News broke across the Derbyshire moth-ing media on 23rd May 2026 when one of our recording team members posted a photograph of what he thought was Phtheochroa schreibersiana (Gold Cloak) a really rare species of Tortrix. Dave Newcombe, from Belper, had trapped a single individual overnight on 22nd May in his garden MV Light trap […]
May has been a particularly cold month with overnight temperatures fluctuating between 5℃ – 8℃ on most nights, which of course has lead to much reduced moth trapping and numbers of moths being recorded. I put my 20w Actinic out for the first time in May and recorded only two moths between 21:45 and 23:45
April’s moth of the month is a micro moth that was last recorded in Derbyshire on 5th June 1971 from Via Gellia. Hysterophora maculosana (Small Bluebell Beauty) was recorded by Dave Evans whilst he was sweep-netting in a Bluebell Wood at Wyver Lane NR, Belper on 29th April 2026. The moth is highly dependant on
I ran my 20W Actinic moth trap in my garden overnight 16th April 2026 in Melbourne. Results were as follows: Psychoides filicivora (Common Fern Moth) (NFG, NFY) (2); Purple Thorn (NFY) (1); Waved Umber (NFY) (1); Streamer (1); Brindled Pug (1); Common Pug (NFY) (1); Hebrew Character (1). 8/7
Identification Guidance for Oak-tree Pug v Brindled Pug by Christian Heintzen. Here is a quick panel made from my own photographs to illustrate some of the differences between Oak-tree Pug and Brindled Pug. The key differences are well documented in various printed and online sources but I thought, aside from other distinguishing features, there are
The Derbyshire Moth Team have taken on a new challenge. We have been invited by the National Trust Rangers at Hardwick Hall to help them conduct moth surveys, within the grounds of the Hardwick Estate, throughout 2026. The first session took place last night (10th April 2026) when the “Hardwick Hall Moth Team” ran three
I ran my 20W Actinic moth trap overnight 7th April 26 from my garden in Melbourne – Results were Pine Beauty 1; Least Black Arches 1; Early Tooth-striped 1; Streamer 1; Oak-tree Pug 2; Brindled Pug 1 were all NFY, also Double-striped Pug 8; Hebrew Character 4; Common Quaker 3; Early Grey 2 Brindled Beauty
This month’s moth of the month is a micro and one that hasn’t been recorded in Derbyshire since 2011. Semioscopis avellanella (Early Diviner) was first recorded in VC57 Derbyshire on 11th March 2011, when one was attracted to MV light at Shiningcliffe Wood, Ambergate, (extract from DaNES Journal 169, 2019 page 48). It is a
I ran my Actinic moth trap in my Melbourne garden overnight 31st March 2026 – results as follows – Brindled Beauty (3); Early Grey (1) (NFY); Common Plume (1) (NFY); Small Quaker (1); Hebrew Character (1); 7/5.
Not directly Derbyshire Moth News but something VC57 Derbyshire moth recorders and verifiers should be aware of. Steve Mathers has kindly allowed me to use his recent posts that have featured on Derbyshire Moths Facebook Group (DMFG) and on the Nottinghamshire Moths and Butterflies Facebook Group. Steve wrote as follows – 23rd March 2026 –
I ran my 20w Actinic moth trap from my garden in Melbourne for 4 hours before temperature plummeted, results were Common Quaker (3); Small Quaker (5); Clouded Drab (2). 10/3
I ran my 20w Actinic moth trap from my garden in Melbourne on 17th March 2026 between 18:30hrs – 22:00 hrs, result – Common Quaker (6); Double-striped Pug (2), Agonopterix heracliana agg (1). I ran my 20w Actinic moth trap from my garden in Melbourne, overnight on 18th March 2026 results – Common Quaker (20);
I ran my 20w garden moth trap between 18:30 – 22:45 hrs in Melbourne on 9th March 2026, results are as follows – 8 Common Quaker; 1 Shoulder Stripe; 1 Twin-spotted Quaker (both NFY) and 1 Chestnut. 11/4.
The first Lead-coloured Drab recorded in VC57 since 2021 was attracted to a garden moth trap overnight on 8th March 2026 at Cromford. Lead-coloured Drab have bipectinate antennae (meaning having two margins that are toothed like a comb), this helps to eliminate Clouded Drab, a confusion species. Lead-coloured Drab was once a common species in
I ran my 20w actinic trap from 18:30 – 22:30hrs from my garden in Melbourne, Derbyshire – Results were Common Quaker (14); Small Quaker (1) and Grey Shoulder-knot (1) which was new for year (NFY). 16/3.
I ran my 20w actinic moth trap from my garden in Melbourne overnight on 5th March 2026. Results as follows: Diurnea fagella (Early Reveller) 3 (inc 1 mellanic form); Agonopterix heracliana/ciliella agg 2; Common Quaker 10; Double-striped Pug 2; Oak Beauty 1; March Moth 1.
I ran my 20W actinic overnight on 3rd March 2026 from my garden in Melbourne, South Derbyshire. Results as follows – Oak Beauty (3); Common Quaker (3); Hebrew Character (7). 13/3.
On 21st February 2026 a superb colour variant (aberration) was trapped by Christian Heintzen at Long Clough, Glossop. The moth was so distinctive and unusually marked, it prompted Christian to do some digging, to find out exactly what the variant was likely to be. After making a search on the National History portal and subsequent
I ran my 20W actinic moth trap overnight in my Melbourne garden. Results as follows – Acleris literana (NFG) 1; Common Quaker 9; March Moth 3; Clouded Drab 3; Satellite 1; Small Quaker 1; Oak Beauty 1. 19/7
The larval cases of Dahlica triquetrella were discovered by Mark Radford on 8th and 10th February 2026, whilst he was searching local cemeteries and churchyards for this species and for Luffia lapidella. On 8th February larval cases were found at Eckington Cemetery and on 10th February more were discovered at Bolsover Churchyard. Winged males do
My first moth trap for 2026 was on 11th February when I ran my 20W actinic in the garden from 17:30 – 22:30hrs – One Chestnut and one Common Quaker (possibly my earliest ever in the garden)
We start the year with one of the earliest species to emerge, the Spring Usher. Typically the males are on the wing, just as winter is ending, from January through to March. The females are wingless, looking more like a spider, or a strange looking beetle than a moth, and are more tricky to locate
