Retrograde Post. Stainland 28th Sept 2017

I took a walk down to Eve's top disused quarry on the 28th Sept. I was looking for leaf mines, (Charlies influence). I found a few but struggled with getting ID's for them. I emailed them to Charlie. I have just received the reply.

It seems that some I found were flies and a couple on Elder and Ivy, make tiny mines and feed inside the leaf. The only reliable way to find out what they are is to rear them. 

I saw quite a lot of very small, light brown moths flying. One eventually landed on a buttercup leaf. It only stayed long enough for one photo, which is not a great one. They were Nettle Taps.

Nettle Tap.

Now for the Leaf Mines, it's a phyllonorycter sp. on oak. You can clearly see it left the leaf on the underside.

Top side of leaf .

phyllonorycter sp. bottom side.

I thought I'd show the other two mines out of interest. The Ivy one is first. I'm intrigued by the reddish area near the centre. I have no idea how it was caused.

  

Leaf Mine on Ivy. Top.

 Bottom side.

 Mine on Elder. Top.

Bottom.

Ogden - Back Lane - 28th September

Yesterday I checked a small pond on Back Lane where there was a Common Hawker patrolling. Lovely warm afternoon, perfect conditions but I don't have a lot of experience identifying dragonflies !.

There were also 2 other slightly smaller red bodied (dragonflies) which I think could be Common Darters (?). They were chasing about together keeping low over the vegetation but I wasn't able to get even a half-decent photo as they always landed in the vegetation just out of sight. Just could not get any more detail on them though they were much larger than Large Red Damselfly with a much thicker body. Must check that pond again if we get another decent day.

Lee Mount - 28th September

One decent moth last night.

Red-green Carpet

Northowram

Another good night trapping at Northowram with this Dusky Thorn , Barred Sallow  , Silver Y ,
November Moth agg , Angle Shades (6) Setaceous Hebrew Character  and Lunar Underwing .

Stainland 28th Sept 2017

I was just about to go to bed at 10:30 pm. I went to lock the door and spotted a moth on the outside of the fanlight. Hey ho, bed could wait, so into the cellar to get the step ladders and out with the camera.

I haven't seen this moth before, so it was worth the effort. It's quite worn but I think it is a Dark Marbled Carpet - Dysstroma citrata.

 Dark Marbled Carpet.

So, even if I'm wrong, I still have another first. It's turning out to be a good year for moth spotting for me.

Ovenden Moor

I spent a couple of quiet hours up there this afternoon in the sunshine - how warm it was !

Red Admirals x 22 at least - and all  > west low over the moor.

Also 2 unidentified butterflies/moths on the heather moor - they wouldn't settle, most frustrating, I could not get to grips with them. At first I thought they were Small Coppers (size wise and brown on the wings) but it just doesn't seen right for them on the top there near the wind-farm. !

28.09.17 Northowram

In the garden today 4 Red Admiral , 1 Small White , 1 Peacock , 2 Speckled Wood , 1 Comma , 1 Ruby tiger cat , 2 Beautiful Plumes in the greenhouse and 3 White Shouldered House Moth in the lawnmower ..............

Pickwood Scar - Norland

A couple of miners I've not seen before on a pleasant walk to Norland Bilberry Slopes. Some nice fungi on the golf course up there as well including some bright orange Larch Boletes.

Stigmella continuella in birch. Note the "dead blob" start to the mine and green frass filling the gallery.

Coleophora gryphipennella mines and case on Dog Rose. 

Cold Edge

This afternoon.
After a struggle I managed to find one Fox Moth caterpillar near the lower large dam. I have checked Ogden golf course several times this autumn without success - but I guess they will be there somewhere (?) Will try again if we get a  decent sunny afternoon as that's when they seem to appear !

Fox Moth caterpillar - Cold Edge

I also managed to find what I think must be  Nettle-tap moths (6 or more) - they were nectering on flowers of garden mint growing wild in a very boggy area but didn't manage to get any decent enough photo's to post on the blog.
No Red Admirals today though there were 2 Speckled Wood's near the lower dam.

