Lee Mount - 19th May

A little better last night with warmer conditions
Iron Prominent x 1
Peppered Moth x 1
Clouded Silver x 1
Brindled Pug x 3
Light-brown Apple Moth x 1
Bee Moth x 1
Red-green Carpet (I think) looks pretty worn is probably one that overwintered (?)
And a micro ?? about 10mm long but it was off before I got a better shot - perhaps not enough to go on ?

 Unidentified micro

 

 Clouded Silver

 

 Iron Prominent

 

 Peppered Moth

 

Possibly Red-green Carpet

Swales Moor

Ringby Lane this afternoon. I thought maybe a chance of Wall Brown but not to be. The earliest date I have had them in this area was in 2017 on 25th May so I did have a chance.
2 Small Tortoiseshell together
Several 'whites' maybe 20+ - all on the wing but no firm identification.

Also, this day flying micro which I haven't got to grips with yet... Pretty small, and a poor picture as it settled on a grass stem with the breeze blowing. Maybe enough on the photo to i d ??

Lee Mount - 19th May

Just one moth in the trap this morning which I think must be Scalloped Hazel (Odontopera bidentate f nigra

 

And from the 17th - a nice Angle Shades but very little else this week !

 

Butterfly records (and a moth)

Walks the Calderdale Way from Norwood Green to Brighouse today, I thought there would be more butterflies around but they seemed scarce.

Bailiff Bridge
1 x orange tip
2 x large white

Birkhouse area
1x Speckled Wood

Also a twenty-plume moth on the window at home.

Coleophora lusciniaepennella

A tenanted case from Copley village on Goat Willow.

last nights moths

White Ermine x 1
Pale Shouldered Brocade x 1
Pale Tussock x 1
Bright line Brown Eye x 1
Early Grey  x 1
Common Pug x 1
Double Striped Pug x 1
Currant Pug x 1
Brindled Pug x 1
Light Brown Apple Moth x 2
Scalloped hazel x 1
Common Carpet x 1
Flame Carpet x 1

Lee Mount - 15th May

Just one moth in the trap this morning, with a first for the year - a Garden Carpet.

Hardcastle Crags

We walked from Midgehole to Walshaw via Gibson Mill then back over Shackleton Knoll today. A lovely day to be out.

A lot of Orange-tips throughout the woodland area especially near Midgehole and the open glades towards and beyond Gibson Mill, they were all over the place. One worn looking Peacock at Gibson Mill and quite  a few Green-veined Whites and 1 Large White though we didn't specifically identify any Small Whites though there probably were some in among.

Along the top road above the woodland we only came across Green-veined Whites - mainly on Dandelion flowers, of which there were many.

Hot Hectad in May 15th 2018

A good Hectad today South of RHB  Royds Hall Beck (Calderdale)

The Habitat is riverine will steep sided Clough and Damp Grassland facing South has been consistingly good Habitat for Orange Tip and GV Whites which utilise the Cuckoo Flower and other plants in the family Brassicaceae. such Greater Bittercress abundant at  this locality

Lepidoptera

Male Orange Tip Beck side x 22
Orange Tip Confirmed Female  x3
Green Vein Whites x7
Speckled Wood x9
Peacock x1
0150 Green Longhorn ABH 7.006  Adela reaumurella Colony circa  x30 

Brown Silver-line Petrophora chlorosata circa  x10   

Brown Silver Lines is turmed up when walking over dried Bracken this time of year

The Botany Flowering in and arond this area includes

Bugle
Bluebell
Primrose
Gorse
Lesser Celandine
Cuckoo Flower
Cow Parsely
Field Forget me Knot
Buttercup Creeping
Chickweed
Dandlion
Rowan and Hawthorn ( Flower Buds on the way)

Other Entomology Included

Syrphus Sp (likely ribessi)
Click Beetles X2 sp
St Mark Fly Bibio marci
Limonid Cranefly

Imges To Follow

Last night in Northowram

1 x White Ermine
1 x Pebble Prominent
1 x Bright line Brown Eye

White Butterfly Id guide

https://butterfly-conservation.org/3114-4135/how-to-identify-white-butterflies.html

Golden rules

1. Size is not always a good characteristic to use for identification. As with humans, butterflies vary in size, so although most Large White individuals are bigger than Small Whites, they can occasionally be smaller. Black/grey spots on the wings are also not very helpful, as these vary between males and females as well as between species.

2. You will have to see the underside of the hindwing to be certain of the identification. This means that if you only see the butterfly fly past at a distance, it is very unlikely that you’ll be able to make a definite identification. You have to be patient and accept that it won’t be possible to identify every white butterfly that you encounter!

Last week's stuff

Mines of Coleophora discordella on Birds-foot Trefoil at Cromwell Bottom and the tenanted case below. It's even incorporated a piece of old mine in to its case.

A tenanted case and mine of Larch Case-bearer on European  Larch at Rishworth Golf Course, Norland. Below, the larva makes an appearance.

And a better shot of the Acrobasis advenella larva on Hawthorn from Park Wood.

Butter fly records

A few records of butterflies over the last week

Tues 8th May - Ogden Water, speckled wood, orange tips, whites

Sun 13th May - Cromwell Bottom & canal back to Copley - speckled wood, orange tip (fighting with whites)

I am going to try to get to grips with white this year and I seem to have a mental block when trying to ID them.

