Mystery Visitor

This, last night at the bedroom light. A mystery visitor. Any ideas. Poor pics im afraid. about 5mm WL max

Luddenden Dean

 

 

This Peacock butterfly was a real surprise this morning flying around and sunning itself on the rocks on the rough hillside above 'The Lowe' - it is December !!!

Winter Moths

With the temps dropping and a cold wind the numbers had dropped tonight to about a 1000, still plenty females could be found a couple on fence posts and one on a wall...

More Winter Moths

Well with the cold temps and rain over the last few days I was wondering how many Winter Moths would be left, it has been 6 nights since I was last in the woods. Entering the wood I was amazed to see plenty of moths about and the first wall had about 20 males and a female .As I continued it seemed as though nothing had changed. Winter moths on every tree numbers still in the thousands......................................

                                                      Dead males on the ground

                                                 Female dragging male

Glyphipterix haworthana.

I had a wander up Stoodley Glen and over the tops to Broadhead Clough on Monday (2nd). Whilst crossing Erringden moor I found lots of Cotton Grass seed heads that were still intact, presumably spun together by G.haworthana. I'll try and rear them through so hopefully next April I'll see my first adults.

Is anybody else searching for early stages or leaf mines at the moment as now is a really good time to have a go? 

Winter Moths

Out again at 4.30 - 5.15..and still very large numbers of Winter moths despite the temp dropping dramatically. Many males were seen pumping there wings into shape so still emerging in large numbers.4  males were observed trying to mate with a lone female ..she eventually chose one ,At one point I could see males crawling out of the leaf litter and flying to the nearest tree.
One female Mottled Umber  was seen but no males..Working for the next 5 nights and with the weather on the change that may  be it for this extraordinary occurance.

Winter Moth round Up

3 mild nights in a row with little wind have produced an amazing     abundance  of   winter Moths in the local Woods, I  had 3 / 4 winter moths round the house earlier last week so on my way out on Sat night  I  grabbed the head torch just in case..As I entered the woods a moth flew past me and then another soon after,, within 10 paces I had seen 11. .Every tree was covered in Winter Moths  most around the base and up to 6 feet but on some they went so far up I could not count them. I went round at least 150 trees a mix of  50% Beech, 40% Oak and 5 % Sycamore and 5% other(including Elm, Nettle, rosebay willowherb, Bramble, Elderberry ,Hawthorn and various grasses)   every single  tree/bushwinter moths on it , I estimated about  10,000 moths  .They were erupting from the ground as I walked through the leaf litter and seemed to be

WINTER MOTH SPECTACULAR 2

Back to the wood this evening at 4,45..Again Winter moths on every tree the first 34 trees I counted 1381 males and 34 Females,as I went through the wood every tree was crawling with males,at one point I was watching a female drag a male upwards  quite fast and the male took flight carrying the female up about 10 inc  and landing back on the trunk.(?).As I got to the wall that cuts through the wood there were Winter moths all over the wall and on barbed wire fences ,on the dead nettle stems ,50+ on one small elderberry tree,on the dead brambles and swarms flying around the wood. 10,000 seems a massive number but I think it was an underestimation......