Only a week to go before the garden Moth scheme starts again for the Summer of 2010. If anyone would like to join please email me and i will forward your details to the Yorkshire recorder.All you have to do is record every common species on friday or sat in your garden trap.
Many thanks and here is to a bumper mothing year!
Sunday, 28 February 2010
Jailhole 27th feb
Met with Bri last night and we headed for jailhole,last week it was below freezing and covered with snow ,so with great optimism we set off up the moor, there was still snow on the ground in places but the wind was light and a cloudy sky kept the temp above freezing.We scaled the quarry and found 21 Anomalous larvae 12 green form and 9 brown form,, size rang 1cm to aprox 13mm,also 2 large yellow underwing larva green form,and 2 prob Square Spot Rustic larva all feeding after dark on Wavy Hairgrass.
I was amazed to see so many larvae out in the open in late February(good old Tutt) it took only 90 mins to find all 25 larvae.A brilliant night and look forward to going back soon.Many thanks to Brian
I was amazed to see so many larvae out in the open in late February(good old Tutt) it took only 90 mins to find all 25 larvae.A brilliant night and look forward to going back soon.Many thanks to Brian
Saturday, 27 February 2010
Whiteholme Drain,26 02 10
Hi all,on a walk along Whiteholme Drain,i counted over 100, 395 glyphipterix haworthana larval spinnings of cottongrass,mainly at northern end of drain and these were just the ones near the path ! must be excellent numbers in our area,wonder how many will survive after this Winter ! regards Bri.
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Jailhole,25 02 10
Thought id have a look for Anomalous Larva,although light rain,it was above freezing and most of snow cleared,found 10 larva,6 brown and 4 green forms,ranging in size from aprox 1cm to 12 mm,only saw 2 green forms near each other,the rest widly spaced.pics of both colour forms.regards Bri.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Jailhole,Langfield Edge,20 02 10
Andy and me checked for Anomalous larva after dark,quite deep snow on hillside and rockfaces,and even though there were snow free patches of the foodplant Wavy Hairgrass, and it felt quite mild under the rockfaces,it was still below freezing and we never found any.i have found them in the past when icy, feeding,maybe it needs to be just above freezing before they start to feed,and who could blame em ! Found 2 green form on 14 12 09 when it was quite mild at aprox 12mm in size,incidently a green form larva that was kept a couple of seasons ago a male emerged ! do you sometimes wonder what you have got into !!
Thursday, 18 February 2010
News from Todmorden,18 02 10
Hi all,found my 1st diurnea fagella of the year today melanic male on a fence post.regards Bri.
Of interest?
Steve Whitehouse' account of some rare moths in 2009
http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=1951
http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=1951
Sunday, 14 February 2010
Puss Moth and sallow Kitten Pupa
Glad to see the first posts of the year now, its allways a slow start in Northowram but its nice to see the Puss Moth and a double Sallow Kitten pupa still in tact after all the snow.Hope to see you all out and about soon........
Saturday, 13 February 2010
First moth of the year!
I also tried the actinic last night and was rewarded with one Small Quaker, a nice rustic one at that! Not a bad start after a long cold winter.
Friday, 12 February 2010
Knott Wood 12 02 10
Hi all,had a try for a few hours tonight,Dotted Border at Actinic,7 Mottled Greys resting on vegetation after dark, pic,and a True Lovers Knot larva on Wavy Hairgrass also after dark,things are starting to get better.all the best Bri.
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Clouded Bordered Brindle Larva
Heres a pic of Clouded Bordered Brindle,7 found feeding on Wavy Hairgrass after dark at Knott Wood Hebden Bridge.
Sunday, 7 February 2010
2010 Mothing so far.
Hi all,had a try with mv 05 02 10 at meadows edge garden dusk till dawn and no moths,although quite mild,a cold mist soon descended.Had a go at Knott Wood tonight with Actinic but the tube just died after about 1/2 hour,frustrating ! but i did find 2 Chestnut ads on vegetation after dark,also 7 Clouded Bordered Brindle and 1 Large Yellow Underwing Larva feeding on Wavy Hairgrass after dark.all the best Bri.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Bramham YNU meeting 7th March 2010
Hi all ,I am going to try and make the YNU meeting at Bramham this year its on Sunday 7th March.,If anyone else fancies it, we could try and get a car load together.??
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
New Blogg
Sunday, 24 January 2010
Search those tunnels near You,!!!!!
This eaxtract is taken off the Yorkshire Moth yahoo group and should be interesting to all who read this Blogg...many thanks to Yorkshire Yahoo and C.Fletcher for this post......
I've never thought of looking in the Serpentine Tunnel
before but now you mention it, it's an obvious site for Heralds.
It's a great time of year for looking
in caves, tunnels etc with a good torch to see what is about. One particular
cave in the Dales has over 200 Tissues hibernating at the moment, and this
species may well occur in other parts of the county - don't think it just occurs
near buckthorn. The books are likely to be wrong and it uses other foodplants.
