25th July 2019

It was the hottest night here since like ever so I was looking forward to the results in the trap. A storm in the early hours did affect things however although there were well over 100 species again.

White-line Dart is new for the garden and only my second recorded in the village:

White-line Dart Euxoa tritici

Another day another pyralid, although this time the new garden record involved a more widespread species Acrobasis repandana. Unfortunately in the process of trying to get it into a pot it made its escape, so this is the only shot obtained:

Acrobasis repandana

I've had a few Caloptilia species this year and another new one turned up, C. stigmatella:

Caloptilia stigmatella

Another species I've recorded just once in the village before is the striking tortrix Epiblema foenella. However, this one is a fairly dull individual, the white blotch on the forewing is normally bright white:

Epiblema foenella

The final new one was Mompha epilobiella, an apparently common species which I haven't come across before:

Mompha epilobiella

The best of the rest included the gardens second record of Recurvaria nanella, a fairly rare species of gelechiid:

Recurvaria nanella

[537] Caloptilia stigmatella
[538] Mompha epilobiella
[539] Epiblema foenella
[540] Acrobasis repandana
[541] White-line Dart

23rd July 2019

The start of a small heatwave coincided with a dramatic overnight thunderstorm. So while diversity wasn't as remarkable as this time last week, the rain didn't stop some interesting moths arriving.

The headliners were two pyralids - firstly the stunning Oncocera semirubella, one of those species that jumps out at you in the field guide and a really good species to record here.

Oncocera semirubella

The second pyralid was considerably more cryptic and also somewhat worn. The only match is Pempelia genistella a predominantly coastal species with records seemingly mostly from Suffolk and Essex in the region. Not sure if there's been many (or any) VC29 records.

Pempelia genistella

I had almost ignored a plain gelechiid but the photos show it to be a match for Acompsia cinerella:

Acompsia cinerella

Another scarce species locally, Phtheochroa inopiana, was the next one added to the garden list:

Phtheochroa inopiana

The final new one involved two tortrix individuals in the Dichrorampha genus - they are quite different to each other but both look likely to involve D.vancouverana:

Dichrorampha vancourverana

There were plenty of other good moths which included the second garden record of Eucosma campolinana. I failed to photograph the first one so its a shame that this years had seen better days:

Eucosma campoliliana

[532] Acompsia cinerella
[533] Oncocera semirubella
[534] Pempelia genistella
[535] Phtheochroa inopiana
[536] Dichrorampha vancouverana

21st July 2019

Somewhat unusually I came across a tortrix amongst the childrens toys in the house - it was unfamiliar to me but I quickly established it to be a Grapholita species. The dark palps strongly suggest that it is G. funebrana  (AKA Plum Fruit Moth) rather than the similar tenebrosana.

This species does not commonly come to light so it is uncertain that its occurrence in the house was related to my trapping two nights previous. Next door does have several plum trees so I imagine that was its origin.

Grapholita funebrana

[531] Grapholita funebrana

17th July 2019

In what can only be described as a monster catch of 144 species (which is yet another record number for me in Cottenham) there were some great species.

Best of the bunch was a superb male Black Arches - relatively common elsewhere in Cambs it is clearly not so round here. Along with Garden Tiger it has been top of my most wanted list for quite a few years. The tiger may well be a lost cause but you never know.

Black Arches Lymantria monacha

Nearly as rare here is the Magpie Moth; I recorded it once at Corbett Street (in 2012), so it is a great addition to the High Street list:

Magpie Moth Abraxas grossulariata

There were some new micros too although an Eudemis profundana escaped prior to a photo being taken. A subtly smart Pyrausta despicata did stick around though:

Pyrausta despicata

While a couple of Swammerdamia caesiella took a bit of studying in order to give me a degree confidence in their identification:

Swammerdamia caesiella

Another one for the 'agg.' list was this tortrix which is either Acleris notana or ferrugana:

Acleris notana / ferrugana

[525] Swammerdamia caesiella
[526] Acleris notana / ferrugana
[527] Eudemis profundana
[528] Pyrausta despicata
[529] Magpie Moth
[530] Black Arches

13th July 2019

A cooler night with a reduced catch still produced some good moths. The highlight for me was a Small Scallop, a fairly widespread species that I hadn't come across before not even at Chippenham Fen.

Small Scallop Idaea emarginata

The small but distinctive gelechiid, Brachmia blandella was also new:

Brachmia blandella

Another gelechiid was also new and quite striking - a species of Syncopacma that is almost certainly S.larseniella. Unfortunately it is inseparable from cinctella without dissection. 

