Butterflys in June..?/

 A slow year so far , but has anyone see seen Brimstone , Small Skipper , Holly or Common Blue in JUNE ....??? or any HAirstreaks..??

Any thoughts ?

One micro ?? from last night - very small - minute - 5mm 

 

Hunter Hill - 29th and North Dean/ Hollas Bridge this afternoon -30th

 Not  a lot to report on moths but will try to post later  !

We did find a Meadow Brown, Large Skipper, Red Admiral and 2 Small Tortoiseshell's in the garden yesterday. 

Also a few Ringlets on Hunter Hill and still some Small Heaths. Very few 'whites' about last few days.

This afternoon we walked down the fields from North Dean woods towards Hollas Bridge. We came across a really interesting looking field, just up from  a decent sized pond, with a good show of Meadow Brown's, and a Ringlet. 

4 Speckled Woods, 2 Ringlets, Meadow Brown and a Peacock by Hollas Bridge. 

Then we ran out of time !

Cromwell Bottom moth night

 Around 56 species were recorded including the star of the night a pristine Beautiful Hook-tip. Others photographed were White Plume Moth, Spectacle and Flame which didn't look like a Flame to me until it settled with its wings held tightly to its body.

Tawny Marbled Minor and Marbled Minors were taken for dissection.

Stainland.

The first Marbled Beauty of the year, (for me). Two days ago I was thinking that they should be arriving now July is almost here.

Marbled Beauty

Stainland.

 I was lucky enough to find a Comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album) - caterpillar on a wall, down Carr Hall Lane, this afternoon. It's the first I've seen and a very striking thing it is.

Comma butterfly caterpillar

Rishworth - 13th June - What a scorcher!

 A belated post from the 13th, a really good night with some scarcer moths kicking around.

Moth trap 13th June:

Marbled Minor Agg x4 [NFY]

Coxcomb Prominent x2

Clouded Border x1 [NFY]

Scorched Wing x1 [NFG and rare in Calderdale I think]

Flame Shoulder x5

Small Phoenix x1

White Ermine x1

Common Marbled Carpet x1

Rustic Shoulder Knot x1

Bright Line Brown Eye x1 [NFY]

Pale Tussock x3

Ruby Tiger x1 [NFY]

Clouded Bordered Brindle x1 [NFY]

Miller x1 [NFY]

Small Angle Shades x1 [NFY]

Marbled White Spot x6

Scalloped Hazel x1 [NFY]

Clouded Silver x1 [NFY]

Silver Ground Carpet x7

Green Silver Lines x2

Lesser Swallow Prominent x1

Silky Wainscot x1 [NFG and I think scarce in Calderdale]

Poplar Hawk Moth x1

Elephant Hawk Moth x1 [NFY]

Silky Wainscot

Scorched Wing

Cold Edge

 Just 1 Small Tortoiseshell and 1 Small Heath id'd

Stainland. 24th and 26th June.

 I've not had time to post these, so they are all in this post.There are a couple that I'm not 100% certain of.

 

24th June

2 x Brimstone moths (Anne found them in one of our shrubs at 11pm. She's getting good at this.)

1 x Garden Carpet

1 x Blastobasis lacticolella (Wakley's Dowd)

1 x Eudonia lacustrata

The two I'm unsure about are below:

The Blastobasis l. does not have folded wings, as the books suggest. Also, it's very short on markings, quite a common feature I know. I think I got this one right. (?)

Blastobasis lacticolella TBC

The second one I'm quite sure about is Eudonia lacustrata TBC. Tricky little set of moths. Again, I THINK I got the correct ID.

Eudonia lacustrata TBC

 

26th June:

1 x Small Magpie, a lovely little moth. It's quite a nice photo, so I'm posting it. 

Small Magpie

Busy weekend

 Please see above........Also Barry's moth trapping event at Cromwell sat night

A couple of case-bearers

 I seem to have regained the ability to post on blogs again - for now!

I've done little in the way of mothing lately but I did manage a trip up to Sowood to see a thriving colony (some would say an infestation) of Case-bearing Clothes Moth larvae.

And a little out of area, Askham Bog, York - one of my favourites, Psyche casta.

A note

 My absence from the blog for the past week isn't because I haven't trapped, it's just I haven't found the time to post my trap results. They include some lovely moths including Silky Wainscot and Scorched Wing.

