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Posts by George Tordoff

Something like Sitona hispidulus for the weevil (I can't remember whether there are others in the genus with these long upstanding bristles on the elytra)

3 weeks ago 1 0 1 0

There's plenty in Cardiff planted as amenity trees but no-one seems to catch Lead-coloured Drab here so I don't think the moth uses it. I never seen Aspen growing as a native in woodlands anywhere near here, though there's a large stand at Kenfig dunes.

3 weeks ago 1 0 1 0

That’s probably top of my ‘moths I really ought to have seen by now’ list. Pretty scarce in Wales

3 weeks ago 3 0 1 0

Ha, what I should actually do is write them down rather than relying on my failing memory! (I do have a spreadsheet but usually forget to update it)

3 weeks ago 3 0 2 0
Photo of a large pupal case of Bulrush Wainscot moth, extracted from a dead stem of Bulrush (Typha)

Photo of a large pupal case of Bulrush Wainscot moth, extracted from a dead stem of Bulrush (Typha)

A large pupal case found in a dead stem of Bulrush (Typha) in Bute Park yesterday. Based on its size I think it has to be Bulrush Wainscot (Nonagria typhae). Note to self - remember to look for larvae there in early summer.

#TeamMoth #CardiffWildlife

3 weeks ago 17 0 1 0
The pill beetle Byrrhus pilula in beetle mode (appendages extended)

The pill beetle Byrrhus pilula in beetle mode (appendages extended)

The pill beetle Byrrhus pilula transforming into pill mode

The pill beetle Byrrhus pilula transforming into pill mode

The pill beetle Byrrhus pilula in full-on pill mode - everything tucked away, including the head

The pill beetle Byrrhus pilula in full-on pill mode - everything tucked away, including the head

A pill beetle Byrrhus pilula on a garden wall just up the road this morning. Able to transform from beetle to pill in an instant!
#CardiffWildlife #Beetles

4 weeks ago 14 0 0 0
The leaf beetle Bruchus loti

The leaf beetle Bruchus loti

A beetle for a change - the leaf beetle Bruchus loti found in dead Phragmites stems at Pembrey, Carmarthenshire this week. They feed on the seeds of legumes.

#beetles

1 month ago 16 1 0 0
Phyllocnistis triandricola
Almond Willow Maze-miner

Phyllocnistis triandricola Almond Willow Maze-miner

Just published... Phyllocnistis triandricola
(Almond Willow Maze-miner) New UK at Surlingham, Norfolk 14/08/2025 by Seb Buckton (Gen. Det. P. Hall, R. Voith) #teammoth #norfolkmoths norfolkmoths.co.uk/micros.php?b...

2 months ago 39 9 2 0
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Larva of the tortrix moth Epinotia nisella in fallen Goat Willow catkin

Larva of the tortrix moth Epinotia nisella in fallen Goat Willow catkin

Adult of the tortrix moth Epinotia nisella, reared from larvae in fallen Goat Willow catkins

Adult of the tortrix moth Epinotia nisella, reared from larvae in fallen Goat Willow catkins

Catching up with the last of the photo labelling from 2025 as the grim weather continues...

Collected several larvae of Epinotia nisella from Goat Willow catkins in Somerset in late May 2025, which produced adults at the end of June.

#TeamMoth

2 months ago 26 0 0 0

Many thanks Meg, yes I’ve iRecorded it 🙂

2 months ago 0 0 0 0
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This harvestman sieved from flood debris by the River Taff in Cardiff seems to be Dicranopalpus larvatus, possibly a first for South Wales unless there are any records in the pipeline @megabunus.bsky.social?

2 months ago 23 6 2 0
Indian Meal Moth (Plodia interpunctella)

Indian Meal Moth (Plodia interpunctella)

A moth! And one I didn't see at all last year. Indian Meal Moth (Plodia interpunctella) flying in the pet food section of The Range in Cardiff today.
#TeamMoth

3 months ago 48 1 0 0

Just to check, was it definitely collected from South Wales? There is a Barry Sands near Dundee.

3 months ago 1 0 1 0

Thanks, will be good to get that confirmed and added to the county dataset.

3 months ago 0 0 1 0

Thanks Brad, very interesting! Assume the ID is legit, in which case it's an amazing record - a long way to the south of all known British records, even the historic ones.

3 months ago 0 0 1 0
Marbled White Spot (Protodeltote pygarga) caterpillar

Marbled White Spot (Protodeltote pygarga) caterpillar

Marbled White Spot (Protodeltote pygarga) caterpillar, head details

Marbled White Spot (Protodeltote pygarga) caterpillar, head details

Marbled White Spot (Protodeltote pygarga) caterpillar, rear end detail

Marbled White Spot (Protodeltote pygarga) caterpillar, rear end detail

Finally got around to looking up this caterpillar, which was found next to the moth trap in Cornwall in August. A Marbled White Spot (Protodeltote pygarga), only the second time I've seen this common moth in the larval stage.

#TeamMoth

4 months ago 20 0 0 0

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.

4 months ago 4 0 0 0

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

4 months ago 2 0 0 0
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Thanks, that is early! I checked the Glamorgan database and there's only one earlier, on 7 December 1988.

4 months ago 2 0 2 0
Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria)

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

4 months ago 45 0 1 0
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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.

4 months ago 6 0 1 0
Palpita vitrealis on olive tree trunk

Palpita vitrealis on olive tree trunk

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

4 months ago 36 2 1 0
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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.
#TeamMoth

5 months ago 48 0 0 0
White-point, Mythimna albipuncta

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

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.
#TeamMoth

5 months ago 19 0 0 0

Indeed...having looked at the Glamorgan database it seems to be the latest county record by exactly a month.

5 months ago 3 0 0 0
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Olive-tree Pearl (Palpita vitrealis)

Olive-tree Pearl (Palpita vitrealis)

Mother of Pearl (Patania ruralis)

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).
#TeamMoth

5 months ago 39 1 1 0
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.

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

5 months ago 27 2 1 0

Thanks for sharing Pam

5 months ago 0 0 1 0

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.

5 months ago 0 0 1 0
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Some smart leaf-mines of Ectoedemia angulifasciella on wild rose in the Malvern Hills at the weekend.
#LeafMineMonday
#TeamMoth

5 months ago 30 0 1 0