Syncopacma larseniella / cinctella

Just about annual now in the garden is Lunar-spotted Pinion. I'm still waiting for a certain other Cosmia species though......

Lunar-spotted Pinion Cosmia pyralina

[523] Syncopacma larseniella / cinctella
[523] Brachmia blandella
[524] Small Scallop

11th July 2019

Somewhat inevitably, Box-tree Moths have now reached Cottenham. Since being first recorded in Kent (in 2007) they have spread rapidly and been rather abundant in Cambridge and to its south in the last couple of years.

They definitely are a striking moth although they are considered to be introduced via imported Box plants on which they are a pest species.

Box-tree Moth Cydalima perspectalis

A second new moth for the garden was a less than stunning gelechiid:

Bryotropha terrella

[521] Bryotropha terrella
[522] Box-tree Moth

Cottenham Long-horns

I have only recorded one species of longhorn moth in the village - the stunning Nemophora degeerella. So when David Bradley reported an individual on scabious near Cottenham Lode I thought I would take a look.

Conditions were perfect this afternoon and I quickly located 8+ individuals. They look good for Nemophora metallica  (Brassy Long-horn), a Nationally Scarce B species.

6th July 2019

A quieter night but with some quality yet again. A Lime Hawkmoth was my first since 2012 of this apparently common species. I had forgotten how stunning they are; this one was likened by my son to a Vulcan bomber!

Lime Hawkmoth Mimas tiliae

There were also two quality tortrix species that were completely new to me:

Acleris logiana

Eucosma metzneriana

Eucosma metzneriana especially is of some interest - a relatively recent colonist to the Country where it was apparently first recorded in Cambs (in 1977).

Agapeta zoegana  in contrast should probably have turned up by now but is finally on the garden list:

Agapeta zoegana

Using criteria on British Lepidoptera this looks ok for Coleophora alcyonipennella:

Coleophora alcyonipennella

[516] Coleophora alcyonipennella
[517] Agapeta zoegana
[518] Acleris logiana
[519] Eucosma metzneriana
[520] Lime Hawkmoth

4th July 2019

A heaving trap which necessitated a frantic 2 hour pre-work session getting to grips with what turned out to be an incredible 132 species. This is a record here and I imagine in the rush to get through it  a few more escaped or evaded detection.

The best moth by far was a Small Marbled - a rare migrant from southern Europe. This is actually my second record in Cottenham although this one exorcises a few ghosts. The previous record, in 2015, involved one that made a runner before I grabbed a photo. I was pretty gutted at the time as it seemed doubtful that I would get a second chance. There has a been a small influx of this species in the Country over recent days but its still excellent to get one so far inland.

Small Marbled Eublemma parva

Four species in total were new for the garden:

[512] Caloptilia semifascia
[513] Cnephasia longana
[514] Lesser Wax Moth
[515] Small Marbled

Caloptilia semifascia

Lesser Wax Moth Achroia grisella

Amongst a suite of new for the year moths were:

Broad-barred White Hecatera bicolorata

Double Lobed Lateroligia ophiogramma

29th June 2019

Another muggy night with a trap full of moths to sift through. This time around there were three new for the garden: 

[508] Povolnya leucapennella
[509] Crescent Plume
[510] Striped Wainscot
[511] Dingy Shears

I potted what looked like a Caloptilia species at around 2300 and it was quickly evident that it was something new to me. Even a poor photo of it taken through the pot suggested that it was actually Povolnya leucapennella (which was formerly Caloptilia leucapennella). The only problem was that this species is unrecorded in Hunts while Norfolk Moths only listed a record in 1998 and another in 1874! In fact it is mentioned that the species is 'very rare and not recently observed in south-east England'. There's no doubt about the identification though and I've since learnt that it appears to be the first for VC29.  

The larval foodplant is oak with the larva initially mining the leaf. So its even more of a mystery why an individual has turned up here as opposed to more wooded areas of East Anglia!

Povolnya leucapennella

Crescent Plume is a distinctive but scarce plume moth, recorded just once by me previously in Cottenham:

Crescent Plume Marasmarcha lunaedactyla

Striped Wainscot is commonly recorded when I've visited fenland habitats in the County in the summer but has never turned up here until now. Unfortunately this individual had taken a battering:

Striped Wainscot Mythimna pudorina

New for the year moths included my second record of Spruce-bud Moth, a better marked example than last years individual:

Spruce-bud Moth Zeiraphera ratzeburgiana

....and also Blastodacna hellerella which is annual in very small numbers:

Blastodacna hellerella

I was surprised to find that Dingy Shears was new for the garden - I really thought that I had recorded this in 2017 but obviously not!

Dingy Shears Apterogenum ypsillon