Heralds turn up in all sorts of places such as garden sheds and outhouses so you
might find them at home.
Red-green Carpet is interesting. Out of 1500+ records on the database the only
one I can find of hibernation is one inside a bird hide in February a few years
ago, so we know very little about where most of them hibernate. The only other
hibernating species on the database is Tawny Pinion (two records) so where do
all these over-wintering moths shelter from the frosty weather?
So if anyone is at a loose end, do take a torch and explore some local nooks and
crannies!
I've never thought of looking in the Serpentine Tunnel
before but now you mention it, it's an obvious site for Heralds.
It's a great time of year for looking
in caves, tunnels etc with a good torch to see what is about. One particular
cave in the Dales has over 200 Tissues hibernating at the moment, and this
species may well occur in other parts of the county - don't think it just occurs
near buckthorn. The books are likely to be wrong and it uses other foodplants.
Heralds turn up in all sorts of places such as garden sheds and outhouses so you
might find them at home.
Red-green Carpet is interesting. Out of 1500+ records on the database the only
one I can find of hibernation is one inside a bird hide in February a few years
ago, so we know very little about where most of them hibernate. The only other
hibernating species on the database is Tawny Pinion (two records) so where do
all these over-wintering moths shelter from the frosty weather?
So if anyone is at a loose end, do take a torch and explore some local nooks and
crannies!
Thursday, 21 January 2010
Friday, 15 January 2010
Wednesday, 13 January 2010
Butterfly migration mystery solved
Scientists with the charity Butterfly Conservation believe they have solved one of nature’s long-standing mysteries – thanks to the help of the public.
Every year Painted Lady butterflies arrive in the UK from North Africa and the Mediterranean. It has long been known that they breed here during the summer and also that they cannot normally survive our winters. What happens to these Painted Ladies as winter approaches was unknown until now.
Scientists had been baffled as to whether Painted Ladies attempted to “tough it out” and died trying during our winters. Or was there a return southward migration to warmer climes, as is the case with Swallows, Cuckoos and Red Admiral butterflies? Part of the problem has been that, unlike these other well-known migrants, there was very little evidence of Painted Ladies flying south in the autumn.
This summer was a bumper migration year with, at the peak, up to a billion Painted Ladies in Britain.
Butterfly Conservation has been monitoring Painted Lady movements since the start of northward migration at the beginning of the year, with members of the public being able to report sightings online at www.butterfly-conservation.org. There has been a huge response, not only from the UK but from across Europe. An amazing 12,000 sightings have been submitted so far, with reports still coming in.
Last month brought some particularly exciting reports. From the Channel coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Sussex and Kent sightings were reported of Painted Ladies heading straight out to sea towards continental Europe.
Now reports have been received of butterflies arriving back in the Mediterranean and North Africa.
Richard Fox, Butterfly Conservation’s surveys manager, said: “Several of these lucky observers saw more than one butterfly head out on its perilous voyage. This is exactly the evidence needed to lay this enduring mystery to rest. Painted Ladies do return southwards from Britain in the autumn enabling the species to continue its breeding cycle during the winter months”.
Thanks to Yorkshire Butterflies for this info.
Every year Painted Lady butterflies arrive in the UK from North Africa and the Mediterranean. It has long been known that they breed here during the summer and also that they cannot normally survive our winters. What happens to these Painted Ladies as winter approaches was unknown until now.
Scientists had been baffled as to whether Painted Ladies attempted to “tough it out” and died trying during our winters. Or was there a return southward migration to warmer climes, as is the case with Swallows, Cuckoos and Red Admiral butterflies? Part of the problem has been that, unlike these other well-known migrants, there was very little evidence of Painted Ladies flying south in the autumn.
This summer was a bumper migration year with, at the peak, up to a billion Painted Ladies in Britain.
Butterfly Conservation has been monitoring Painted Lady movements since the start of northward migration at the beginning of the year, with members of the public being able to report sightings online at www.butterfly-conservation.org. There has been a huge response, not only from the UK but from across Europe. An amazing 12,000 sightings have been submitted so far, with reports still coming in.
Last month brought some particularly exciting reports. From the Channel coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Sussex and Kent sightings were reported of Painted Ladies heading straight out to sea towards continental Europe.
Now reports have been received of butterflies arriving back in the Mediterranean and North Africa.
Richard Fox, Butterfly Conservation’s surveys manager, said: “Several of these lucky observers saw more than one butterfly head out on its perilous voyage. This is exactly the evidence needed to lay this enduring mystery to rest. Painted Ladies do return southwards from Britain in the autumn enabling the species to continue its breeding cycle during the winter months”.
Thanks to Yorkshire Butterflies for this info.
ON line Recording.
If you click on the link you can now add your records on line ,please have a go and see if it works.Thanks to Nigel Kerwin for the knowledge
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