Stainland.

 Hello and season's greating to you all. I hope Santa brings you everything you asked for. Let's hope next year is a good one. Every year, I design a card for my friends. The image below is my card to you all. (It's best view from a short distance away, say 2 feet.)

A Merry Chrismas everybody.

 ]

Christmas Chess.

 

Stolen from Facebook

 I'm posting this with a heavy heart....

As much as I love mothing and everything that comes with it..it is taking up too much of my time. I am struggling to keep up with the everyday basics of cleaning and cooking and maintaining my home, so something has to give.

I have decided to get rid of my gear.

Below is a list of what is available. Serious inquiries only, and please, no low ball offers.

Thanks for reading and understanding. Here is what I have:

1. Vacuum cleaner

2. Broom and dustpan

3. Mop and bucket

4. Lawnmower

5. Leaf blower

6. Laundry detergent

7. Iron

8. Toilet brush

Thank you

December 19th 2020

Found this Fox Moth Cat today on Ned Hill track , i was surprised to see it on such a grim day..!!

3 Heralds in Bare Head Tunnel and 1 Winter moth in the local wood...

Merry X mas and many thanks for all your posts in 2020....
 

Stainland.

 I was thinking about butterflies and how much I liked to see them flitting around in the sun. Butterfly season will be a long time coming. I decided to create one for my amusement. Then, as it's a quiet time on this blog, I thought I'd post it, to brighten the day.

Lee Mount - 7th December

From overnight synergetic light...

Mottled Umber x 1

Winter Moth x 1

Only House Wood Northowram 5.Dec 2020

 Winter Moth 28 males , 2 females and 2 Brick tonight..

6th Dec

Winter Moth x 94 males and 5 females , 1 Brick and 1 Yellow Line Quaker which seems a bit late now.....

7th Dec

Winter Moth x 33 and 1 Yellow Line Quaker...

11th Dec

47 Winter moths and 1 female (calm and clear skies)

12th 

21 Winter Moth 1 female ( heavy rain and strong wind)

13th 

9 Winter Moth ( heavy rain and strong wind)

14th 

7 Winter Moth/....(cold with  slight breeze)

Rishworth - Overnight Moths - 29th November - I'm Back

 Yep, as hoped from my post last night - 7 moths this morning - they all turned up after 11 o'clock interestingly. Unfortunately, no Northern Winter Moths after one of 2 records in Yorkshire coming from the garden here.

Moth Trap 29th November 2020

Satellite x2 [NFY]  - 1x Orange dot, 1x white dot

Mottled Umber x2 [NFY]

Winter Moth x2 [NFY]

Chestnut x1

                                      

Rishworth - Back!

 After an extensive period of not running the trap here in the garden I flicked it on tonight. Various factors like bad weather and stuff to do have stopped me moffing for about a month but I have 2 weeks of home and garden confinement now so I may get some more trapping in after tonight's efforts. The weather is quite warm so after all the amazing moths that I have recorded I'm hoping for something tonight.

Anyway the point is, I'm back. So if I get anything in my efforts a post will come in the morning.

Only House Wood 25th Nov

53 Winter Moths tonight inc 2 pairs in cop and 3 females ,,1 Scarce Umber and a Brown House Moth at home..... 

 27th November .......  150 + Winter Moths including two pairs in cop and a yellow Line Quaker was a great find thanks for your help Mark P....

Lee Mount - 25th November

Limited return from overnight but interesting all the same and better than nothing !
Silver Y x 1
Mottled Umber x 2
Winter Moth x 1 gone up to 3 this evening !
Tachystola acroxantha x 1

Silver Y

Winter Moth

Mottled Umber

Only House Wood , Northowram

3 nights tree searching .. Winter Moth x 127 Winter Moth female x 4 Mottled Umber x 2 Mottled Umber female x 1 Scarce Umber x 3 Chestnut x 1 Light Brown Apple Moth x 1

Lee Mount - 19th Nov

Shut the trap off last night in the wet and windy conditions. Surprised this morning to find a Scarce Umber on the outside door. I thought it was dead, with the wind blowing it's wings, so potted it up and put it in a more sheltered position. It moved so I was pleased it was still alive.

Sent via BT Email App

Gracillaria syringella

Found some old vacated mines of Gracillaria syringella on a 6 foot tall ash seedling on the road down into Millbank this morning. Checked for any pupa on the leaves or still in the mines but no joy. This is a species I have found in the past as an imago in my moth trap but only ever found the mines on ash seedlings despite it being recorded on privet (Ligustrum) and lilac (Syringa)

Lee Mount - 17th November

 Four moths so far today but still hoping for some tonight.

Red-green Carpet x 1

Light-brown Apple-moth x 1

Winter Moth x 1

Blastobasis lacticolella (c 9 mm) - this had me puzzled for a while as the ones I get here are usually much paler and B adustella is usually much darker.

