File:Best moths of 2012 (8303496089).jpg

Well another Mothing year comes to an end, a change of residence for me from my parents farm (an amazing habitat with 10 acres of set-aside land) to our first home here in Stevenage (with a garden measuring 30ft by 15ft). The Moths here have been less and I expected that but did throw up a few nice surprises, namely Rosy Footman and Square-spotted Clay.

There has been really no point in trapping recently, and apart from missing out on Winter Moth and Mottled Umber, I haven't done bad this Autumn/Winter with moth species in my garden.
It has been a strange year, and some may say the worst year on record for numbers of common and local species turning up to the traps, but it has thrown up a few surprises for some people, and many County firsts have been recorded this year.

Here is my top 10 Moths of 2012, in no apparent order of rarity/scarcity.

1. Wood Carpet - 26/06/12 - Braughing, Hertfordshire - My very first record of this Moth. Similarities are immediately obvious to the very common; Common Carpet, but check out that huge broad white line. Also note that this isn't the sole distinguishing feature, the underside of the hindwing confirmed this species. An uncommon Moth here in Hertfordshire.

2. White-spotted Pinion - 17/08/12 - Huntingdon Wood, Huntingdonshire - Another first for me, joining up with a few other chaps including the person who managed the wood. We managed 15 of them which was a good number for such a poor year.

3. Plumed Prominent - 13/11/12 - Suffolk Wood, Sussex - I had been wanting to go and see this Moth for a few years now. Having a very localised distribution it did mean travelling for it, but boy was it worth it. With a total of 57 individuals coming to my lights including 2 females.

4. Great Prominent - 22/05/12 - Hertingfordbury University Grounds, Hertfordshire - After getting permission to trap here last year and talking with someone who use to trap it and get Great Prominent, I was there like a shot this spring in search of it. The evening looked perfect and I was really hopeful of my target species, an hour went by...nothing, then another hour....still nothing. I really had to start thinking about packing up, and at 12.30am just as I was winding the cable reel in, there it was!

5. Rufous Minor - 19/07/12 - Braughing, Hertfordshire - I had been trying to seperate the Minor/Oligia's for a long while, but after lots of comparisons it really did boil down to dissection, as all 3 similiar species over-lapped with features. This one I took to my good friend Colin Plant who dissected it and confirmed it as the species I had longed for.

6. Perinephela lancealis - 04/07/12 - Sawbridgeworth Marsh, Hertfordshire - This Moth was part of a cracking haul of wetland Moths. Initially I thought it was a Mother of Pearl as it fluttered around the light. Once it settled it became a life-tick.

7. Eana incanana - 23/07/12 - Braughing, Hertfordshire - Another one of those little grey Moths, that I may have previously over-looked. With extremely similiar features to many to the Cnephasia's species, this one stood out and became a new species.

8. Caloptilia hemidactylella - 13/11/12 - Groton Wood, West Suffolk - Easily the biggest surprise of the year as I went for the Plumed Prominents. This tiny little Moth was seen bumbling around the Actinic light shortly before packing up. After expert opinions followed by dissection, it was confirmed as the 8th British record and the 1st record for Suffolk.

9. Coronet - 24/07/12 - Gade Springs - Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire - Another 1st for me, quite a regular Moth in Essex (although I missed out on seeing one when I lived there) in Hertfordshire it is quite scarce and local.

10. Tawny Shears - 25/06/12 - Braughing, Hertfordshire - With just a handful of records for the County, this was another good one, which came on the same night as Wood Carpet and a Delicate!

Well that's it.