Swales Moor (Ringby Lane) and Ogden

 Ringby Lane this morning as below plus around 25 Small Heaths

Large Skipper (x 3)

Small Tortoiseshell (x 5)

Small Tortoiseshell on Sweet Williams (in the garden)

Ogden (Back Lane)

Again a good show of Small Heaths and a couple of Small Tortoiseshell's

Silver-ground Carpet

Wall

This one played hard to get, not letting me get within 4 meters or so !

Stainland. 22nd. June 2021.

This was on the door at midnight, gone this morning. Is it a Dark Arches please? I've only had one once before, sometime ago, I took a terrible photo back then, so I'm not certain I have this right.

Thanks.

Dark Arches TBC

Ovenden Moor and Luddenden

Still a good few Small Heaths along the top end of the track from the Withens towards Ogden this week. Also several Small Heaths at Cold Edge yesterday.

Luddenden this afternoon.

One Large Skipper  also a few Speckled Woods and Green-veined Whites, 2 Small Tortoiseshell and 1 each Small Heath and a Red Admiral.

Lee Mount - last week or so...

 Still very quiet here with not much at all  - but  I keep trying !

Beautiful Golden Y (21st)

Clouded-bordered Brindle (16th)

Common Marbled Carpet (18th and 2 on 21st)

Common Swift (15th and 17th)

Soil Hill and Withens Clough

Soil Hill - early evening 16th - warm and sunny - unusual conditions for that location but perfect - and quiet.

Painted Lady x 2 butterflies on the mounds just past the mast on the right

Small Tortoiseshell x 1

Withens Clough - Rudd Lane and reservoir circuit this afternoon (17th)

Large Skipper x 1

Small Copper x 1

Red Admiral x 1

Small Tortoiseshell x 1

Small Heath x 37 and counting !

Large Skipper - best I could get !

Cold Edge

Small Heath 14

Large Red damselfly 1

Ovenden Moor 15th JUne 2021.

 I spent three and a half hours walking the moor yesterday, I saw;

17 Small Heath butterflies

5 Small white's

1 Small Tortoiseshell

Also. several Skylarks. (One of my favourite bird songs.)

Two Curlews. (Another favourite bird song. They were the first I've heard this year, I was a little worried about not hearing them. My third birdsong is the Chaffinch)

Have other people noticed the scant amount of Swallows this year? We normally have a flock flying over us all day, in the village. This year, we've had very few.  We've only seen about ten at any one time. It's not a good sign.

Lee Mount - 14th /15th June

Some improvement on the 14th but this morning (15th) just one moth - Common Swift x 1

Common Swift

Coxcomb Prominent

Ruby Tiger x 2

Light-brown Apple-moth x 2

Brimstone Moth x 1

White-shouldered House-moth x 1

Clouded Silver x 1

Coxcomb Prominent x 1

Pale Tussock x 1

Elephant Hawkmoth x 1 (on the honeysuckle)

Bee Moth x 1

Middle-barred Minor x 1

Common Pug x 2

Common Carpet x 1

Freyer's Pug x 1

Unidentified Pug - melanistic

Elachista argentella x 1

Bryotropha terrella x 1 (still under consideration)

 Luddenden 6th - 13th June

still a bit quiet here even with the warm nights. not a bad selection though

Ghost Moth 1

Common Swift 3

Pebble Hook-tip 1

Common Pug 16

White-spotted Pug 1

Freyer's Pug 3

Foxglove Pug 4

Toadflax Pug 5

Broken-barred Carpet 1

Small Phoenix 1

Common Marbled Carpet 5

Silver Ground Carpet 6

Garden Carpet 1

Brimstone 2

Flame Carpet 1

Purple Bar 2

Poplar Hawkmoth 5

Scalloped Hazel 1

Pale Tussock 16 

White Ermine 5

Buff Ermine 1

Coxcomb Prominent 1

Ruby Tiger 1

Knot Grass 1

Flame Shoulder 3

Ingrailed Clay  3

Marbled Minor 2

Middle Barred Minor 3

Poplar Grey 1 (3rd record here)

Miller  2

 

Clouded-bordered Brindle 2

Campion 1

Beautiful Golden Y 1

Shoulder Striped Wainscot ?

Had a couple of these the last couple of nights. Not a species I am familiar with but is this good for Shoulder Striped Wainscot ? I know its not uncommon but nevertheless I prefer to record unknown rather than creata a false entry in my records.

Having not done any serious moth recording in the last 10 years or so its a case of relearning species I could ID at a glance years ago :(

Chimney Sweeper

Netted my first Chimney Sweeper of the year this morning in the garden. I have been checking over pignut on my daily walks and not seen one, then sitting the garden this morning one lands on the patio table !

