On 3rd/4th April Clive Ashton discovered a Blossom Underwing in his Cromford garden light trap. This was to be the 2nd record of this species for the recording area. The amazing thing was that I had sent out a message to the Derbyshire Moth Facebook Group a few days prior, suggesting that Blossom Underwing was […]
A new micro moth species has been recorded for the VC57 & Derbyshire, a Caloptilia falconipennella (Dark Alder Stilt) The first record was an individual that was attracted to a MVLight Trap on 24th March 2025 at Long Clough NR, Glossop and recorded by Christian Heintzen. A rare species and one that over winters and is
This months Moth of the Month goes to the Spring Usher, one of the harbingers of spring. Dave Evans and Christian Heintzen were the only moth-ers to have recorded this species in February. The moth is very variable in colour, ranging from black and white to brown and orange, to a drab grey brown. Can
This months Moth of the Month goes to Nikki Mahadevan, who recorded the only macro moth species during January. It was a Dotted Border of the form fuscata. Nikki ran her 20W actinic in her garden at Shirland on 14th January. The trap produced a nil return, but the Dotted Border was discovered on a wall behind
This months Moth of the Month goes to Christian Heintzen from Glossop, who recorded a fresh example of Acleris hastiana on 31st December 2024. whilst running his final moth trap of the year at Long Clough. There are only a handful of this scarce and variable coloured tortrix species in the county. This one is
This months Moth of the Month goes to Dave Evans from Belper, who recorded a Gem from his garden light trap on 6th November 2024. A very rare immigrant to Derbyshire, with less than 12 records. Two in one year (2024) is unprecedented, with Martin Roome recording one on 28th October 2024. The last Gem
Whilst checking his garden moth trap during the evening of 23rd October 2024, Dave Newcombe discovered a moth clinging to the side of an egg tray on the outside of one of his two light traps he was running from his Belper garden. It was a species he was not familiar with, and so he
On the evenings of 26th & 28th August 2024 Dave Evans ran his light trap from his Belper garden and managed to record the superb Pyralid moth, Palpita vitrealis (Olive-tree Pearl) a species that is most common in the southern Mediterranean. These two individuals represent the 6th & 7th records for VC57 & Derbyshire.
I ran my usual garden light trap overnight on 27th August 2024 in Melbourne, South Derbyshire. Whilst processing the trap on the morning of 28th August I discovered an unfamiliar Olethreutinae species. I managed to pot it and put it to one side for viewing later. I had a second Olethruetinae species, this time one
