Hardcastle Craggs - last night.(A beauty)

I think we all thought we were in for a quiet night when we set off in the cool, blustery conditions but it was surprisingly calm and quite mild in the craggs and the moths didn't disappoint.Present were Andy, Brian Martyn and myself.

Highlight for me were my first ever Yellow Horneds.

Andy did well to spot this Ypsolopha ustella resting high up in a Beech tree.

This red variety of Pine Beauty certainly lived up to it's name.

Micros were well represented on the night with pick of the bunch for me this Tortricodes alternella (Photographed at home).

Species recorded

2179	Panolis flammea	Pine Beauty 1	1
2182	Orthosia cruda	Small Quaker 1	1
2189	Orthosia munda	Twin-spotted Quaker 5	5
2187	Orthosia cerasi	Common Quaker 8	8
1659	Achlya flavicornis	Yellow Horned 2	2
2258	Conistra vaccinii	Chestnut 3	3
1934	Agriopis marginaria	Dotted Border 2	2
461	Ypsolopha ustella  2		2
1025	Tortricodes alternella 3		3
1524	Emmelina monodactyla 1		1
2256	Eupsilia transversa	Satellite 1	1

 

Brackenbeds

My first butterflies of the year, small tortoiseshell & peacock at Brackenbeds in the sunshine this afternoon.

Hardcastle Craggs on Friday

Running the trap and tree searching this Friday 6.15 onwards.................All welcome..Plenty Small tortoiseshell on the wing this week at Northowram but little flying in the woods as the cold temps and strong winds have kept things quiet.

Early Spring....

2 Small Tortoiseshell in the garden today and 3 Orange Underwing at Cromwell Bottom this afternoon. 2 Chestnut , 1 Dotted Border , 1 Satellite and 4 Agonoptrix Her in the wood this evening.

Hardcastle craggs 6.03.2014

A bulb blow out meant we did not run the trap, but tree searching on a cold night 2/3 degrees  produced
Dotted Border    10
Engrailed              1
Pale Brindled Beauty 1
Ypsolopha ustella 1
The weather looks excellent next week for the first Orange Underwings and Orthosia species should be starting to emerge..

Spring Usher female

Thanks for posting Win. Spring Usher female was one of my target species for Feb so glad to find it tonight. Plenty Dotted Border still about with 20 + again tonight. If the weather is ok on Friday we are going to trap at Hardcastle Craggs all welcome be there about 6ish......

Spring Ushers (from Andy)

Andy is still having posting problems so has asked me to put these pics up of some great Spring Usher pairs :-)

February round up...

Well with no light trap put on all month, I have headed for the local wood each evening with nowt but a torch and net......with it being a mild February  it has been great so far
Dotted Border   45 (inc 2 females and 5 melanic types)
March Moth        3
Spring Usher       1
Chestnut              2
Pale brindled Beauty  1
Agonoptrix heracliana      5
Satellite                            1
In the local tunnel there have been up to 25 Heralds and 5 Peacock Butterflies hibernating and around the house and garage 3/4 White Shouldered House Moth.

Dotted Border Females from Andy

Hi all, posting these great pics of Dotted Border Females Agriopis marginaria as Andy has technical issues at the moment. Enjoy :-)

Currant Clearwing larvae..

Charlie back to doing what he does best,,,,,,,Brilliant stuff http://charlielepidopteraofcalderdale.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/clearwingschoreutidae-and.html

Walks in the Woods

With the recent mild spell ,I've been having a quick walk in the local wood at dusk and the first half hour of darkness its a mix of Oak and Beech with a few Sycamore , one of two Elms, also lots of hawthorn and Elderberry trees round the edges. There have been lots of Dotted Borders of various forms and I found my first female on Beech tonight about 7 foot off the ground. The males are easy to find flying around or on the fop of a prominent twig. Chestnut and Spring Usher were found on the larger Oaks and Agonoptix heracliana can be found along the Hawthorn hedges,1 melanic Pale - Brindled Beauty was found freshly emerged about 2 foot off the ground on Beech.

Trapping

Anyone started yet?

Bits and pieces.

I had my earliest butterfly ever yesterday with a Peacock sunning itself on the allotment - and it wasn't even that warm. Also had my fourth Skircoat record of Red Sword-grass on Jan.22nd resting openly on  a dry stone wall, as they all have been.

I've just started bring my Phyllonorycter mines indoors. I only started collecting them around Christmas so I'm not expecting anything unusual but there's lots of them so you never know. I'll send any parasitic wasps off for ID-ing so I might get something interesting in that lot.

