Oak-tree Pug 1
Ochreous Pug 1
Pale Prominent 1
Pale Tussock 1
Pebble Prominent 1
Poplar Grey 2
Red Twin-spot Carpet 1
Shuttle-shaped Dart 12
Swallow Prominent 1
Turnip Moth 2
Waved Umber 3
Yellow-barred Brindle 3

Micro Moths

Aphomia sociella 3 [NFY]
Bucculatrix bechsteinella 1 [NFY]
Bucculatrix ulmella 1 [NFY]
Bucculatrix nigricomella 3 [NFY]
Elachista argentella 2 [NFY]
Elachista maculicerusella 1 [NFY]
Etainia louisella/sericopeza 1 [NFY]
Hedya pruniana 1 [NFY]
Neocochylis dubitana 1 [NFY]
Notocelia cynosbatella 1 [NFY]
Phyllonorycter leucographella 1 [NFY]
Swammerdamia pyrella 1 [NFY]
Agonopterix purpurea 1 (netted)
Alucita hexadactyla 1
Anthophila fabriciana 3 (netted)
Caloptilia elongella 1
Caloptilia honoratella 1
Caloptilia rufipennella 1
Caloptilia semifascia 1
Cameraria ohridella 3 (netted)
Emmelina monodactyla 1
Emmetia marginea 1
Epiphyas postvittana 3
Epinotia immundana 2
Esperia sulphurella 1 (netted)
Evergestis forficalis 1
Mompha epilobiella 1 (netted)
Mompha jurassicella 1
Mompha subbistrigella 1 (netted)
Nemapogon granella 10 (netted)
Phyllonorycter blancardella 1
Platyedra subcinerea 1
Pyrausta aurata 1 (netted)
Tinea trinotella 1

Etainia louisella/sericopeza

Figure of Eighty

Puss Moth

Scalloped Hook-tip

Aphomia sociella

Cinnabar

Common Carpet

Common Pug

Common Swift