Stainland.

I we were just off to bed when I spotted a  Willow Beauty (Pale form). I had to take it, seeing that it was kind enough to show up, after I'd snapped it's dark form this morning. I've never seen both forms in such a short time before.

Willow Beauty - pale form.

Stainland.

Moth count numbers first, at 3 am this morning. (At 8 am, there were just 5 moths left). Then some images from breakfast time.

4 x Common Footman.
2 x  Marbled Beauties.
7 x  Blastobasis sp. (I could clearly see one or two B. lacticolella and B. adustella) the rest were too high up to define.
1 x Riband Wave - Banded form.
2 x Edonia sp. (Too high for photos at the time).

A Willow Beauty, (dark from) arrived during the morning. I was wondering when they would arrive here.

Willow Beauty.

Willow Beauty detail.

Here is where I trip up. I think I have IDd the next one correctly. I did a lot of reading about these moths. So...

Agriphilla tristela TBC.

Dark Green Fritillary

Taken on WHiteholme drain today .....by Dave Franz...Brilliant thanks Dave

Stainland.

3 x Blastobasis adustella.

1 x Common Footman.

1 x Marbled Beauty (brown form).

The Riband White from yesterday is still there.

Stainland. Moth survives Monsoon.

It's 8:30 pm. Anne found one Riband Wave - Non Banded, on the door. It was not there a while ago, before I took the recycling out. This moth deserves a medal. It flew here during at least 4 hours of non-stop, torrential rain. I didn't notice any let-up in it anyway. Amazing!

 Riband Wave Non Banded.

Stainland.

I should have posted these three days ago, I forgot.  The butterfly was on the wall in the garden. The two moths were in our hall. As I got near the underwing, it started to fly and disappeared. It was the only shot I got of it. At least i got to see it's colour.

Small Tortoiseshell.

Lesser Yellow Underwing. 

As far as I can tell, the next is a Dark Arches.

Dark Arches.

Sat 27th July 2019 Weather

Sat 27th July 2019 - Down at the Bottom ????? ( Cromwell )   CANCELLED We live to surface another day


Possibly a good night for Lampropteryx suffumata and Acentria ephemerella

Luddenden Village

                                                     Sycamore (2nd local record)

                        Least Carpet (first Local record and very rare migrant to Yorkshire)

                                                             Blackneck

                                                              Dingy Footman (one of 9)

                                                           Old lady

                                                         Shaded broad bar.

A great weeks moth trapping at luddenden ,,,thanks Martyn

Lee Mount - this week !

Small selection from this last week. Phew....it's hard work keeping up with so much happening with moths and butterflies in the hot weather this last week.

 Agapeta hamana (I think)

 Copper Underwing agg (the first to appear here this year)

 Orange Swift

Shuttle-shaped Dart

VC63 Garden Moths Hottest Night Thurs 25th July 2019

Thurs 25th July 2019

Weather . Hotter than a hot thing 25o   Still Balmy and Humid. Dry

Other entomology

Birch shield Bug Orange Ladybird Harlequinn Ladybird Green Lacesing Weevils various Carabids Harvestman, Various Caddis

Method Actinic 20 W

Images To Follow

ABH  73.107  2300  Old Lady Mormo maura x1
ABH  69.016 1991   Elephant Hawk-moth Deilephila elpenor x1

ABH  62.048  1470  Ash Bark or Tabby Knot-horn  Euzophera pinguis TBC
ABH   3.001   0015  Orange Swift Triodia sylvina TBC
ABH  73.342  2107  Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba >18

ABH  72.045  2050  Common Footman Eilema lurideola 

ABH  73.162  2321  Dark Arches Apamea monoglyph 

ABH  63.074  1344  Eudonia mercurella   >30

ABH  63.067  1338  Eudonia lacustrata   > 30

ABH  73.084  2293  Marbled Beauty Bryophila domestica x5

ABH  63.025  1376  Small Magpie Anania hortulata
ABH  73.317  2089  Heart & Dart Agrotis exclamationis
ABH  63.080  1293  Grass Veneer Chrysoteuchia culmella
ABH  70.226 1906   Brimstone Moth Opisthograptis luteolata
ABH  73.156  2326  Clouded-bordered Brindle Apamea crenata
ABH  41.002  0873  Blastobasis adustella
ABH  62.048  1470  Ash Bark or Tabby Knot-horn  Euzophera pinguis









