As we reach the midpoint of the year, I thought it would be a good opportunity to reflect on the progress we've made with our moth recordings so far. Taking stock of our efforts allows us to appreciate the diversity and activity we've observed, and seeing the data laid out visually gives a clearer sense of patterns emerging over the months. Below, you'll find a comprehensive list of all species identified and their respective abundance, culminating in a total of 1,046 moths recorded, spanning 145 different species
| Common name | Sum of Abundance |
| Heart & Dart | 120 |
| Hebrew Character | 73 |
| Buff Ermine | 38 |
| Green Carpet | 37 |
| Clouded Border | 36 |
| Gold Swift | 35 |
| Mottled Beauty | 33 |
| Garden Grass-veneer | 30 |
| Clouded Drab | 29 |
| Common Pug | 29 |
| Poplar Hawk-moth | 25 |
| Common Quaker | 21 |
| Light Brown Apple Moth | 20 |
| Common Marbled Carpet | 18 |
| Early Tooth-striped | 18 |
| Small Square-spot | 16 |
| Willow Beauty | 16 |
| Flame Carpet | 14 |
| White Ermine | 14 |
| Plain Gold | 13 |
| Map-winged Swift | 13 |
| Small Quaker | 12 |
| Pebble Prominent | 11 |
| Silver-ground Carpet | 10 |
| Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet | 10 |
| Common White Wave | 10 |
| March Moth | 10 |
| Olive Pearl | 9 |
| Brindled Pug | 9 |
| Small Magpie | 8 |
| Snout | 7 |
| Garden Carpet | 7 |
| Least Black Arches | 7 |
| Double-striped Pug | 7 |
| Early Thorn | 7 |
| March Tubic | 7 |
| Hoary Belle | 7 |
| Wakely's Dowd | 6 |
| Brown China-mark | 6 |
| Cyclamen Tortrix | 6 |
| Clouded-bordered Brindle | 6 |
| Twin-spotted Quaker | 6 |
| Muslin Moth | 6 |
| Middle-barred Minor | 6 |
| Marbled Minor agg. | 6 |
| Brimstone Moth | 6 |
| Bee Moth | 5 |
| May Highflyer | 5 |
| Large Yellow Underwing | 5 |
| Bright-line Brown-eye | 5 |
| Brussels Lace | 5 |
| Chestnut | 5 |
| Common Carpet | 5 |
| July Highflyer | 5 |
| Shoulder Stripe | 4 |
| White-shouldered House-moth | 4 |
| Common Plume | 4 |
| Common Marble | 4 |
| Yellow-barred Brindle | 4 |
| Green-veined White | 4 |
| Speckled Fanner | 4 |
| Grey Pug | 4 |
| Uncertain | 4 |
| Green Pug | 3 |
| Streamer | 3 |
| Emperor Moth | 3 |
| Swan-feather Dwarf | 3 |
| Scalloped Oak | 3 |
| Common Lutestring | 3 |
| Single-dotted Wave | 3 |
| Campion | 3 |
| Brown House-moth | 3 |
| Powdered Quaker | 3 |
| Ingrailed Clay | 3 |
| Riband Wave | 3 |
| Light Emerald | 3 |
| Flame Shoulder | 3 |
| Dark Arches | 3 |
| Early Grey | 3 |
| Pale Tussock | 3 |
| Peppered Moth | 2 |
| Marbled White Spot | 2 |
| Brown Ash Ermel | 2 |
| Herald | 2 |
| Buff Arches | 2 |
| Dotted Border | 2 |
| Gold Spot | 2 |
| Elephant Hawk-moth | 2 |
| Flame | 2 |
| Double Square-spot | 2 |
| Ruddy Streak | 2 |
| Engrailed/Small Engrailed | 2 |
| Sharp-angled Carpet | 2 |
| Yellow-faced Bell | 2 |
| Pale Prominent | 2 |
| Spruce Carpet | 1 |
| Oblique Carpet | 1 |
| Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix | 1 |
| Orange-tip | 1 |
| Garden Pebble | 1 |
| Pale Brindled Beauty | 1 |
| Fan-foot | 1 |
| Pale Pinion | 1 |
| Nut Bud Moth | 1 |
| Furness Dowd | 1 |
| Grey Pine Carpet | 1 |
| Knot Grass | 1 |
| Black-headed Conch | 1 |
| Peacock | 1 |
| Meadow Brown | 1 |
| Drinker | 1 |
| Valerian Pug | 1 |
| Large Ivy Tortrix | 1 |
| Common Grey | 1 |
| Pinion-streaked Snout | 1 |
| Oak-tree Pug | 1 |
| Dusky Brocade | 1 |
| Common Emerald | 1 |
| Poplar Grey | 1 |
| Small Seraphim | 1 |
| Common Roller | 1 |
| Grey/Dark Dagger | 1 |
| Common Rustic agg. | 1 |
| Spectacle | 1 |
| Red-letter Flat-body | 1 |
| Straw Dot | 1 |
| Common Wave | 1 |
| Dark-barred Twist | 1 |