Stainland 27th September 2017 (Second Post)

A surprise for me tonight. At 8:30 pm our cat Ruskin wanted to go out. It was raining hard, he decided to sit in the the hall and glower at it. I spotted something odd on the washing line. It was a moth hanging upside down, sheltering under the stone ledge over our door. I had to use Anne's pocket compact. Stupidly, I'd run both power packs in my macro camera down. The results are not too bad considering I had to use digital zoom to get the photos, (shock, horror).

It turned out to be a Barred Sallow, only the second one I've ever seen.

 Barred Sallow.

Lee Mount

Recent Moths

 Angle Shades

 

 Mottled Umber

 

Snout

Angle Shades

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Stainland, 25th Sept 2017.

Anne and I went to the ballet last night. (It was very good indeed). When we got home, there a was a swarm of Light Brown Apple moths by the door. It was hard to count them as some were coming and going. Of the stationary moths I counted:

7 x Light Brown Apple.
1 x very shabby Garden Rose Tortrix.

Plus the ones that got away!

Lee Mount - 24th / 25th September

Milder nights and a few 'turn up's' - No time for photo's just now though
Black Rustic x 1
Mottled Umber x 1
Copper Underwing agg x 1 (these are getting quite faded now)
Large Yellow Underwing x 1
Common Marbled Carpet x 3
Light-brown Apple- moth x 3
Acleris ? still to try identify x 1
White-shouldered House-moth x 1
Lesser Yellow Underwing x 1
Snout x 1
Mouse Moth x 1
Silver Y x 1
Garden Carpet x 2
Bee Moth x 1

Stainland, 24th September 2017

Quite a few moths, I think they must have been sheltering from the elements. The highlight being a first for me, a Snout moth. I'll list the other moths first, then finish with the Snout.

6 x Light Brown Apple moths.
3 x Garden Rose Tortrix.
1 x Common Marbled Carpet.
1 Snout Moth.

The photo is not great, I only got three shots before it flew off. Still, I've never seen one before, so that's something at least. This is another of those moths described as "Common throughout Britain". It's so common I've never seen one before.

Snout moth.

September 24th

A last blast of summer in the garden today with 5 Red Admirals , 2 Speckled Woods and 3 Comma's...and in the moth trap first Blair's Shoulder Knot , Red Green Carpets and its been a good year for Brown Spot Pinion and Setaceous Hebrew Character..

Lee Mount - 22nd September

Not a lot in and around the trap this morning but quality for here.

 Not had one of these before (3 photos) - think it must be Canary-shouldered Thorn (?) - what a beauty !

 

 Garden Carpet

 

 Brown-spot Pinion

 

Silver Y

 

Also one Copper Underwing agg and a Square-spot Rustic - both very worn.

!9th September 2017

                                                             Comma

                                             Haworths Minor

                                                           Mine on Hawthorn
A good day started with a Common Marbled Carpet on the window , then 2 Haworth's Minor and Northern Spinach  feeding on Ragwort  at fly flatts. Comma , 2 Speckled Woods and 3 Red Admiral in the garden , 30 nettle taps on Ragwort and 3 different Vapourer's flying around the village but   unable to get a photo and this mine on Hawthorn ...

Stainland 18th Sept 2017.

Yet another fairly sleepless night for me, about three and a half hours. Still, it gave me chance to roam about our little garden and see what was about. Apart from weevils, spider, the odd woodlouse etc., a lot of small, light brown moths were flying about. I think mainly Light Brown Apple moths, I photographed two.

There was a second Common Marbled Carpet, far more worn that yesterdays. Finally, a Common Green Carpet, the first I've seen. When freshly emerged, they tend to be bright green to bluish green. The colour fades to brown or white shades fairly quickly. I'd love to find a new one. The one below is a female, the males have feathered antennae.

Common Green Carpet (female).