ABH   3.001   0015  Orange Swift Triodia sylvina ( Female ? )

Dimorphic Male Smaller anf brighter (orange)







see link

ABH  73.107  2300 Old Lady Mormo maura









ABH  69.016 1991  Elephant Hawk-moth Deilephila elpenor

Northowram Butterflys 26.07.19

Small Tortoiseshell x 152
Comma x 9
Small Skipper x 8
Large Skipper x 2
Small Copper x 1
Purple Hairstreak x 7
White Letter Hairstreak x 4
Peacock x 10
Painted Lady x 1
Gatekeeper x 2
Ringlet x 18
Meadow Brown x 40 +
Large White x 5
Green veined White x 20 +
Small White x 20 +
Speckled Wood x 6

Stainland.

After Colin's slightly cryptic comment below. I did what was suggested. I think I'm supposed to say The Common Wainscot in this post is really a Smokey 

Wainscot. The other 2 Wainscots were too high up for me to tell at was 3 am I used the FZ27. I've changed it's name to suit. I'm holding my breath in case I'm wrong again. I do seem to be getting worse at IDs, rather than better. I don;t know why. Sorry. I would dearly like someone to ID the Copper(ish) moth below.

It was party time at our door last night again.

Numbers first this time, photos after. There is one I'm having trouble with.

16 x Marbled Beauties. (2 more than the night before).
4 x Eudonia species.
2 x Common Footman.

So, the photos:

This moth, which is new to me this year, seems to be very much in evidence. I've seen 4 so far. You never see one, then they're all over the place.

Smokey Wainscot.

I don't know what the next one is. Manley did not help me.The photos did not capture the copper shine of this one. It was roughly 1.5 cm nose to tail. It would be nice to get an ID on it, if only because of it's copper colour.

ID Needed.

There were three Blastobasis adustella. Two pale, one dark. I made the diagnosis of the pale ones based on the pale inverted, "V" or really an "X" shape, a third of the way down. It's far more clearly defined on the dark sample below this one.

Blastobasis adustella.

Blastobasis adustella.

I take this last one to be a Eudonia mercurella, based on Colin's ID of one I posted earlier. At the top of this post, I said there were 4 Eudonia. 2 of them were to high up for me to get close to. The other 2 were the same, E. Mercurella, as far as I can tell.

Eudonia mercurella, 

Buddleia moths plus two for ID

A fantastic night last night just sat out in the garden with a head torch, net and (mega-slow) Coolpix camera. Several new species for the garden were seen plus one totally new one. This True Lover's-knot feeding on Buddleia was a big surprise. Maybe breeding on cultivated heathers.

Another nectarer was this Old Lady which only hung around for one pic. A MASSIVE moth compared to the usually fare.

Even a grass moth was found nectaring - Crambus pascuella.

Heart and Dart plus a Copper Underwing species looking on.

Also Phoenix was new to the garden plus a few more regular species.

It really is worth planting nectar rich plants such as Buddleia, Heleniums, Verbenas etc, if you don't get much on them by day you might be surprised what visits them by night.

Also had a Hummingbird Hawkmoth in the afternoon feeding right in front of me on the Verbenas - brilliant stuff.

Two moths were netted which are unidentified so far - this dart species and...........

It's very rare I get a new Pyralid away from the traps so this Phycitodes (?) species is exciting. Forewing 9mm. Same moth below. Anybody any ideas on these two??????

Mystery Dart

Mystery Dart

Could this be an Archers Dart  ? which is predominately a coastal species that has been seen in VC 63 not seen since 1989There have been many inland records from the west of VC61 but it has not been reported from there since 2006. No records from VC63 since 1989.

Sterry shows a similar form here  link both have poorly developed orbical stigma or is it  a plain old Heart and Dart or Heart and Club