Green Hairstreaks

pretty pale looking Green Hairstreaks today up near buck stones...and an empty cocoon..We should be getting the first Speckled Woods any time now and Small Coppers seem to be becoming scarce but should also be on the wing now , with another warm week ahead its a good time for these two species.....

Common Heath

Its a funny old game ,,went looking for Green Hairstreak and found plenty of these................

Ovenden Moor

After some searching late morning I managed to find just one of these resting on bilberry bushes in among the heather. We have managed to find this species here before when it's been warm, still and sunny . They are easily missed even then !

Green Hairstreak

 

There were also plenty of Common Heath's on some areas of the long heather, but trying to get even a half-decent photo was a struggle - they just take off as you creep just that bit closer !

Red striped Blackthorn cats

15mm. This one looked quite spiffy before a parasitic wasp grub did its business, I think it was a Geometrid, Green Pug maybe- any ideas?

13mm. This one's not looking too great either :-(  Any ideas?

A micro - I'm hoping it's the Pyralid Acrobasis advenella  but not 100%

I'm also hoping it won't get eaten from within :-)

Lee Mount - 7th May

First night with the MV 125 and it drew in the pugs !
14 pugs photographed to check later - mostly looked like Brindled Pugs and including 2 Double-striped Pugs.
1 Early Grey
1 Bee Moth
1 Beautiful Plume
1 Clouded Drab
3 Common Quaker
Loads of Dyseriocrania subpurpurella including a tight group in the trap of around 40, maybe 60 or so all told with many still in the trap this morning.

Last Night moths Northowram

Early grey x 5
Hebrew Character x 10
Early Thorn x 3
Clouded Drab x 2
Common Quaker x 5
White Pinion Spotted x 1
Oak Nycteoline ( f .ramosana ) x 1
Falme Carpet x 1
Garden carpet x 1
Double -striped Pug x 6
Brindled Pug x 8
Light Brown Apple Moth x 2

Orange tip

Many thanks for all the Orange tip records a great year for this species. records from Todmorden , Hebden Bridge , Sowerby Bridge , Copley , Cromwell Bottom and Cooper Bridge shows it is now a common species along the whole of the length of the River Calder. Records also from Northowram , and Shibden Valley , Ogden , Jay House lane also ( any more ??)   . I had one Green Hairstreak at Widdop last Thursday and Brian saw one at Walshaw on Monday also good to see a few records of Holly Blue a resident species but tricky to pin down to a regular location.
  Green veined whites should be about now  so please post as many sites as poss, many thanks Andy

VC63 - Garden Moths 6th May 2018

Sunday 6th May 2018

Weather -Warm 17 - 20 - Still - preceding dayime 2 days Hot

Main Activity circa 1 am

Other Entomology

Midges Numerous
Crean Spot Ladybird
Stonefly

MV 125 W

73.045 BF2289   Knot Grass Acronicta rumicis
73.249 BF2190   Hebrew Character Orthosia gothica
72.001 BF2469   The Herald Scoliopteryx libatrix +
70.239 BF1919   Purple Thorn Selenia tetralunaria
70.182 BF1832   Currant Pug Eupithecia assimilata

70.156 BF1852   Brindled Pug Eupithecia abbreviata

+  The presence of the Herald is possibly aided by 20 or 30 up ended flagstones at bottom of garden making suitable habitat to  overwinter


Two Pugs for Comment

70.182 BF1832   Currant Pug Eupithecia assimilata




70.156 BF1852   Brindled Pug Eupithecia abbreviata

Pug2

Lee Mount

After Colin's Herald on 5th and having commented that I'd never had one here low and behold a Herald turned up last night on the fence next to the trap. Unfortunately it was in a very difficult spot to get a decent photo so won't post the poor shot I did get. A special moth for me.
It had gone this morning with just the following in the trap
3 Common Quaker's
1 Clouded Drab
5+ Dyseriocrania subpurpurella

Jay House Lane

One from John Marsh today with a Holly Blue and a good number of Orange Tip butterflies

Angle Shades Caterpillar.

A fine Angle Shades caterpillar was on the garden wall today. For the last few years, I've had just one caterpillar in the garden, (that I saw anyway.) I've twice seen the dark brown version as well. I'm watching for that one now.

Angle Shades Cat. 

Angle Shades Cat. 

VC 63 - Garden Moths 3rd May 2018 - The Herald

Thurs 03 May 2018

MV 125

Weather - Moderate , 10o , Wind Still

Low returns given the duration . however 3 species flying

72.001 BF2469 The Herald Scoliopteryx libatrix

Two Micros TBC

Images To Follow

I think one is

2.001 BF6    Dyseriocrania subpurpurella

Orange Tip

1 Male Orange tip at Christ Church School, Sowerby Bridge this morning.

Buccalatrix cidarella

This emerged today from a mine found on Common Alder on the Hebble Trail last September. It's been 7 weeks since I brought the cocoon indoors so I was beginning to wonder if it was still alive or not.

It's the first time I've seen a Bucculatrix moth in the flesh so it's made my day :-)

Mine above and larva grazing below from last year.

orange tip

2 make Orange tip in Long Wood, Skircoat today

Brimstone

late news of a Brimstone at Cromwell Bottom the the 18th and 19th April  (John Marsh) . This weekend and next week look good for the first Green Hairstreaks on a billberry patch near you................. and Orange Tips along the canal towpaths  and river banks..