George Tordoff

Turns out I have seen it in December before - one at Silwood Park on 11/12/2000. But all of my other 33 adult records are January-March.

Wow that is early! What a long season it has.

Thanks, that is early! I checked the Glamorgan database and there's only one earlier, on 7 December 1988.

Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria)

Put the garden trap out for 1st time in a few weeks. Low expectations despite the mild conditions. Amazed to catch a Pale Brindled Beauty, the first time I've seen this moth before the new year.

5 species in total including my first December record of Double-striped Pug.

#TeamMoth #CardiffMoths

Yeah olive certainly seems to like the Cardiff climate - this pic shows the same tree when we moved here in 2007, just a skinny youngster back then. Puts on a huge amount of growth every year, though nearly died in the cold winter of 2010. And yes this is the tree where I found larvae in September.

Palpita vitrealis on olive tree trunk

Palpita vitrealis on olive tree trunk

Yesterday morning, after an overnight low of -1.7C, a female Palpita vitrealis on our garden olive tree, spotted by my daughter. Not something I was expecting to see after the recent frosts! Perhaps they can survive the winter now, even in Wales?
@migrantmothuk.bsky.social
#TeamMoth #CardiffMoths

One surprise among 7 species in the Cardiff garden trap last night - a Spiny Hook-tip (Watsonalla uncinula). Only 2nd garden record and rather late in the season.
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White-point, Mythimna albipuncta

List of the 25 new moth species recorded in the garden this year. These are: Stigmella sakhalinella Roeslerstammia erxlebella Phyllonorycter blancardella Agonopterix angelicella Depressaria radiella Gelechia muscosella Coleophora otidipennella Coleophora atriplicis Eudemis profundana Piniphila bifasciana Pyrausta purpuralis European Corn-borer Chinese Character Barred Straw Angle-barred Pug White Satin Four-spotted Footman Bordered Straw Small Mottled Willow Silky Wainscot Frosted Orange Rufous Minor Deep-brown Dart Dog's Tooth White-point

White-point new for the Cardiff garden last night, the 25th new species this year. It's been the most productive year for new species since 2018 - the Law of Diminishing Returns doesn't always apply.
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Indeed...having looked at the Glamorgan database it seems to be the latest county record by exactly a month.

Olive-tree Pearl (Palpita vitrealis)

Mother of Pearl (Patania ruralis)

9 species in the Cardiff garden moth trap this morning after an incredibly mild night for the time of year - the temperature hovered around 14.5C all night. 7 of the 9 species were micros, including an Olive-tree Pearl (Palpita vitrealis) and a super late Mother of Pearl (Patania ruralis).
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The graph shows the number of Red-green Carpet moth caught in my garden moth trap from 2007 to 2025. Up to 2016 only 5 had been trapped in total. Since then numbers have increased and the moth is now a regular visitor to the moth trap in the autumn, with double figure counts most years and a record 21 caught this year.

Red-green Carpet (Chloroclista siterata) - a species on the up in my Cardiff garden moth trap. A rarity here before 2017, it is now a regular visitor in the autumn. This fits with the national trends (667% increase in distribution, 695% increase in abundance since 1970). #MothsMatter

Thanks for sharing Pam

Ah sorry Pam, I hadn't realised, I don't think I can do this retrospectively but will do so in future. Though in this case it would just be the same text as in the main post.

Some smart leaf-mines of Ectoedemia angulifasciella on wild rose in the Malvern Hills at the weekend.
#LeafMineMonday
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The Sorcerer from Kenfig last night. Finally got up the courage to remove it from the pot (after some others had seen it). As far as I know, fourth British record and first for Wales. Thanks to everyone for moral support during my meltdown. But, what a moth! #TeamMoth

Even the underside is quite nice

Nice pics and it was great to see the moth in the flesh at the BC event today. Hope you had a good journey home.

That’s just the way it goes, well done for making the the effort to get out trapping!

Must be the rarest moth that’s ever been caught in Glamorgan

I think that’s 4th British record of Sorcerer. Third was at Sandwich in September. @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

Yes indeed, only about 30 mins from here, I would’ve met up with Tim but I’m on parental duties this evening.

Ha yes, he beat me to 1000 by one day - I should've done that dissection sooner!!

Ha, I won't be doing the year list again in a hurry - it's been occupying my brain for far too long!

Thanks Dave, a lot of them have been leafminers etc...I actually missed quite a few macro-moths that I should have seen locally as I didn't get out trapping much in June-July.

Thanks, it's been good to have you and Tony to keep me on my toes, and brilliant that we all made it!

Earlier this year I reared two adult moths from Coleophora cases on Blackthorn on the Glamorgan coast. Both have recently been confirmed by dissection as C. prunifoliae. This moth is new for me, new for the county, and also my 1000th moth species recorded this year - so a nice hat-trick 🙂
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Thanks, there were quite a few fly mines too so watch out for those

Found one mine in Splott today, on a street close to the first record (Railway Gardens)

Pearly Underwing

Dark Sword-grass

Red-line Quaker

Acleris rhombana

Decent moth numbers on and around the Ivy blossom at Lavernock Point (Glamorgan coast) last night, including Pearly Underwing x4, Dark Sword-grass x11, Red-line Quaker x2, Angle Shades x5, Dark Chestnut & Acleris rhombana x2.

16 species recorded in total.
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Excellent, nice pic of the larva too