Clay Triple-lines – Moth of the Moment

As the years go by, each mothing season gets perhaps more samey. The usual suspects become very familiar, and the NFGs (new for the garden) become few and far between. Obviously, the first season you record everything is NFG, and then for a year or two after, there’s the ebb and flow of species so that you still see lots of novelty. Clay Triple-lines moth on a piece of similarly coloured wood Now that I’ve been mothing for 9 seasons, I don’t expect to see many NFGs at all. For 2026, it’s been 36, which isn’t too bad. One has to be fastidious about checking and recording every last micro. But, even this year, there have been some macro surprises, such as the very rare and new to Cambridgeshire Eastern Bordered Straw, Small Mottled Willow, and several others. I’d finished recording last night’s specimens and was setting the trap up, ready for the next session, when I caught sight of the underside of what I assumed was a Riband Wave. I potted it and the topside came into view briefly.…