The textbooks and then the photos on Norfolk Moths seem to suggest B lacticolella. A consistent feature appear to be the pair of spots next to each other at around two-thirds.

More Mines

Found various mines today on my walk along Kennel Lane at Soyland and down into Millbank. Found on Hawthorn what I think are the abandoned intital mines of Scythropia crataegella which intially leaf mines and then feed communally in a web. I have only ever found and reared through species this from its communal web stage so I would be happy to be proved wrong and the mines are another species.

Lots of Stigmella anomalella on Roses throughout the walk

Just at the end of the lane from my new house is a St. John's-wort bush(Hypericum)which someone has planted for decoration and it had a large number of Ectoedemia septembrella mines on it

Apologies for the crappy photos but I had to borrow my wifes compact camera to use and it appears to not have a close up/macro function :( I am enjoying my daily walks around the area not only for the lovely scenery but also the chance to get my eye back in looking for moths, mines and larva after a 10 year break from any mothing at all. Finding the mines and moths is easy enough but making a ID of the plants and the mines is a steep learning curve all over again :)

Only House Wood

After 3 recent nights with little to show , tonight produced--- 38 x Winter Moths , Winter Moth ...3 pairs in cop , Scarce Umber x 1 , Chestnut x 1 ,and Light brown Apple Moth x 1 All with just a torch and for 1 hour just after dusk...

Leaf Mines and Cases on Juncus

A wander round on Kennel Lane at Soyland searching various trees still with leaves I found various still tenented and empty mines on Birch, Hazel, Rose and Ash. My ancient camera decided it was time to die so no photos this time sadly :( Species Phyllonorycter messaniella Phyllonorycter nicellii Stigmella anomalella I also found various mines on Oak which to be certain of species I will try and rear through over winter in plant pots covered with "pop socks" and hopefully get some adults emerge next year. I also found some patches of Rush with a few scattered cases on the seed heads still, these I suspect are Coleophora alticolella but could possibly be Coleophora glaucicolella and as I simply dont have time yet to tease out the larva from the cases to check I will again try and rear these through. I have to admit not having done any leaf mining for years (or any mothing for that matter ) I am enjoyinmg the roming round looking for species rather than running my MV trap which is still in a box waiting to be unpacked at my new house. Hopefully I will be able to sort out a new camera soon and be able to post some images of my various trips out over winter seeing what I can find using Ben Smarts superb Micro Moth Field Tips book.

Lee Mount - 12th November

First Winter Moth here. I kept disturbing a moth I couldn't get to grips with earlier this evening. Final check outside before lights out I found it on the side door.

Winter Moth

Stainland.

I had one very worn moth today. My best guess is a Sallow. Can anyone ID it, or is it too far gone?

In trying to add this image, instead of the image showing in the editor, a slection box I've not seen before popped up. It asked what size I wanted the picture to be and how I wanted it aligning. I chose, medium, and centered. It showed it as HTML code in the editor. Has anyone lese seen this? It seems a step back, one is not sure it's what one wanted until you preview or publish it. We were supposed to be making HTML invisible to users, unless they specifically wanted to use it. Google are always chaging things with no explination. SIGH

12 , November

5 Heralds today in Bare Head Tunnel , 2 Red green Carpet , Blairs Shoulfrt Knot and 2 Feathered Thorn last nite and a Red Admiral yesterday in the Garden (JC)

Not really Calderdale but...

 Some amazing records come up down south.

A Common Quaker in Stevenage, Hertfordshire 

A Radford Flame Shoulder in Bodenham, Herefordshire 

Free Books

Hi all I have 2 copies of Collins Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe and 2 copies of PBM Allans Laval Foodplants a Vade-Mecum for the Field Lepidopterist I am more than happy to pass to people in the group. Perhaps those on a limited income or younger members of the group should get priority for these :) Drop me PM via the group and your address and I will post them out free of charge. GG

Views around Halifax.

 Hello everybody.

I put a new post on my blog on Sunday. It's all photos of the lovely areas around Halifax. I wanted to try and lift people's mood for a while, by showing the beauty that's still there to be admired.

http://gordonartphotoand3dsci-fi.blogspot.co.uk/

Monday 9th November 2020

 A very mild night with thick fog.....

Light Brown Apple Moth x 3

Red Green Carpet x 1

Blairs Shoulder Knot x 1

Spruce Carpet x 2

Garden Rose Tortrix x 1

White Shouldered House Moth x 1

Tachystola acroxantha  x1

Angle Shades x 1

Lee Mount - 8th November

Tonight so far - pretty misty still and damp, but milder.

Satellite x 1

Mottled Umber x 3 (including 2 long stayers)

Brick x 2 (including 1 from 5th)

Lee Mount - 7th November

Tonight - so far.......

