Shibden Valley

Mint Moth 2

Also: Holly Blue 1

Lee Mount - w/e 26th July

 It's been a good week again for butterflies in the garden. Unprecedented in the continuing hot, sunny days, mainly attracted to Verbena bonariensis as well as Buddleia, Echinacea and White Valerian etc...

1 Painted Lady, 2 Gatekeeper, 6+Small White, 2+Large White, 1 Red Admiral, 1 Peacock, 1 Small Copper, 1 Holly Blue (daily), 1 Peacock. 1 Comma, 1 Small Skipper, 3+ Meadow Brown, 1 Speckled Wood and just 1 Green-veined White.

Also yesterday morning a Purple Hairstreak turned up fluttering on the grass in the early morning sunshine, I suspect it was attracted to morning dew (?). I have seen this with them in recent years.

It was a surprise as I've not seen them over the nearby oaks at all yet this year.

I grabbed some shots but camera was on the wrong setting and they are just about bleached out though can just see enough detail to confirm its identity.

One nice moth this morning despite the overnight rain.

Coxcomb Prominent

Baitings

Red Admiral 2

Also: Gatekeeper 3, Green-veined White 3

Lee Mount (recently)

 

Pebble Prominent - 23 July

Only the second one I've had here. The first was a dead one from a spiders web on 21st July 2024.

Engrailed - 21st to 23rd July

A first for here - a really nice moth. This one stayed three days on the fence by the light trap.

Box-tree Moth -  23rd July

A species origin in China and Korea first seen in the UK in 2007 and then in 2014 in Yorkshire. The larva are a pest of Box hedges.

Ringstone Edge, 22 July

Small Skipper

TESTING TESTINg

 

Ringstone Edge

Gatekeeper 4

Dragonfly

Bar Lane, 16 July:  Common Hawker 1 female

Ryburn Reservoir

Holly Blue 1.  The second brood emerges in "late July and August", (Thomas and Lewington, Butterflies of B & I)

Gatekeepers

14 July: Shibden Valley 1

16 July: Bar Lane 1, Ryburn Res 1

Lee Mount - 15th July

 One under scrutiny !

Just about 18mm with pale grey / off white underwing.

Lee Mount - 7th July

A new one for me - and think the 10km square...

Acrobasis repandana

Another highlight of the week... 145 Bird-cherry Ermines on 7th (+ a few more hidden away around the trap I suspect).

Beacon Hill

Gatekeeper 1

Spackled Wood 2

Also: White-letter Hairstreak 1 (VERY camera shy!),  Red Admiral 1

Rishworth 27th June

 First full night of the trap in over 3 years! Met with a Large Emerald this morning, amongst some nice other stuff.

Moth trap 27th June:

Agapeta hamana x1

V-Pug x2

Marbled White Spot x8

Muslin Footman x9

Small Fan-Footed Wave x1

Beautiful Hook-tip x3

Straw Dot x3

Small Fan-foot x1

Minor Agg. x5

Buff-tip x5

Ingrailed Clay x7

Coxcomb Prominent x1

Barred Straw x4

Common White Wave x1

Clouded Border x4

Large Yellow Underwing x7

Buff Arches x1

Smoky Wainscot x3

Green Arches x3

Large Emerald x1

Riband Wave x3

Heart and Dart x3

Dark Arches x2

Purple Clay x1

Drinker x1

Common Footman x2

True Lovers Knot x1

Green Carpet x1

Common Carpet x1

Bee Moth x1

Double Square Spot x1

Flame x1

Single Dotted Wave x1

Snout x1

Beacon Hill

Comma 2. I see this has white tips to the antennae (like Painted Lady)

Also: Ringlet 22, Small White 1, Small Skipper 1, Large Skipper 1, Red Admiral 1

Rishworth 26th June

 I ran the trap for an hour an a bit from 23:30-01:00 ish last night and just noted down some species to come through.
Species of the 26th June 2026:

Marbled White Spot >10

Common Wave 1

Common White Wave 1

Flame >5
The Rivulet 1

Small Rivulet 1

Heart and Dart >5

Blood Vein 2

Bright line brown eye 2

Smoky Wainscot 1

Light Emerald 2

Large Yellow Underwing >5

Northern Spinach 4

Clouded Border 3

Muslin Footman 2

Minor agg. c8

Shuttle Shaped Dart c5

Bird Cherry Ermine 2

Green Carpet 3

Bee Moth 2

Knot Grass 1

Drinker 1

True Lovers Knot 1

Double Square Spot 4

Garden Moths VC63 Midsummer 21st 22nd June 2026

22 June 2026 VC63 

Buff Tip

Elephant Hawkmoth 1

Heart & Dart >10

Large Yellow Underwing

Ermine Moth (Apple/Cherry)

Latticed Heath

Light Emerald

Ruby Tigers (faded) x2

Brimstone 8

Elder pearl 2

Small Magpie 3

Buff Ermine  3

Flame

Cinnabar 3

Marbled Minor 8  Requiring Gen Det

Common Pug  

Silver Grounds Carpet x1

Common Footman 3

Ruby Tiger 2 worn

Dark Arches  >10

Part List Only 

Whiteholme

Small Heath 4

3 Dragonflies. These were flying rapidly back and forth over a small pond. My photos might be too poor for id, but I think they are Broad-bodied Chasers. I think wing spots would be obvious on Four-spotted Chaser; the body looks broad; and the abdomen of the top insect looks blue (male). I'll be glad to know any thoughts.

