Rishworth- The Usuals

Moth Trapping Session 29/10/2019
A normal night with the usual species.

List of Species
Brick x1
Satellite (white dots) x2
Yellow Lined Quaker x2
Red Lined Quaker x1
Red Green Carpet x1

                                                               Satellite

                                               Brick

Rishworth and Bare Head Tunnel

Bare  Head Tunnel 28th October 2019
Herald x8
Peacock x5
Small Tortoiseshell x4


Rishworth 26th October 2019 Moth Trapping Session#
Feathered Thorn x1

Rishworth and an ID

Moth Trapping Session 24th October 2019
Not a bad night with a new form of Satellite for here. LIst below..

                                                    Brick Above

                                                      LAcewing Above

                                              Chestnut Above

                                             Have this down as Dark Chestnut??? ID Please

                                                      Mottled Umber Above

                                                             Satellite  above

List of Species
Mottled Umber x2
Satellite x2 (Both orange dots, the first of that form for here)
Brick x1
November Moth Agg. x1
Dark Chestnut???? X1

---Lacewing x5----

Stainland.

Just one moth today. It arrived in time to avoid the rain, which is what I'm doing.
It's a Mottled Umber.

Mottled Umber.

Lee Mount - 25th October

A little better again last night despite the drizzle

Yellow- line Quaker x 2
Feathered Thorn x 2
Light-brown Apple-moth x 1
Brick x 1
Mottled Umber x 1
November Moth agg x 1

 Feathered Thorns

Mottled Umber

Mottled Umber on the 23rd as well but it was in a spiders web with just the wings intact and the body gone !

Rishworth

I spotted a Twenty Plume Moth in the house last night so I popped it outside. Also had a November Moth Agg. At the window.

Lee Mount - 23rd October

Slightly better than recent nights....
Feathered Thorn x 2
Common Marbled Carpet x 3 (all with the orange blaze)
Tachystola acroxantha x 1

Common Marbled Carpet  - all 3 similar to this one

Stainland.

Only one moth today, so I added the only other creature by the door as well, for good measure.

The moth books state that this tortrix flies until September. I don't think the one below knows that, as it's 20th October now. This has to be due to the climate change, warmer temperatures etc. I'm sure we shall see a lot more striking examples of this among all the flora and fauna as time goes by. We already have a spreading of insects from the south of England to the North, and swallows staying a little longer before they start for Africa, as they did here last Autumn.

Garden Rose Tortrix.

The next one can hardly be described as a moth. However, it was near the tortrix. I've never seen a Green Shieldbug in this colouring. They have two winter colours, one is all brown, - the one I've seen. The other livery is the one below. It was a nice discovery for me.

Green Shieldbug in winter colours.

Rishworth- A very good night

Moth Trapping Session Saturday 20th October 2019
A good night with yet more new species for here.
Annoyingly, no  pictures as camera was on low charge. :-(

List of Species
November Moth Agg. x7
Mottled Umber (Obviously Males) x2
Feathered Thorn x4
Red Green Carpet x1 (Finally free from double figured swarms of them every night :-)
Acleris sparsana x1
Brick x2
Yellow Lined Quaker x1
Red Lined Quaker x1
----------------------------------------------------------
Anyone with an idea of Acleris sparsana's status in Calderdale?

Lee Mount - 19th October

Empty trap again this morning
Brick x 1 found in the car this, then it disappeared - it might still be there !
Silver Y x 1 around the garden plants this afternoon briefly.

Brick

Stainland.

Two hardy moths by the door this morning:

1 x  Silver Y.
1 x Autumn Green Carpet.

I seem to remember reading that the Silver Y tends to be a paler brown in the first brood, (Spring) and darker in the second brood, (Autumn). The colour change tends to be linked to temperature, at least in the UK.

Silver Y.

Autumn Green Carpet.

Withens Clough

Car park and reservoir circuit yesterday late morning produced.

Red Admirals x 5 (1 around the car park, the others >W.
Peacock x 2 ( found on walls facing the sunshine)

An interesting news item.

This is not strictly applicable to this group, but is well worth reading. A slime mould that move, east and repairs itself if dissected in about two minutes.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7581559/Blob-organism-no-brain-720-sexes-regenerate-TWO-MINUTES-bisected.html

Lee Mount -17th October

Just 3 moths this morning
Common Marbled Carpet x 1 - looking a bit worn
November Moth agg x 2

Brearley

Comma butterfly this afternoon fluttering around a small garden near the bridge over the River Calder. It was pretty camera shy !

Spot the Comma !

Shibden Head

Wet, wet morning - what shall I do.??.... oh I know - Bare Head Tunnel, it's always a good bet after summer for hibernation. It didn't disappoint either.

Herald Moths x 12 (possibly a couple more, as I lost count in the crevices ...!!)
Peacock x 6
Small Tortoiseshell x 3

 Cluster of 4 Heralds (2 others were within a foot or so - all on the roof space)

Herald with a Small Tortoiseshell (I think)

Lee Mount - 15th October

Comma butterfly today - on the last small spike on the Buddleia.

Nothing in the trap from last night - well it did rain again !!
Silver Y x 1 yesterday
This afternoon I found a Tachystola acroxantha  x 1 on the outside door

Holywell Green to Gosport Clough Field Trip

The Lichen Case-bearers seem to be doing well with this impressive count of 17 cases on one small section of wall.

