Cromwell Bottom evening walk, July 25th - part two.

Some photos and IDs from that evening/night.

Lots of these Ancylis badiana on North Loop. This one's on one of the abundant Yarrow plants.

Another common moth here was Grapholita compisitella (or Sergeant and Corporal as Colin calls them). A tiny but beautiful tort species.

These were also in good numbers but had us all stumped on the night - its seems to me to be a female Endothenia marginana.

Sometimes the most drab, boring looking moths turn out to be the most interesting as was the case with this apparently non-descript gelechid - Aproaerema anthyllidella which was netted at dusk on North Loop (above and below).

After last Friday's experience with moths on Ragwort I was determined to have a go at photographing some nectaring on it - with some good results for a first effort. Here's a Slender Pug - I think?

Common Footman. It was amazing how even isolated plants regularly produced moths.

Plumes and pugs were the target species so this Common Plume was a nice find close to a bindweed patch. The marbled minor agg. also on Ragwort was a female so no ID there I'm afraid.

Away from the Ragwort was this Smoky Wainscot resting on Silver Birch showing a flash of the distinctive grey underwings.

Had a walk round Cromwell Bottom LNR with Charlie and Colin last night. We walked over North loop and the Tag loop areas. It  was the first time I had been on North Loop  for a couple of years and was pleased to see the area carpeted with Red Clover , Yarrow , various trefoils and grasses. There were a few moths on the wing with ,Straw Dot ,  Light brown Apple Moth , Shaded broad bar , Yellow Shell , Ancylis badiana , Grapholita compositella , Agriphila straminella , Agriphila tristella , Endothenia marginana. which were classed as abundant. 30 species on an evening stroll.....

Also seen...

Bramble shoot moth
Udea prunalis
Common Footman
Dingy Footman
Buff Footman
Common Wainscot
Smoky Wainscot
Slender Brindle
Cinnabar (20+ larvae of Ragwort)
Dun -bar
Dark Arches
Common Plume
Common Wave
Minor sp ( to be confirmed)
Argyresthia goedartella
Blastobasis lacticoella
Blasobasis ardustella
Coleophora mayrella
Agapeta hamana
Slender Pug
Aproaerema anthyllidella

Stainland, 25 July 2015. Two moths.

I didn't have time to post these two days ago,when I found them.

I'm not sure I got the IDs correct. I certainly hope I got the brown moth right as it's rare. Chance would be a fine thing. It was the only one I found which looked like my specimen. It even has the thickening part way up it's antennae.

Jubilee Fan-foot - 

Zanclognatha lunalis TBC.

Small Fan-Footed Wave - Idaea biselata.

Also had 4 Blasotbasis adustella.

3 Marbled Beauties.

Stainland, 25 July.

Detailed look at a Swallow-tailed moth.

It arrived at 3:15 am, I was in the garden when it flew past my head, settling on the door. During the day, it moved from the fanlight over the door to the letterbox. By nightfall it had turned so I could see it's face. It was time for close-ups. Anne stopped the postman disturbing it and took the mail at the gate. Bless her.

A dramatic shot, reminding me of a bat.

I hope someone finds them interesting.

Cold Edge and Ovenden Moor

Countrywide Butterfly Survey this afternoon plus extended areas at both end of the designated survey
area. Warming at 18c with very little wind but unfortunately it was pretty overcast for most of the time. Totals for the whole afternoon of around 3 hrs....
87 Ringlet
10 Meadow Brown
1 Gatekeeper
7 Green-veined/Small Whites mostly at a distance
2 Red Admiral
2 Fly-by's unidentified
3 Common Carpet moths - oops ! misidentified after checking photo's I took - all Siver-ground Carpets
2 Siler Y's

Not a sign of a Small Tortoiseshell...!

Gold Spangle and Brown Hawker

male brown Hawker taken at Willow Valley Golf ponds today and Gold Spangle from last nights trap at home.

Hardcastle Craggs , Wardens Cottage 2

We are planning to return  and trap on the 19th August ...All welcome.. It should be bang on time for the second generation of Devon Carpets . Again we will be running as many traps as possible and also searching the surrounding areas with torch and net.    Cheers.....

1513 White Plume Moth Pterophorus pentadactyla ABH 45.030

Hebden Bridge 22nd July 2017 Light Rain Heavy circa 12;30

Here is a few shots of the  45.030 BF1513 White Plume Moth Pterophorus pentadactyla

The last record I have was   a visit in Glaphorne Cow Pastures in 2015 on a Black Hairstreak and Wood white Visit with Andy / Linford

The Specimen was found Nectaring on  Ragwort adjacent to Bindweed Convolvulus its larval host so might be a good time for finding specimens for rearing




VC Distribution

Other entomology

Philaenus spumarius Meadow Froghopper
Rhagonycha fulva  Common Red Soldier Beetle
Pentatoma rufipes Red-legged Shieldbug (Forest)

Scarabidae possibly Aphodius rufipes




Botany - Survey to Be Added

Common Figwort
Ragwort
Juncus
Foxglove
Cow Parsley
Sweet william
Herb Robert
Honeysuckle
Common Birds Foot Trefoil
Apple
Bird Cherry
Greater Bindweed
Field Bindweed
Evening Primrose
Whjite Clover
Nettle

Banana ...the update

Well it worked , an Old Lady   ..target species as well...................