Roll on spring :-)

Hibernating Moths and Butterflies

22 Heralds in bare Head Tunnel today along with 5 Peacocks. A small tortoiseshell flying around the house yesterday and a Peacock flying around St Judes Church last Monday. ..carnt post pics at the moment...grrrrrr

Moth id

Found this roosting on car park lights today at Bowers Mill Dam. Im a bit out of practice but it looks like a November Moth to me, or is it a poorly marked Winter Moth,any thoughts please.

New British checklist

Just before Christmas, a new checklist of Lepidoptera was published, which completely overhauls the out-dated Bradley list and brings us into line with the current European classification of moths and butterflies. This book entitled RES Handbook: Checklist of the Lepidoptera of the British Isles is the result of a huge amount of work led by David Agassiz, Stella Beavan and Bob Heckford. The new checklist will be adopted by Butterfly Conservation and the National Moth Recording Scheme. However, there will undoubtedly be months or even years of transition from the ‘old’ to the new checklist as the field guides and species dictionaries used in recording software and websites are updated. There is no need to worry about the new names or checklist. For now, it is fine to continue to record the way you have been and we will be happy to receive datasets and moth records using the ‘old names’ and numbering systems as the new ones become familiar.

Green-veined White?

I was out and about collecting leaf miner pupae this morning in N.Dean before the rains set in. The ones on oak and Beech are really easy to find at the moment so I've got quite a few pupae overwintering in my garden at the moment ready to bring inside in a couple of months.

One pupa I didn't expect to find was what I think is that of a Green-veined White butterfly. It's attached to a Sycamore on the towpath near Copley - you can just make out the silk girdle round it's middle. I'd be interested to hear what others think, maybe it's just a well marked Small White? I'll go back and collect it soon and try and rear it through just to be 100%.

Mystery Visitor

This, last night at the bedroom light. A mystery visitor. Any ideas. Poor pics im afraid. about 5mm WL max

Luddenden Dean

 

 

This Peacock butterfly was a real surprise this morning flying around and sunning itself on the rocks on the rough hillside above 'The Lowe' - it is December !!!

Winter Moths

With the temps dropping and a cold wind the numbers had dropped tonight to about a 1000, still plenty females could be found a couple on fence posts and one on a wall...

More Winter Moths

Well with the cold temps and rain over the last few days I was wondering how many Winter Moths would be left, it has been 6 nights since I was last in the woods. Entering the wood I was amazed to see plenty of moths about and the first wall had about 20 males and a female .As I continued it seemed as though nothing had changed. Winter moths on every tree numbers still in the thousands......................................

                                                      Dead males on the ground

                                                 Female dragging male

Glyphipterix haworthana.

I had a wander up Stoodley Glen and over the tops to Broadhead Clough on Monday (2nd). Whilst crossing Erringden moor I found lots of Cotton Grass seed heads that were still intact, presumably spun together by G.haworthana. I'll try and rear them through so hopefully next April I'll see my first adults.

Is anybody else searching for early stages or leaf mines at the moment as now is a really good time to have a go? 

Winter Moths

Out again at 4.30 - 5.15..and still very large numbers of Winter moths despite the temp dropping dramatically. Many males were seen pumping there wings into shape so still emerging in large numbers.4  males were observed trying to mate with a lone female ..she eventually chose one ,At one point I could see males crawling out of the leaf litter and flying to the nearest tree.
One female Mottled Umber  was seen but no males..Working for the next 5 nights and with the weather on the change that may  be it for this extraordinary occurance.

Winter Moth round Up

3 mild nights in a row with little wind have produced an amazing     abundance  of   winter Moths in the local Woods, I  had 3 / 4 winter moths round the house earlier last week so on my way out on Sat night  I  grabbed the head torch just in case..As I entered the woods a moth flew past me and then another soon after,, within 10 paces I had seen 11. .Every tree was covered in Winter Moths  most around the base and up to 6 feet but on some they went so far up I could not count them. I went round at least 150 trees a mix of  50% Beech, 40% Oak and 5 % Sycamore and 5% other(including Elm, Nettle, rosebay willowherb, Bramble, Elderberry ,Hawthorn and various grasses)   every single  tree/bushwinter moths on it , I estimated about  10,000 moths  .They were erupting from the ground as I walked through the leaf litter and seemed to be

WINTER MOTH SPECTACULAR 2

Back to the wood this evening at 4,45..Again Winter moths on every tree the first 34 trees I counted 1381 males and 34 Females,as I went through the wood every tree was crawling with males,at one point I was watching a female drag a male upwards  quite fast and the male took flight carrying the female up about 10 inc  and landing back on the trunk.(?).As I got to the wall that cuts through the wood there were Winter moths all over the wall and on barbed wire fences ,on the dead nettle stems ,50+ on one small elderberry tree,on the dead brambles and swarms flying around the wood. 10,000 seems a massive number but I think it was an underestimation......

