I ran my 20w actinic moth trap overnight on 20th June 2026 in my Melbourne garden – results are as follows in no particular order – Large Yellow Underwing (4); Riband Wave (7); Willow Beauty (8); Chrystoteuchia culmella (Common Grass Moth) (1); Crambus pasquella (White-banded Grass Moth) (8); Short-cloaked Moth (6); Scarce Footman (1); Common Footman […]
I ran my 20w Actinic Skinner Moth Trap from my Melbourne garden overnight on 8th June 2026 – Results as follows in no particular order. A cold, windy and clear night resulted in a very poor return – Heart and Dart (11), Buff Ermine (2) (NFY), Vine’s Rustic (1); Large Yellow Underwing (1), Cinnabar Moth
I ran my 20 actinic moth trap from my garden in Melbourne, Derbyshire overnight. Results are, in no particular order, as follows – Star moth was a Small Marbled (5th record for Derbyshire, (with another trapped in Belper this am); Varied Coronet; Silver Y (2); Epiphyas Postvittana (Light Brown Apple Moth); Plutella xylostella (Diamond-back Moth)
News broke today of a rather special species of Hawk-moth that has arrived in large numbers across Britain during the recent hot weather that has moved up from North Africa. I was wondering when Derbyshire would get one. William Grange was the fortunate moth recorder, he recorded a Striped Hawk-moth that had been attracted to
I ran my 20W Actinic moth trap from my garden in Melbourne overnight on 26th May, results are as follows in no particular order – Common Swift – female (1); Buff-tip (1); Small Elephant Hawk-moth (1); Marbled Minor agg (3); Middle-barred Minor (3); Ruby Tiger (2); Vine’s Rustic (4); Shuttle-shaped Dart (1); Heart and Dart
I ran my 20W actinic moth trap in my garden in Melbourne from 21:30hrs to mid-night on 24th May 2026. The results in no particular order were as follows – Aphomia sociella (Bee Moth) (4);Epiphyas postvittana (6); Mint Moth; Heart and Dart; Iron Prominent; Pale Tussock; Common Pug; Brindled Pug (2) Common Wainscot; Turnip Moth;
I ran my 20W Actinic Moth Trap overnight on 22nd May in my Melbourne garden – Results were in no particular order – Brimstone Moth (2); Epiphyas postvittana (Light Brown Apple Moth) (7), Common Pug (3), Lime-speck Pug (2), Plutella xylostella (Diamond-back Moth( (3), Shuttle-shaped Dart (6), Flame Shoulder (2); Heart and Dart (3), Vine’s
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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)
I ran my 20w Actinic moth trap from my garden in Melbourne, Derbyshire on 2nd November for just over five hours and recorded a single Brick. A new species for the year so not a waste of time. A well worn individual.
I ran my 20w Actinic moth trap in my Melbourne garden overnight on 17th October 2025. Results are as follows in no particular order – Red-line Quaker (1); Black Rustic (5), Turnip Moth (3), Shuttle-shaped Dart (2), Beaded Chestnut (1), Large Yellow Underwing (1), Epiphyas postvittana (Light-brown Apple Moth) (3), Carcina Quercana (1). 17/8
I ran my 20w actinic moth trap in my Melbourne garden overnight on 30th September 2025. Warm overcast with early morning light drizzle. – Results were as follows and in no particular order – Large Yellow Underwing(8); Lesser Yellow Underwing (4); Box Tree Moth (7); Light Emerald (1); Swallow-tailed Moth (1); Shuttle-shaped Dart (2); Double-striped
I ran my 20w actinic moth trap in my Melbourne garden overnight on 19th August 2025. Overcast with very light drizzle. – Results were as follows and in no particular order – Setaceous Hebrew Character (18), Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (4), Lesser Yellow Underwing (4), Brimstone Moth (2), Willow Beauty (5), Common Wainscot (8), Box
My good friend Will Soar called me this afternoon to say he had trapped a few good moths overnight (27th July 2025) from his garden light trap at Kings Newton, recording 254/63. Sure enough one of the micros was a first record since 1987 and Small Mottled Willow is a rare migrant in Derbyshire, with
