Christopher Blakey

Evergestis limbata

Vestal

Clifden Nonpareil

Clifden Nonpareil

Trapping around Cothill Fen this week produced some nice moths including Clifden Nonpareil! Evergestis limbata was the rarest to turn up, and it was nice to see Vestal and other migrants #teammoth @freshwaterhabitats.bsky.social @upperthames.bsky.social @bbowt.bsky.social @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Wow songs like quite the night! We only had our first record in 2022- perhaps it won't be long until we see numbers like these

Morophaga choragella

Aethes rubigana– a very smart Tortrix

Blomer's Rivulet

Marbled White Spot!

A surprising moth came to my light on Friday– the rarely-seen monster Tineid, Morophaga choragella. It's only been seen once in Durham (1862). I was also surprised by the number of Marbled White Spot– all 4 previous county records are of singles, and I got 7! #teammoth #mothsmatter #ukwildlife

Fantastic Arto, well done!

Dichrorampha alpinana

Pammene regiana

Schreckensteinia festaliella

Ptylocoma lecheana

Four nice micros from an afternoon stroll around Wynyard Woodland Park (VC66) last week: Dichrorampha alpinana, Schreckensteinia festaliella, Pammene regiana, and a beautiful Ptylocoma lecheana. All new to me! #teammoth #ukwildlife

Thanks!

Thanks, very satisfying when you get the target species!

Thanks Arto!

Phtheochroa rugosana lateral view

Phtheochroa rugosana dorsal view

Delighted to have found Phtheochroa rugosana in Durham- the first modern adult record! An amazingly intricate moth, and a candidate for our rarest breeder due to the scarcity of White Bryony here. Keith Dover and I were following up on historic reports recently confirmed by larval records. #teammoth

Home | Durham Moths Welcome to the Durham Moths website. The site provides descriptions, identification notes, and up-to-date information regarding the status, distribution, flight times, and occurrence of the moth speci...

The Durham Moths website has been updated with new data! We've had some interesting new arrivals to the county list over the last few months, including adding a new family of Lepidoptera thanks to the northward spread of Roeslerstammia erxlebella durhammoths.org #teammoth #mothsmatter

Home | Durham Moths Welcome to the Durham Moths website. The site provides descriptions, identification notes, and up-to-date information regarding the status, distribution, flight times, and occurrence of the moth speci...

The Durham Moths website has been updated with new data! We've had some interesting new arrivals to the county list over the last few months, including adding a new family of Lepidoptera thanks to the northward spread of Roeslerstammia erxlebella durhammoths.org #teammoth #mothsmatter

Thanks Arto- absolutely, they must be out there!

Scarce Prominent

Yellow-barred Brindle

Coleophora pyrrhulipennella

Phylloporia bistrigella

A few mothing highlights from April around County Durham. Phylloporia bistrigella is rare in the county, and I was delighted to find one again. Coleophora pyrrhulipennella case was a chance find- a new site, the third county record, and the first in 35 years. #teammoth #ukwildlife #moth #insect

Well done, worth the wait I hope!

Many thanks for your kind comments!

Pine Beauty

Red Sword-grass

Semioscopis avellanella

Red Sword-grass

The last night of March brought some nice moths to my traps. Red Sword-grass was a long-awaited first for me, and I've only seen Pine Beauty and Semioscopis avellanella once before! Taken in County Durham (VC66) in forest on the edge of moorland. #teammoth #mothsmatter #ukwildlife

That's very kind of you, thank you!

Thanks!

Thanks Steve

Yellow Horned

Engrailed

Oak Beauty

Shoulder Stripe

The end of last week finally saw some warmer nights in Durham, so I headed out to a favourite local spot with two traps in tow. Nothing I wasn't expecting, but a decent haul nonetheless (115 moths/18 species), and Yellow Horned is one I look forward to every year. #teammoth #mothsmatter ##ukwildlife

It makes a real difference being out in good habitat– I'm lucky to get single figures in my garden at this time of year!

Spring Usher

Pale-brindled Beauty on my sheet

40 moths/5 species earlier this week in a local Birch woodland. Pale-brindled Beauty made up most of the numbers, though a lone Spring Usher was my favourite of the night. Durham, VC66. #teammoth #mothsmatter #ukwildlife

Green Silver-lines moth resting on a green leaf. Text overlay reads 'UK Moth Recorders' Meeting 2025' with Butterfly Conservation's logo.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our annual UK Moth Recorders' Meeting on Saturday

In case you missed it, all the brilliant talks from the day are now available to watch back on our YouTube channel! Grab a cuppa and catch up here 👉 youtube.com/watch?v=qLhn...

#UKMRM #MothsMatter

Well done Ed, done great work detailed here. Always love reading these!

A roundup of the mothing year at #Saltholme 2024 is online and available: community.rspb.org.uk/placestovisi... @teesbirds.bsky.social Highlights included 3 #VC66 firsts; Coleophora inulae, Elachista poae and best of all Dahlica triquetrella, found and id'd by scabz1.bsky.social #teammoth #ukmoths

Female Mottled Umber

Female Mottled Umber

I found the flightless female Mottled Umber climbing over my bag as I went to pack up- a first for me! I never realised how striking they are #teammoth

Mottled Umber male sitting on Birch

The frost finally broke in Durham this week, so I headed out to a local woodland with the LED light for a few hours. 23 moths of 5 species was better than expected- Mottled Umber did most of the heavy lifting numbers-wise. Finally, the first moth records of the year! #teammoth #ukwildlife

It was 23 that morning! There are some even bigger Rothamsted counts from VC66 too

In about a month or so Achlya flavicornis (Yellow Horned) will be on-the-wing and always a pleasure to see. This Dorset specimen posing nicely for me way back in 2007. #MothsMatter #TeamMoth

An early year favourite, but one that doesn't seem to wander too far up in Durham. I've only ever had one in the garden trap, meanwhile down the road in an ancient birch woodland...