It was a fantastic day for fungi with six new species for myself including the bizarre and extremely rare Powdercap Strangler - a parasitic species that uses the host mushroom's stem to produce it's own cap and gills.

For full details of the walk see here:

https://calderdale-wildlife.blogspot.com/2019/10/holywell-green-to-gosport-clough-fungi.html

A late post from Edward- Ripponden 8th October

Whilst waiting for a bus back to Rishworth I spotted an Agonopterix Heracliana moth scurrying around on the bus shelter roof...

Stainland, 12th October.

There was an Angle Shades on our doorstep yesterday. I had the opportunity to take some good shots of it.

Angle Shades.

Detail.

Lee Mount - 12th October

Very little from the trap the last few nights especially with all the rain. These two below and a Tachystola acroxantha on the window last night.

 Chestnut

Red-green Carpet

Hoping for some late butterflies today - the sun is shining, but for how long !!
UPDATE - Comma x 1 and Small Tortoiseshell x 1 - both seen on Fuchsia and Erysimum.

November In Focus

November Moth agg British Leps

An aggregate of 4 . A species were appearance alone can not be taken as reliable although some pointers can be useful in narrowing down  ID eg Over all colour Eg melanic or dark especially when some show marked melanism making it difficult to differentiate .  forking of  vein 3 &4 , relation to discal spot if visible , gender etc  can be taken to narrow down on probability but not definitive enough to be absolute. The Small Autumnal poses less of a problem as size habitat Moorland and phenology earlier aid in its id

British and Irish moths: an illustrated guide to selected difficult species

Gen Det agg species


November Moth                    Epirrita dilutata 

Pale November Moth            Epirrita christyi     

Autumnal Moth                     Epirrita autumnata  

Small Autumnal Moth          Epirrita filigrammaria 



November Moth Epirrita dilutata agg

Rishworth

Moth Trapping Session 11th October 2019
A warm night so I gave it a go with the trap out. Less moths due to 95.6% moon..

List of Species
Satellite x1
Feathered Thorn x3 (one netted at 22:00)
November Moth Agg. (I think...) x1
Copper Underwing Agg. x1 (Very Late...)

                                                       Satellite Above &below

                                                    Satellite&  Feathered Thorn

                          November Moth Below????????

 Below...Copper Underwing Agg.
Satellite

Stainland.

1 x Garden Rose Tortrix.
1 x Angle Shades.

Invite to a Field Trip This Saturday

There's a Halifax Scientific Society walk this Saturday (Oct.12th) in the Stainland area. There will be one or two fungi experts present so given the recent weather conditions there should be plenty to look at with waxcaps, clubs and corals being the main targets. I'll be there and I usually focus most of my efforts on searching for leaf mines, bagworms, moths etc. but I do have a keen interest in fungi as well.


It's a pretty laid back affair with no previous experience required, just lots of friendly, like-minded people.


Meet Peechysteve at Station Road car park at Holywell Green at 10.30am. HX4 9AP. Bring good walking boots and a packed lunch, the walk finishes approximately 2.30pm. Approx 3 miles.


More info here: http://calderdale-wildlife.blogspot.com/p/walks-and-surveys.html


Everyone welcome.

When moths and fungi meet: The Scarlet Caterpillar Club has been found in previous years on this walk. It feeds on subterranean moth larvae.

Rishworth caterpillars

Rishworth 8th October 2019
Swept a Ruby Tiger larva last night, not taken for rearing though..

Stainland.

Poor weather for moths, but I had two this morning:

1 x November Moth agg.
1 x Light Brown Apple.

Hollas Lane - Yesterday

Butterflies down to just four Red Admirals trying to eke out some nectar in the breezy, showery conditions.

It was nice to find some Yarrow Case-bearers on a different food plant, pictured above are two cases on the seedheads of Sneezewort which is in the same genus as Yarrow. It's a very common moth here with multiple cases on many seedheads of both plants.

Apart from leaf miners the only other thing of note was a Ruby Tiger larva dashing along at speed as they always seem to do.

Rishworth- Quality not Quantity

Moth Trapping Session 7th October 2019
Not too many compared to Sunday but good species came.

List of Species
Merveille du Jour x1
November Moth Agg. x1
Red Green Carpet x3
Black Rustic x1
Chestnut x1
Angle Shades x1
Red-Lined Quaker x1
Silver Y x1                                                

                                           Merveille du Jour Above            Chestnut Below 

Shibden

1 Comma
1 Small tortoiseshell
2 Red admiral

Rishworth- A busy Night in the trap.

Moth Trapping Session 6th October 2019
A lot of moths in and on the umbrella over the trap despite the rain.


List of Species AFter pictures

                    Satellite above                                                           Feathered Thorn Below

                   Angle Shades Above                   November Moth Below

                                                           Red -Line Quaker Below

List of Species
November Moths Agg. x13
Feathered Thorn x1
Satellite x1
Red Green Carpet x6
Yellow-Lined Quaker x6
Red-Lined Quaker x1
Angle Shades x1

Lee Mount - 6th October

One each - Red Admiral and a Speckled Wood across lunchtime with a half-hour of sunshine - then it rained, again !!

Lee Mount - 4th and 5th October

Blair's Shoulder-knot x 1
Silver Y x 1
November Moth agg x 1
Common Marbled Carpet x 1
Light-brown Apple-moth x 1

Blair's Shoulder-knot

Red Admiral at Wainstalls this afternoon