The beautiful Eastern Black Redstart at Sherringham. ♥️.

Merry Christmas everyone 🎄🎅🏼. A festive looking Hemipteran. Corizus hyoscyami, Cinnamon Bug. Bramfield Wood, 19 Dec.

Anyone on here know anything about Cockroaches? This rather beautiful thing, 20mm (body), was a free gift at the supermarket with my veg. Lovely pale green with a white side stripe. Obs is telling me it’s a Scarce Silver Lines moth 😂. #insect #cockroach.

Competition in Nature

Really pleased today to be shown Holly Parachute, Marasmius hudsonii, whilst doing a survey for allotments in St Albans having failed to find it in local woods. Love the black hairs on the cap. #fungi.

5 of 5 last night, which is more than expected but not as Obi-wan would have said ‘the moths I was looking for’ (Liz had that one 😂). Mottled Umber and Tachystola acroxantha (the new vernacular I find ridiculous on that one 🤷‍♂️) in pics. #TeamMoth. Will Santa deliver? 🎅🏼

Nothing in the trap this morning but one moth on the window sill by it, and I wasn’t expecting a Shuttle-shaped Dart. Though I see a single record for week 52 in Herts on the website. #TeamMoth.

Losses of specialist and expansion of thermophilic generalist macro-moths in nature reserves of Central Europe: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A walk in the woods today with the Herts and Beds fungus group produced some nice Devil’s Fingers Clathrus archeri and Xylobolus subpileatus, an alien new to Britain in 2021. #fungus.

Physarum bivalve. Fir and Pond Wood. A myxomycete. I haven’t seen this before but was struck by its shape and pattern.

Only moth so far tonight but it’s a very fresh one. Dark Arches. #TeamMoth.

Angel’s 👼 Trumpets 🎺 , Wimpole Estate today in the lovely walled garden. #Nationaltrust. If the garden is that good now I can only imagine how beautiful it would be in summer. Lots of Salvias out still. Definitely got to go back.

Only moth so far tonight. I have never had an adustella this late in the year before. #TeamMoth.

I bought this at the distillery about 25 years ago and stuck in a cupboard with the intention of drinking it after I retired. I retired 2 years ago. Today’s the day. The cork fell apart as I pulled it out. But the whisky, it’s gorgeous. #whisky. Single malt ♥️, the finest drink ever conceived.

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Aggregation of Heralds on a concrete roof and a female Plumed Prominent from last night in Suffolk. #TeamMoth.

Only 6 of 6 this morning, windy again last night. But a Streak is first since 2021, for me (and Herts on website). So a nice surprise as I had wondered if they were gone now. 1st garden Sprawler of year. #TeamMoth.

Someone has sent me messages by private chat. As the app won’t let me access them please note I cannot read or reply. Soz.

If you love moth trapping, or any other study of natural history (a particular group or perhaps everything), and you are curious about how it all works but don’t have a strong scientific background you really should read this book. You will be both amazed and probably slightly worried. Give it a go.

84 of 25 last night. Blair’s Shoulder-knot and Beaded Chestnut were new autumn moths. 2nd and better marked Green-brindled Crescent. #TeamMoth. Tonight looks reasonable so hopefully a few more new ones to come. 🤞.

Slightly more fungi coming up in Herts now, so better outing with fungus group. Whippendell Wood yesterday. #fungi.

48 of 11 last night. Mostly LgYU. First Merv of the year. Several Black Rustics and a couple of Cypress Carpets. #TeamMoth. Still several autumn species I haven’t had yet.

Finding a Banksi on the wall of your house can rather exciting and worth serious money. Mine was a beetle though, Chrysolina banksi. Still a nice thing to see. #coleoptera.

A long expected and much wanted garden tick. Such a neat little moth. Autumnal Rustic. #TeamMoth. Not ideal conditions as very windy, but my first trap in 2 weeks after being away and an itch that needed scratching as I was missing trapping.

“Bahhh”. Further bulletins as warranted. Fair Isle.

