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

Wednesday 1 October 2014

A tricky Ermine

Hello everybody.

On Monday night I trapped in the garden as usual. 
Conditions were quite favourable with overcast skies and little wind, although we had had a downpour in the afternoon at some point this didn't dampen my spirits.
The catch wasn't bad at all with no less than 25 species.

Emmetia marginea was a new Micro moth for the garden, a Bramble feeder.

Yellow-line Quaker was the only moth new for the year, and like the Black Rustic a species that I missed out on last year...will I get a Brick to complete the trio of 'The Lost Moths of 2012?' 

It was also nice to get the stunning form of Sallow f.flavescens, a different Beaded Chestnut and a much darker form of Barred Sallow.

Now..there is a bit of confusion at the moment as to what Ermine I have caught. 
As I went out to the In the dark at 6am in the morning I suspected that it was a very late (my latest) Yellow-tail...I potted it up and then noticed it was too elongate for this and Brown-tail, plus it had neither yellow or brown on the end of its abdomen.
This could only mean either White Ermine (for which it initially looked nothing like) or Water Ermine! Which hasn't been recorded since the 1940's!
The moth was checked for the spotted hindwing markings that White Ermine has, this moth does not appear to have any markings, it is pure silky white and not worn either.
But then there is the antennae question, in White Ermine the pectinations of the antennae are uneven and longer one side than the other, in Water Ermine these are pretty much symmetrical.
My moth is asymmetrical so I am really baffled at present! See what you all think.

For starters the wing shape looks too slim and rounded for White Ermine.

I will get this dissected to be sure.



Catch Report - 29/09/14 - Back Garden - Stevenage - 1x125w MV Robinson Trap

Macro Moths

1x Yellow-line Quaker [NFY]
1x Ermine sp?
3x Brimstone Moth
5x Lunar Underwing
2x Common Marbled Carpet
2x Willow Beauty
1x Shuttle-shaped Dart
1x Sallow (f.flavescens)
3x Lesser Yellow Underwing
1x Large Ranunculus
1x Engrailed
1x Angle Shades
3x Large Yellow Underwing
1x Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
1x Beaded Chestnut
1x Setaceous Hebrew Character
2x Snout
1x Burnished Brass
2x Barred Sallow
2x Common Wainscot

Micro Moths

1x Emmetia marginea [NFG]
1x Clepsis consimilana
1x Mompha subbistrigella
1x Plutella xylostella
1x Blastobasis lacticolella
1x Ambylptilia acanthadactyla

Ermine sp












Beaded Chestnut











Barred Sallow












Yellow-line Quaker









 
Common Marbled Carpet













Emmetia marginea




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