| Common Heath | 1 |
| Inlaid Grass-veneer | 1 |
| Sallow Kitten | 1 |
| V-pug | 1 |
| Lilac Beauty | 1 |
| Water Carpet | 1 |
| Shark | 1 |
| Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet | 1 |
| Long-horned Flat-body | 1 |
| Wormwood Pug | 1 |
| Case-bearing Clothes Moth | 1 |
| Yellow-barred Gold | 1 |
| Cryptic Wood White | 1 |
| Yellow-tail | 1 |
| Burnished Brass | 1 |
| Small Clouded Brindle | 1 |
| Common Case-bearer | |
| Grand Total | 1046 |
We've encountered several standout moths so far this year across our different survey sites, making this season particularly exciting. Among our records are not just the more frequently seen or expected species, but also some remarkable highlights: common moths that have appeared at new locations for the first time, as well as genuine rarities that we rarely get to see. These discoveries add a layer of interest to our ongoing observations, marking memorable moments and expanding both our personal and site-level moth lists:
We've been running trapping sessions across more than seven distinct sites this year, allowing us to gather a wide range of data and build a more complete picture of moth diversity in the different environments we monitor. Breaking down the species lists and abundance data for each location provides valuable insights into how populations and species compositions vary from site to site. I've done my best to keep the trapping routine as regular as possible throughout the season, making every effort to set and check traps consistently, though there have naturally been occasional days when other commitments or circumstances have meant I've been unable to put out or attend the traps. Despite a few missed evenings, the overall coverage has been strong, and the results offer a reliable comparison of moth activity across our chosen sites
The "Home Garden" site refers to my own back garden, while all of the other sites are listed as they appear on mapping platforms—with the exception of "Slantry Wood lay-by," which is quite literally a small lay-by on the road to Slantry Wood and happens to yield some interesting finds. Unsurprisingly, the home site accounts for the highest number of records, as I'm able to set traps there much more frequently. It's convenient and accessible, making early morning checks and recordings easy without the need to travel, gain access, or trek out to a remote location just to reach the traps.
Here are the ten most abundant species recorded across all sites this year. Unsurprisingly, Heart & Dart leads the list once again, while Hebrew Character has shown a notable increase compared to previous years. It’s also worth mentioning that, for the first time, we’ve recorded Gold Swift in any significant quantity—in contrast to just a single sighting in each of the past three years.
The year got off to a challenging start for mothing, with several sessions cancelled entirely due to bouts of severe weather. We faced damaging storms early in the season, and—compounding matters—the persistent lack of rainfall meant a slower onset of moth activity this spring, making it one of the driest years in the past two decades.
While it’s always interesting to make year-to-year comparisons, I think a more valuable analysis would involve looking at monthly trends across different years, which I plan to explore in a future update. For now, I’m sharing the abundance chart for this season—unsurprisingly, moth numbers rise as we head into summer, but this time the increase is notably sharp rather than the gentle climb we’ve observed in previous years.