Red-green Carpet x 2 

Red-green Carpet and a Harvestman

One new one this morning - still pretty misty here

Brick x 1

Brick

Mottled Umber x 2 - both still here from 5th Nov

Lee Mount

Last week or so, nothing doing. One moth last night and still here this morning.
Mottled Umber x 2

Mottled Umber x 2 still here along with a Feathered Thorn (below)

Also Light-brown Apple-moth disturbed in garden vegetation 

Turnip..?/

 Had this one last night odd looking Turnip ..?? Very White underwing with light trailing edge,

Stainland.

There was a nice surprise for me this morning. It may well prove to be my last Angle Shades moth of the season. It's showing slight signs of wear, but is still a very handsome moth.

Angle Shades.

Feathered Thorn

Blairs Shoulder Knot x 1

Red Green Carpet x 1

Garden Carpet x 1

Dark Sword Grass and LBAMoth.....last night...

Wasp Nest

Hi everyone first post since the exile returned from Wales :) A huge still active wasp nest found not far from the Alama Pub at Soyland

I will dig this out later in the year and see which of the various parasites of Wasps have taken residence. I had hoped to get out leaf mining and sugaring this week but the weather has put paid for that so far :(

last of the Butterflys....??

 

Think this may well be the last one of the year..23rd October 2020......and a Common Marbled Carpet on the window on the 25th ...

Lee Mount update

 Not  a lot since the last post on 18th Oct

3 different Yellow-line Quakers since then, November Moth agg peaked on 21st with 8.

Satellite x 2 on 20th, Tachystola acroxantha x 3, Silver Y x 1

Brick x 1 on 21st along with Angle Shades x 1, White-shouldered House-moth x 1, and Blastobasis lacticolella x 1, Mottled Umber x 1 and Feathered Thorn x 1.

Garden Carpet x 1 on 23rd

Red-green Carpet x 1 on 24th

Mottled Umber x 1 this morning (26th)

Rishworth - 19th October - Overnight Moths - NFGs!!!!!

 A great night, with 2 NFGs. Sorry this post is belated, TalkTalk decided to shut the whole Ryburn Ward's internet down yesterday.

Moth Trap 21st October:

Ypsolopha sequella x1 [NFG]

Autumn Green Carpet x1 [NFG]

Feathered Thorn x1 [NFY]

Angle Shades x2 [NFY]

November Moth Agg. x6

Yellow Line Quaker x4

Red Green Carpet x1

Chestnut x1

Sorry about the poor pictures, they were taken bleary-eyed at 5:30am on a Monday

Autumn Green Carpet, Rishworth, 19th October

Feathered Thorn, Rishworth, 19th October

Ypsolopha sequella, Rishworth, 19th October

Last few days

 A Red Admiral and Small White yesterday , in the trap Yellow Line Quaker , Blairs shoulder Knot x 2 ,LBAM and a Blastobasis ardustella....Also of note from Ian Hargreaves at Keighley Moor a December Moth last night...so not too far away......

Stainland. 20 Oct 2020 More Moths.

It was a much warmer evening last night as a result, at 11:00 p.m. last night, three more moths arrived. (The November Moth Agg. already reported, was discovered earlier today, at at 4:00 p.m.).

1 x Siver Y

1 x Light Brown Apple

1 x Common Marbled Gardem (Brown variety)

Stainland.

 I 've been tripped up twice with moths in the last couple of weeks, so I'm asking two quesions; 

1) Is the moth below, a Winter Moth? If so, it's another first for me.

2) How the devil do moths know what they look like, to enable the to chose the best camouflage surface near them? After all, they don't have little mirrors.  Er... they don't, do they?

 

Winter Moth. TBC.

Lee Mount - 18th October

From overnight and in and around the trap this morning

Garden Rose Tortrix x 1

Light-brown Apple-moth x 4

Common Marbled Carpet x 2 (one new one)

Feathered Thorn x 2 (one new one)

Acleris sparsana x 1

Angle Shades x 1

Satellite x 1

Spruce Carpet x 2

Red-green Carpet x 1

Mottled Umber x 1

Not sure of this (Common Marbled carpet ?) but thought it made a nice shot on the Rhodanthemum

Angle Shades

 

Feathered Thorn - quite different individuals above and below

Spruce Carpet

Stainland.

My thanks to Edward, for correcting my misidentified moth. See below.

I had a nice surprise this morning. A Red-Green Carpet, (worn) and two Angle Shades caterpillars, brown form. 

I've never seen two of the latter at the same time before. They gave me a little trouble at first. The markings on the ones below, are different to the other brown forms I've seen. Both are such a very dark brown, as to look almost a dull black. The photos showed otherwise. Caterpillar number 2, has quite a lot of green markings, as the images show.

Red-Green Carpet.

 

Autumn Shades Caterpillar 1.

