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

Friday 17 July 2015

Back to Braughing

Another fantastic night I had on my parents farm.
The evening was absolutely perfect again until I had set out all of the traps, pulled the cord on the generator (thanks so much to David Kirk and the Boxmoor Trust for allowing me to use it elsewhere) and the rain started.
I have lost count on how many times this has happened.
I got drenched until 11pm when I called it a night, topped the generator up and went to bed.
Getting up at 4am there were quite a few casualties as a result of prolonged showers which was a bit upsetting.
The numbers were absolutely astounding to say the least.
Most numerous were Mother of Pearl (200+),Water Veneer (Easily 400+), C.culmella (100+) and Dark Arches (52)

Best moth of the night for me was an extremely lucky find. I saw a moth that I didn't recognise upside down in a puddle near one of the traps, I put my hand down to it and it crawled on for its new lease of life and lo and behold it was a Beautiful Snout, I suddenly went all shivery...the moth was still in mint condition! 8th County record.


Other highlights and there were plenty were several European Corn-borer, Vestal, 4 Small Mottled Willows, 5 Rush Veneers, 2 Rusty Dot Pearls, 12 Silver Ys, 1 Lesser Wax Moth, 3 Pine Hawk-moth and 1 Ear Moth 
Backed up by a few wetland wandering species Donacaula forficella, Dotted Fan-foot and Calamotropha paludella.

Argyresthia curvella was a new moth for me.

I am thoroughly wet and exhausted but pleased at the same time!


Numbers below are approximate. 


Catch Report -  14/07/15 - Braughing Farmland - 2x 125w MV Robinson Trap 1x 160w MBT Robinson Trap & 1x 80w Actinic + 26w CFL Suitcase Trap

Macro Moths

2x Barred Straw
5x Beautiful Hook-tip
1x Beautiful Golden-Y 
6x Blood-vein
2x Bright-line Brown-eye
10x Brimstone Moth

1x Beautiful Snout
1x Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing  
2x Brown Rustic
6x Brown-line Bright-eye
1x Brown-tail
5x Buff Arches  
4x Buff Ermine  
3x Buff Footman
4x Buff-tip  
2x Burnished Brass 
1x Cabbage Moth  
3x Cinnabar
10x Clay
5x Cloaked Minor  
2x Clouded Border  
8x Clouded Silver  
3x Common Carpet
2x Common Emerald  
15x Common Footman
10x Common Rustic  
5x Common Wainscot 
1x Common White Wave
52x Dark Arches

3x Dingy Footman
6x Dot Moth
1x Dotted Fan-foot
1x Double-lobed
8x Double Square-spot
5x Drinker
4x Dun-bar
5x Dusky Sallow
2x Dwarf Cream Wave
1x Ear Moth
4x Elephant Hawk-moth
1x Engrailed
1x Eyed Hawk-moth 
1x Fan-foot 
4x Flame
2x Flame Shoulder 
3x Ghost Moth
2x Green Pug 
8x Heart & Club
15x Heart & Dart
 
5x Ingrailed Clay
3x July Highflyer 
2x Large Twin-spot Carpet  
10x Large Yellow Underwing
1x Latticed Heath  
2x Least Carpet
1x Leopard Moth
1x Light Arches     
1x Lime Hawk-moth
1x Lime-speck Pug
4x Maple Prominent  
5x Marbled Minor 
2x Mottled Beauty 
1x Mottled Rustic
1x Oak Nycteoline  
5x Peppered Moth
1x Phoenix
3x Pine Hawk-moth
2x Poplar Grey
1x Poplar Hawk-moth  
2x Privet Hawk-moth
6x Riband Wave
1x Rosy Footman
3x Ruby Tiger
4x Rustic
4x Scalloped Oak
2x Scarce Footman   
2x Setaceous Hebrew Character
1x Shaded Broad-bar
12x Silver Y 
1x Small Blood-vein
1x Small Dotted Buff  
3x Small Emerald
4x Small Fan-footed Wave  
4x Small Mottled Willow 
1x Small Yellow Wave
5x Smoky Wainscot  
8x Snout  
3x Spectacle  
1x Straw Dot
5x Swallow-tailed Moth 
1x Tawny Marbled Minor
20x Uncertain
1x Vestal
4x V-pug
3x White Satin
2x Willow Beauty
1x Yellow Shell

5x Yellow-tail

Micro Moths

1x Argyresthia curvella [NEW!]
1x Achroia grisella
45x Pleuroptya ruralis
3x Ostrinia nubilalis 
2x Donacaula forficella
2x Calamotropha paludella
5x Aethes cnicana
1x Dioryctria abietella
1x Gillmeria pallidactyla
10x Batia unitella
20+ Eudonia lacustrata
5x Anania hortulata
8x Endotricha flammealis
400+ Acentria ephemerella
5x Hofmannophila pseudospretella
1x Tinea semifulvella
5x Cnephasia sp
2x Mompha epilobiella
6x Agapeta hamana
1x Agapeta zoegana
3x Cochylis hybridella
2x Cochylis molliculana
1x Cochylis atricapitana
10x Catoptria falsella
3x Catoptria pinella
200+ Pleuroptya ruralis
100+ Chrysoteuchia culmella
4x Bryotropha terrella
2x Emmelina monodactyla
1x Ditula angustiorana
2x Metzneria metzneriella
2x Celypha striana
1x Cydia pomonella
10x Eucosma cana
24x Crambus perlella
1x Archips podana
20+ Scoparia ambigualis
2x Phycita roborella
3x Pandemis heparana
2x Aphomia sociella
2x Carcina quercana
1x Batia lunaris
2x Monochroa palustrella
2x Limnaecia phragmitella
2x Eucosma obumbratana
3x Helcystogramma rufescens
1x Zelleria hepariella
4x Spilonota ocellana
2x Gypsonoma dealbana
5x Nomphila noctuella
15x Pterophorus pentadactyla
5x Hypsopygia glaucinalis
1x Euzophera pinguis 
1x Hedya pruniana
1x Blastobasis lacticolella
2x Hedya nubiferana
3x Elachista canapennella
2x Udea ferrugalis
1x Hedya salicella
4x Epiblema foenella
2x Clepsis consimilana
2x Phycitodes binaevella
1x Eana incanana
1x Acleris forsskaleana
2x Udea olivalis
2x Anania perlucidalis
 
Small Mottled Willow










Beautiful Snout













Ear Moth












Vestal











Dotted Fan-foot













Small Dotted Buff












Donacaula forficella











Calamotropha paludella












Dioryctria abietella











Argyresthia curvella











Achroia grisella





 

1 comment:

  1. Definitely agree with Tony, Wow! What a fantastic night, Ben. Very pleased you recovered the Beautiful Snout!

    ReplyDelete