A few more of one of our Many-plumed Moths from last night.
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NFY today were two Alucita hexadactyla, the Many-plumed Moth. Both super-fresh & very smart ones indeed. Not much else, bar the bat (!) last night, but there's always variety...
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BAT!!!
Absolute scenes in the actinic. Under a glowing full moon (boo!) we had a VIB visitor, a superb Brown Long-eared Bat. No clue how it found a way into the trap but happily, it quickly departed safely into the night.
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The second Acleris cristana of 2026 was, typically, very different from the other one (right hand pix). Tufted Tortrix really is an appropriate common English name 👌
Super micro this...
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Pale Pinion was NFY this morning ~ we'd been hoping for own this week but the weather has been bobbins for mothing really ~ so this was a nice surprise today. Not a frequent moth here (average of 3 or 4 a year), bar 2022 when we had 8.
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The anti-mothing weather continues on the coast ~ not much to report recently with micros especially hard to come by on windy, cool nights. Here's a nice example of Agonopterix propinquella (the Black-spot Buff), the 2nd of 2026 for us.
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A quiet night with little to report in the traps. We did have one NFY, our first Muslin Moth of 2026, a nocturnal ♂️ w/soft grey tones & scattered black dots (this is a species w/distinct sexual dimorphism, ♀️ is white, spotty & diurnal).
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The mothy Vulcan bomber, Oak Beauty, was a surprise visitor on an inclement night at CMO HQ last night. The tenacious CEO thought it would be worth running the traps despite the gale-force gusts & rain & the Oak Beauty was best-in-show.
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Another highlight from the morning's tally of 44/11 was this NFY Frosted Green ~ another super smart moth, beautifully intricate patterning & such a classy colour scheme (a species we average just under four a year of, so not common).
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One of the smartest Clouded Drabs we've had recently. Terrible name for a moth that looks as nice as this...
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Grey Shoulder-knot & Early Grey making for some monochrome morning magic. These are my kind of moths...
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A few more of my favourite moth today...
Esperia sulphurella
Cley Moth Obs
March 24 2026
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Easily the moth of the day at CMO. This is Esperia sulphurella (Sulphur Bark Moth), a species we see elsewhere in the square reasonably frequently but only the 2nd ever garden record. An absolute beauty too, super-fresh & looking sharp!
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Ypsolopha mucronella

Ypsolopha mucronella

77/15. at CMO.
First outing for the MV this year.
The total is combined with the actinic. Nfy Ypsolopha mucronella. (nfg last year) &
Agonopterix propinquella.
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Four very smart looking moths from a quiet morning at CMO HQ ~ Twin-spotted Quaker, Hebrew Character, Common Quaker & Early Grey.
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Cheating a bit, as here's an archive photo of mine, from April 2021, of one of the "original" Orange Underwings that Lynnette and I found on Salthouse Heath. We've found them every since, in various spots on the north and south side of the heath but often only in ones and twos. Today we found at least 10 ~ good going with the breeze blowing around the birches.

Despite the breezy conditions there was enough in the warmth of the sun to see us head for a walk up to Salthouse Heath today in search of Orange Underwings. We were very happy to find them in two new spots + our original spot of five years ago.
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A surprise last night was Scrobipalpa costella (Bittersweet Moth or Winter Grounding) ~ we've not had many here before & we've definitely not had one anywhere close to March before. Recorded year round in Norfolk, late summer the peak.
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Another lovely moth from last night was this colour coordinated Shoulder Stripe. Lynnette had one a few days ago & this one came to the front window ~ they love the light in the Guillemot's window! Another super-fresh looking moth.
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A productive CMO night last night. Five NFYs (49/17) including Water Carpet, Red Chestnut, Engrailed & Early Thorn. Engrailed & Red Chestnut our earliest by 2 weeks, Red Water Carpet earliest by 11 days & Early Thorn earliest by 5 days.
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Oak Beauty @ CMO this morning. Exquisite...
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The 3rd Oak Beauty of the last week or so was the smartest we've had ~ absolutely pristine, like it's just been unwrapped from the moth box. Can't get enough of them ~ a proper 10/10 this one...
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Last ones from today ~ our first Brindled Pug of the year, plus the second of the day's Twin-spotted Quaker + a nice reddish-looking Clouded Drab & a Dotted Border on the wall by the back door.
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We've hit our annual quota of Pine Beauty already! Two in two days for a species that we generally only have a couple of every year (the exception being five in 2022). Such a smart macro 🤌
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Today's Oak Beauty in full-on revving up mode. Love the way the left-hand antennae pops up into place just before a shuffle into position ahead of take-off.
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A gorgeous Oak Beauty from the morning catch in the actinic at CMO. A little brighter than Lynnette's from the other morning ~ but any Oak Beauty is a good Oak Beauty 🙂
Top moff!
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Quaker-mass...
Twin-spotted Quaker, Common Quaker & Small Quaker from a tidy tally of 57/11 for us this morning ~ 18 Common, 13 Small & two Twin-spots.
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...also at CMO HQ in recent days, a few 2026 paddlers to keep the CEO ticking over. Clouded Drab has appeared this week, along with several Pammene giganteana (Early Oak Gall Moth) - to the FUN lure - and several Small Quakers too.
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Pine Beauty from this morning at Cley Moth Obs.
March 7 2026
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One of the elite macros of early spring has to be Pine Beauty. A proper bobby-dazzler of a moth, cloaked in intricate patterned shades of orange, rust, red & white. Still scarce here (maybe two a year), this is the 2nd earliest at CMO.
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Small Brindled Beauty

Small Brindled Beauty

Small Brindled Beauty

22/9 at CMO last night, clear till midnight and then heavy rain,
so absolutely delighted to find a Small Brindled Beauty in the trap.
Quite rare here, just 2 in 2021 and 1 in 2024.
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