 

Angle Shades Caterpillar 2 - with green marks.

Angle Shades head.

 

Angle Shades tail, showing claspers.
 

 

 

Rishworth - Overnight Moths - 17th October - A bit of autumn green

 Not bad last night here in Rishworth, good to get some NFYs and of couse, a beautiful Merveille du Jour.

Moth Trap 17th October:

Acleris sparsana x1 [NFY]

Red Line Quaker x1 [NFY]

Spruce Carpet x1 [NFY]

Merveille du Jour x1

November Moth Agg. x2

Common Marbled Carpet x1

Red Green Carpet x1

Yellow Line Quaker x3

Spruce Carpet, Rishworth, 17th October

Red Line Quaker, Rishworth, 17th October

Acleris sparsana, Rishworth, 17th October

Merveille du Jour, Rishworth, 17th October

Rishworth - 9:40pm

 Just popped out to the trap because I saw a triangle on the lamps rain cover and thought it was a Feathered Thorn but was delighted to find it was a Merveille du Jour, my second this year and third ever here in two years

Lee Mount - 17th October

Still here from yesterday - Common Marbled Carpet, Red-green Carpet, November Moth agg x 7 and Mottled Umber all hiding away on the fence near the trap.

New ones this evening (perhaps I missed them this morning)

Satellite x 1

Feathered Thorn x 1

Lee Mount - 16th October

 One new one for the autumn this morning

Mottled Umber

November Moth agg x 7

Tachystola acroxantha x 1

Red-green Carpet x1

Common Marbled Carpet  x 1 looking pretty worn by now

Silver Y

Also Small Tortoiseshell this morning

Lee Mount - 15th October

 Another very wet overnight but managed a single Satellite in the trap and a November Moth agg on the fence as well as the resident Silver Y still doing the rounds on the garden pot plants.

Northowram

 4 Heralds in Bare Head Tunnel , Silver Y and Red Admiral on Ivy in garden....and on next doors heather , Small Tortoiseshell , Red Admiral and a pristine Comma...!!!

Moth report update.

 I am now working on the update to the moth report I published earlier this year..If anybody has anything they would like to contribute or take out of the last one, seen any massive mistakes,,please email me or leave a comment below..I am planning the next edition in March 2021,,cheers

Lee Mount - 12th October

 Better than expected overnight

Feathered Thorn x 2

Red-green Carpet x 1

November Moth agg x 7

Blair's Shoulder-knot x 2

Light-brown Apple-moth x 4

Garden Rose Tortrix x 1

Silver Y x 1 from previous day still sheltered in a garden pot

Stainland.

1 x Garden Rose Tortix today.

It was cold and windy last night, I didn't think I'd see anything.

Juniper Carpet

                                                      Juniper Carpet x 1

                                                     Blairs Shoulder Knot x 1

                                                     Light Brown Apple Moth x 1

                                                    Garden Rose Tortrix x 1

Rishworth - 11th October - Overnight Moths.

 Not great but still not had a blank, so satisfactory.

Yellow Line Quaker X2

November Moth Agg. X1

Castle Carr Road and Saltonstall etc...

Nice bit of sunshine this afternoon alongside Luddenden Dean

Small Tortoiseshell x 3 (one on Michaelmas Daisy, the others in flight over the fields

Silver Y x 2 flying around near a farm just off Castle Carr Road

Ruby Tiger x 2 caterpillars on a track - one placed back in the vegetation though the other one was dead probably got trampled on at some point.

Red Admiral x 1 at home, again on Verbena bonariensis

Stainland.

 

This poest has been amended on the 11th Oct. 2020, after David and Edward corrected my mistake. Thank you both. I've adjusted my original post. The following is now correct.

A nice surprise for me this morning, an Autumn Green Carpet moth.

Autun Green Carpet.

Rishworth

 Red Admiral on Verbena Bonariensis/Japanese Anenome. Also one on Nasturtium 'Alpine Mixed'.

Lee Mount - 11th October

From last night

Feathered Thorn x 1

Acleris sparsana x 1

Common Marbled Carpet x 1

Light-brown Apple-moth x 3

Acleris sparsana

Feathered Thorn

Lee Mount - 9th October

 November Moth agg x 2 this morning and that was it !

Autumn so far....

 I don't know about anyone else, but Autumn here in Rishworth has been very poor. I have had no Sallows apart from 1 Centre Barred Sallow and Orange Sallow in August. I have added a right truckload of species to my list, e.g Small Autumnal Moth, but species from last year, other than Rosy Rustic and Common Marbled Carpet, have been quite patchy. I don't know if it is general decrease in trapping nights due to busier days combined with bad weather. Any thoughts comments are welcome.

Fox moth

This was found walking across the path on Norland Moor yesterday many thanks J Baldwin..I saw a Ruby Tiger cat also today  but just out of the area...