Lee Mount - 24th June

 Two pretty special moths this morning

Beautiful Snout - hiding away in the Yew hedge

first here since June 2023 and only the 5th record here.

Light Knot-grass

2nd record here since one on 9th May 2020

Beacon Hill

Meadow Brown 14

Small Skipper 3 (1 on buttercup)

Also: Ringlet 3, Red Admiral 1

My garden (with apologies)

Lee Mount - 21st/ 22nd June

A new species for this site a Mottled Rustic, as far as I can tell. 

Also an almost annual returner, Varied Coronet given Sweet Williams as a host plant.

Mottled Rustic

Varied Coronet

Beacon Hill

Speckled Wood 1

Beacon Hill

Painted Lady 2. I like the white tips to the antennae

Blood Vein

 Disturbed whilst filming Yellow Rattle perhaps the noise got a little bit too much for it ?  Blood Vein  A species of Low Growing Plants such as Dock the Larval Food Plant and off course thats what Yellow Rattle creates by keeping the grass down hemiparasite on roots of Poaceae and Fabaceae 

https://youtu.be/RQm_RT6EWEI

Beacon Hill

Red Admiral 1

Wall Brown

WCBS Butterfly survey last Saturday with transects over part of Cold Edge and Ovenden Moor. 

Only produced 20 butterfly's despite the nice warm sunshine and ideal conditions late morning.

2 Small Tortoiseshell

11 Green-veined White

1 Large White

1 Red Admiral

2 Painted Lady

2 Small Heath

1 Wall Brown (was the highlight)

Wall Brown

Shibden Valley

Mint Moth, Pyrausta aurata

Striped Hawkmoth

                                                                                        

 An excellent end to May 2026  for migrant moths and Butterfly's in Calderdale , It all started with a Large Tortoiseshell at Whiteholme (MH ,CH) then a Gem at Barkisland which was the first since 1966 (Charlie and AA) and then a couple of Bordered Straw one at Clock face quarry and 1 at the petrol station at Shibden Park. Masses of Painted Lady's have been seen in Calderdale and Hummingbird Hawkmoths have also been seen in gardens throughout the area. Andy Greaves found a Striped Hawkmoth during the day in Sowerby Bridge whilst gardening at Trish's house the first since 1866 !!!!!!! . Then a Striped Hawkmoth (above)  in the trap at Hedge top lane ,  25 + Silver Y's , 3 Diamond backed Moths ,and 2 Small Mottled Willow's also . Martyn at Luddenden has had 3 /4 Small Mottled Willows........

Things to keep and eye out for...Eastern Bordered Straw  and  Small Black Arches 

Cold Edge

Green-veined White. From the lack of markings on the upperwing, I think this is a male

Wainstalls

 Red Admiral

Shiben Valley Survey

Shibden Valley Survey

Yesterday I commenced a  Botanical Walk Over of the Area around Shibden Estate and onward to the base of the Upper Valley. As I was carrying quite a bit of equipment i was not as mobile as I would like . However Records will now start to populate the recording platform  Yesterdays Leps Siting a Pair of Orange Tip Butterflies  and 29th May 26 Painted Lady. Historic Records are yet to be merged with Bird , Moth and other Entomology still to be addressed. Please circulate details to widen participation  and use the Link to Add your  sightings. All those participating will receive a PDF Report  including a report on the Local History Of Shibden Valley

https://irecord.org.uk/join/shibden-valley-survey--group-feet    Link To Survey

Shibden Valley Survey  ( Link To Survey) Please message me if you have any difficulty in setting up i- record - which will provide you with a Simple Recording Form to enter sitings.

i-Record

Shibden Valley Survey  ( Link To Survey)

Aims 

1. The Aim of the survey is to provide a comprehensive list of Biodiversity in the Valley encompassing all Taxa  ( Insects Hoverflies  Bees Butterflies and Moths Beetles etc) , Birds ,  Trees and Plants 

2. To widen participation You can enter a record onto the Valley Location using i-record . and a simple recording Form on the Project Link

3. Currently ,  all records being amassed can be viewed on the i-record platform to help assess the Health of the Valley

Upper Valley 

Focuing on the Source of Shibden Brook at Ford Hill onward Down the Valley to Stump Cross and Shiibden lake

Shibden Estate

Areas around and in the Shibden estate

Lower Valley

Onward to Brookfoot via Sunnyvale with particular attention to areas around Red beck etc. Red  Beck takes a meadering course onward from Walter Clough at Sunnyvale onward to Brookfoot where it will join the canal and River Calder, and may include some of the interesting entomology found in around Sunnyvale , The Magna Via ( Dark Lane)  and Beacon Hill

 

Cold Edge

Painted Lady feeding on clover. The white tips of the antennae are visible.

Shibden Valley

Large White 2

Cold Edge

Common Heath (?)

Also: Painted Lady 2