Mothing - Broads & East Coast

Thanks to a family member, I currently have a Jackery Explorer 1000 power station on short-term loan. It's a piece of kit I've been considering for a while, so with  recent catches in the garden being fairly mediocre, I decided it was the perfect excuse to head out for a couple of nights' mothing. The first visit was to a site just 10 minutes from home in the Lower Bure Catchment, followed by a trip to the coast at Cart Gap the following evening.

Lower Bure Catchment – 24th July 2026

An enjoyable night that reacquainted me with several Broadland specialities I hadn't seen since leaving Hickling, including Dotted Footman, Reed Dagger and Small Dotted Footman.

The highlight of the night was recording five, possibly six, new species for me. Among these were two Nationally Scarce B species: Dentated Pug and Gynnidomorpha alismana, the latter requiring genitalia dissection for confirmation.

Small Dotted Footman

Dentated Pug

Cart Gap – 25th July 2026

A blustery afternoon thankfully gave way to much calmer conditions by early evening, although the wind picked up again around midnight. Joined by Kieran, we had the light running by 9:30 pm, and it wasn't long before moths and carabid beetles began arriving.

Early visitors included several Ruby Tigers, a single Plutella xylostella, and my first lifer of the night, Cydia amplana.

As darkness fell, the diversity continued to build with Ypsolopha sequella, Dotted Fan-foot, Pediasia contaminella (Nationally Scarce B), Marbled Clover (Nationally Scarce), Twin-spotted Wainscot, Oak Hook-tip, Leopard Moth, Celypha rosaceana, Small Rufous, Anerastia lottiella (Nationally Scarce B), and a possible Chionodes fumatella (Nationally Scarce B), which will require further examination.

Anerastia lotella

Cydia amplana

possible Chionodes fumatella

All in all, two very enjoyable nights in the field and an excellent opportunity to put the Jackery through its paces. It performed flawlessly, easily powering the moth trap throughout both evenings, and it's certainly made a strong case for finding a permanent place in my kit.