Winter Moth spectacular..............................

A mild night so decided to take the dog for a walk down the woods, I have had 3 / 4 winter moths round the house this week so on my way out I  grabbed the head torch just in case..As I entered the woods a moth flew past me and then another soon after,, within 10 paces I had seen 11.I stopped at the first Beech tree and started to look for females,I counted 46 males but could not locate a female .The next tree 23 males no females the third tree had 75 males and 6 females....wow... by this time, as I walked between the trees the  night was full of Winter moths flying around. .Every tree was covered in Winter Moths  most around the base and up to 6 feet but on some they went so far up I could not count them. I went round at least 45 trees, a mix of  90% Beech, 5% Oak and 5 % Sycamore every single  tree had winter moths on it , I counted at least 2400 +.( I only had time to do a small bit of the wood there must have been over  10,000 if the rest of the woodif it  was the same on each tree .??) I have never seen anything like it before with the most being about 50 at the craggs....

RECORDS for 2013

If anyone has any records for this year, I would be very grateful if you could e-mail me with them
Thanks for all the input onto the blog this year,,,There have been some great records again  Magpie , Tissue , Large Wainscot ,Beautiful  Hook Tip,,and some excellent micros...
Andy

More on Winter Moths

Carrying on from my last post. Now I can see them properly these appear to be Winter Moths and not November Moths etc. This pic is of the male in the bottom pic from the last post and darker than most. WL 13mm

Winter Moths

With some poor weather on the way I thought it was a good night to check for winter moths in some well established local woods full of mature beech and oak. It was a good foray with most trees bearing moths. Over 100 winter moths counted (not sure whether November or Winter) One large birch having about 30. Two females and a scarce umber also recorded.

Grey Shoulder-knot

Every November I spend a weekend north of Pickering in the North Yorks Moors. Last year it was the December Moths and this year only one visitor to the kitchen window, A very nice Grey Shoulder-knot Lithophane ornitopus. A new one to me and apparently not well represented in the North.

Red Sword-grass.

I saw one resting openly on a wall near the shops at Skircoat Green this morning.

Speckled Wood Caterpillar

There is a picture over on calderdale-wildlife.blogspot.com

Spanish Cat for ID( Spurge Hawkmoth..thanks Tom)

Anyone help with this, found on Mallorca recently by a friend of mine.??:>

8 th October Northowram

648	Endrosis sarcitrella	White-shouldered House Moth	1
697	Agonopterix arenella		1
998	Epiphyas postvittana	Light Brown Apple Moth2
1048	Acleris variegana	Garden Rose Tortrix1	1
1728	Xanthorhoe fluctuata	Garden Carpet1	1
1760	Chloroclysta siterata	Red-green Carpet3	3
1761	Chloroclysta miata	Autumn Green Carpet1	1
1764	Chloroclysta truncata	Common Marbled Carpet4	4
1769	Thera britannica	Spruce Carpet1	1
1935	Erannis defoliaria	Mottled Umber1	1
2232	Aporophyla nigra	Black Rustic2	2
2240	Lithophane leautieri hesperica	Blair's Shoulder-knot2	2
2389	Paradrina clavipalpis	Pale Mottled Willow1	1
2441	Autographa gamma	Silver Y4	4

October Wainscots in Luddenden

Two new species of Wainscot in the garden this October

Bulrush Wainscot on the 1st

Large Wainscot on the 8th

Angle Shades

Surely one of the most beautiful of all moths, especially when freshly emerged. Wish my camera could do this one more justice.

Migrants from Suffolk

David crawshaw an x Halifax resident and  all round excellent  naturalist ,sent us these from his patch in Suffolk.........Antigastra catalaunalis and Palpita vitealis..Thanks Dave and David

Larva for ID.

I found this blackish larva on Sunday feeding on Sorrel in the Bradshaw area. It was about an inch long - anyone any thoughts?

1153 Epinotia sordidana

1153 Epinotia sordidana Nationally Scarce B  ... a local first and only a few Yorkshire records..Many thanks H.beaumont for the ID.

Recent sightings

Found the caterpillar on Norland Moor on Sunday. If anyone can tell me which species it is I would be grateful. The Feathered Thorn was at Ogden Water this morning.