The trap was empty this morning but the lounge wall tonight turned up the goods. Just what you need while having a pint of Puffin (beer). Pearly Underwing. #TeamMoth. #FairIsle.

Sunrise Fair Isle. A Wogan at the moth trap unfortunately #TeamMoth

First afternoon on Fair Isle. Several of these guys, Rush Veneers, around in the heather. Told not to expect Mothfest this far north. #TeamMoth.

58 of 20 last night. Nothing new but a few migrants. Dark Sword-grass, Clancy’s Rustic, L-album Wainscot and 4-spotted Footman. A couple of Rush Veneers too. #TeamMoth.

27 of 19, on the night of the tatty moth. My latest ever Oncocera semirubella and a Riband Wave that looked like it had been in a war zone. #TeamMoth.

12 of 9 last night. Almost surprised there was anything given the wind. First garden Black Rustic. Such a smart moth in its sleek black costume like a comic superhero ♥️. Definitely a favourite. #TeamMoth.

Now the rain has at last got into the ground the fungi have started coming up in Herts. A few from the weekend with the Herts & Beds Fungi Group #fungi.

Yesterday I put out some stuff about moths and trapping at Panshanger Park Heritage Day where I survey for them to show the public what we do. Hopefully to encourage a bit of moth appreciation. #TeamMoth. #Panshangerpark.

Only 14 of 12 last night, a big drop in numbers. A very worn Clancy’s Rustic was the first I have seen this year. #TeamMoth.

Only 3h40min last night before the rain. Got smacked in the face by a L-album Wainscot that then flew off again. On turning the trap over to tap it out found a very worn Plumed Fan-foot under the rim. Persistence pays with mothing. Nfm & nfg #TeamMoth.

Last night was looking fairly boring in Tring, Herts until this worn moth was found in the last trap. I am hoping this is a Portland Ribbon Wave. A potential county first for Herts

I like these things. Hypoxylon howeianum. They start out looking like miniature versions of those expensive chocolate truffles then turn into little hedgehogs. Fungus season arrives. #fungi.

I usually get a couple of Vestals in the garden every year but nothing so far this year. On a fungus meeting this morning when one flew past me and settled. First for the year in Balls Wood NR. #TeamMoth.

Got lucky with one for the garden last night, after thinking I might have missed out. My 50th new garden moth this year, in what has turned into a very good year. #TeamMoth. Second wave or are they breeding?

The home trap had a very limited range of common moths ( I stayed up till 4 to empty it, an excuse for a fry up and slow early breakfast in the small hours🙂). Probably the most miserable Dark Sword-grass ever in it but a nice Small Emerald on the outside. #TeamMoth

A short session locally with @rahtringbirder.bsky.social didn’t turn up a heap of moths but nice to find 2 Hedge Rustics and 2 Autumnal Rustics right at the end. #TeamMoth. Very damp by midnight with dew.

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Another ‘snooze and you lose’ moth from last night. On the patio window by the trap but gone half an hour later. Worn but only the fourth for the garden. #TeamMoth. 91 of 20, a drop in numbers.

Sometimes it’s worth getting the blues. Clifden Nonpareil arrived in the last few minutes. #TeamMoth.

Back on 25/07. I had a grey moth in the garden that I had no idea about. Thanks to @dcousins85.bsky.social for identifying it for me tonight. It turns out to be Porter’s Rustic, Athetis hospes. An immigrant. Not many Herts records. #TeamMoth. This really is turning into an extraordinary year.

Three from last night. Evergestis limbata, the 5th this year here, uncommon in Herts. Delicate, a few regularly every year. Old World Webworm, Hellula undalis, currently no Herts records, which left me questioning my sanity for a couple of hours as not even many east coast sightings. #TeamMoth.

Mid Herts last night. @migrantmothuk.bsky.social

My second Small Marbled in garden last night. Plus a picture of part of the bottom of the trap which is covered in scales (lepis) after a visit from 50 Jersey Tigers. #TeamMoth.

My night was fairly pedestrian, and decidedly not cosmopolitan. But pleased you get one good migrant. #TeamMoth.