Lee Mount - 13th June

 Still hardly anything here at all.....pretty dead for moths

Just three moths.

Freyer's Pug x 1 (pretty sure that's what it is)?

Ruby Tiger x 1

Light-brown Apple-moth x 1

Freyer's Pug

Cromwell Bottom

 Sandy Carpet, Ghost Moth, Peppered Moth, Anclys badiana, green carpets, Silver G carpets, Common Swift, Peach Blossom is just a small selection of moths that had arrived when we left at 1am

Cromwell Bottom Moth Night Tonight

 The moth night is in tonight, see the Cromwell Bottom blog, I'll be there

Ploughcroft and Claremount etc.

This afternoon, very hot but quite windy up there and just two species of butterfly. 
Wall x 2 on the sheltered side of the hill - they wouldn't stay still long enough for a photo
Small Heath x 10.

Earlier in the day in Ogden plantation open areas

Orange-tip x 1 male

Speckled Wood x 2

Later, down near the golf course I came across this very obliging female Orange-tip - I think the plant it was nectering on is Dames's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis)

Lee Mount - 11th June

 One I'm still puzzling this morning - I think I should know it.. but ........any thoughts?

15mm and smaller than Heart and Dart with very clear markings. Doesn't just fit Shuttle-shaped Dart or Turnip Moth (though I'm leaning towards the latter !)

Also this morning

Buff-tip x 1

Heart and Dart x 2

Small Phoenix x 1

Flame x 1

Clouded Silver x 1

Notocelia cynosbatella

Tachystola acroxantha x 2

Buff-tip

Clouded Silver

Stainland.

 Today, one Light Brown Apple moth.

Rishworth - 9th June - SILVER HOOK WITH CF UPDATE

 A very rare for Yorkshire moth in the trap this morning, it was trying to get out, so I took a picture through the plastic baffles, and when I tried to pot it, it flew off. Bugger. But I did get a record shot (If it even meets that standard) as you can make out the moth and it's markings. It was an absolutely beautiful moth.

Update: CF says that this is a superb record, and may have possibly come over from a population in Lancashire. He also says there are no Yorkshire records nearby, and this is the 3rd ever in VC63 and first for 51 years since 1 at Thorne Moors in 1970.  I, personally hope they start to breed here!

Elsewhere in the trap:

Pale Tussock x2

Peppered Moth x3

White Ermine x3 [NFY]

Silver Hook x1 [NFG] And Calderdale .......

Buff-tip x2

Silver Ground Carpet x3

Rustic Shoulder Knot x1

Pebble Prominent x1 [NFY]

Flame Shoulder x1

Marbled White Spot x1

Coxcomb Prominent x1 [NFY]

Lesser Swallow Prominent x1

Silver Hook, Rishworth

Rishworth - 5th June - Busy night!

 This is Saturday night's moths and it was quite busy, with another Muslin turning up.

Moth Trap 5th June:

Brimstone Moth x1 [NFY]

Green Silver Lines x1 [NFY]

Common Marbled Carpet x2

Marbled White Spot x1

Brown Silver Lines x1

Diamond Back Moth x1 [NFY]

Silver Ground Carpet x5

Purple Bar x1 [NFG]

Common White Wave x1 [NFY]

Muslin Moth x1

Bee Moth x1

Lesser Swallow Prominent x1

Buff-tip x2 [NFY]

Rustic Shoulder Knot x1 [NFY]

Flame Shoulder x1

May Highflyer x1 [NFG]

Ont'ops around Flints Moor

I have only managed one male Emperor Moth here this year so far, it seems to be scarce up here yet only a few miles away at Norland I used to see it regularly as well as finding larvae and pupa on a regular basis ?

Latticed Heath is very noticable on the moor with hundreds seen every day as I cross the moor and Manshead with the dog on our daliy hikes

Butterflies seen so far this year on the moor are : Green Hairstreak (one only) Small Heath and Small copper in small numbers most days, a few Orange tips and whites, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell

A nice varied mix in the garden MV so far but very very few micros and nothing of especial note so far in the macros. A better year to be honest than I was expecting up here after 4 months of snow and the deluge in May after the frosts in April.

SILVER HOOK

 Going through the trap here in Rishworth right now and there is a Silver Hook!!!, I only have a blurred picture but it should be enough

Stainland.

 I've just found a Bee Moth in the hall.

Ovenden 8-06-21

 ID please