23RD , 2 Large Yellow Underwing , 1 Gothic and 1 Old Lady .......

Lee Mount - 21st July

Any help with this small micro appreciated - max 8mm - the nearest I can get (with the blue cilia and the three black dots etc.) is
Pammene fasciana ??

 

Ragwort

The ragwort in the Craggs last night was full of feeding  moths of many species (Smoky Wainscot , Suspected , Wormwood Pug , White Plume , Buff footman , Dotted Clay , Mother of Pearl etc) .If any one knows a field/s full of Ragwort at the moment please leave a comment below.

Stainland, 22 July 2017.

A Silver Y - Autographa gamma, got into our hall early this morning. After taking a couple of shots, I caught it in a jam jar and let it go in the hedge. The shot of it in flight isn't wonderful, but it's interesting.

Silver Y.

Hardcastle Craggs, the warden's cottage - last night.

A hectic night to say the least!


Thanks to Natalie for hosting the night in a fantastic spot with a good range of habitat and flora. It was worth going just to see the assortment of moths nectaring on the small clumps of Ragwort including a beautiful White Plume Moth found by Colin and a few pugs that Brian saw including an Ochreous and Wormwood (?). There were so many species on the wing even before the traps got going including several Buff Footmen and Swallow-tailed Moth.


The traps were very busy in to the early hours despite the persistent rain for the last hour or so. There was always help on hand to ID  all the moths and plenty of suggestions as to what all the other beetles, ichneumons, flies and bugs were.


I took a few micros back to ID and photograph:

Opostega salaciella, my pick of the night. You can just make out the base of the antennae which has a modified segment that forms an eye-cap.

Apotomis turbidana - one of the "bird dropping" micros.

And in the actinic trap was this bedraggled Water Venner. Ironically of all the moths I looked at this one succumbed to the wet conditions the most. The larvae of this moth feed underwater on pondweeds as deep as two meters and the adult females are also aquatic.

From the traps...................Please add in comments all moths both micro and macro that I have missed.

Large Yellow Underwing    x 150 +

Lesser YU                            x    3

BBYU                                  x    2

Dark Aches                         x    35 +

Scarce Silver Y                   x       1

Silver  Y                             x        1

Slender Brindle                 x        40 +

Buff    Footman                 x       50 +

Common Carpet                x       30 +

Green Carpet                     x         2

Small Fan footed  Wave    x        8

Swallow tailed moth          x       1

Spectacle                             x       1

Flame Shoulder                  x       5

Suspected                            x      2

Wormwood Pug                 x      2

Currant Pug                       x       1

Foxglove Pug                    x       1

Common Lustering          x       2

Northern Spinach              x      1

Iron Prominent                  x       1

Lesser Swallow Prominent x     2

Silver ground Carpet           x     4

Buff  Arches                        x     1

Elephant Hawkmoth           x     1

Mother of Pearl                    x 10

Bee Moth                            x     3

Purple Clay                        x      4

Dotted Clay                      x       2

Angle Striped Sallow      x         1

July Highflyer                  x       3

Phoneix                            x       1

Rivulet                            x        1

Yellow Shell                     x       3

Mottled  Beauty                x     2

Willow   Beauty                 x    2

Riband Wave                     x    1

Shuttle Shaped Dart          x    1

Flame                                 x    1

Purple  Bar                          x   1

Dun -bar                             x    2 

Brimstone                          x     8

Peppered Moth                  x      4

Common White Wave     x       2

White Plume                   x       1

Smoky Wainscot            x        4

Light Arches x                x       1 

Carcina quercana             x      1

Small Angle Shades         x       1

Antler                               x     11

Early Thorn                     x     1   

Green Arches                    x    2

Common Footman            x 1 

Bryotropha domestica          x 1

Lee Mount - 21st July

Think this top one here is only the second one for this location.

 Coxcomb Prominent

 

Phoenix

Lee Mount - 20th July

Struggling with this one - wing length 16 mm. Thought at first maybe Marbled Minor agg but it looked larger and the kidney marks seem to be outlined orange with small white dots next to it.
Maybe Common Rustic agg ???

Hebden Bridge Met forecast for Friday 21 July.at 9:30 am.

Good news. the threat of rain has gone.

Happy Hunting.

Craggs Friday night 9 o clock..

We will be there at 9 whatever the weather ...cheers

Met Office Report for Friday 21st July 2107. Given at 5 p.m. Thursday 210 July

Hi

I shall post another report before 12 noon.  I will not be able to post after that, we have guests arriving at noon.

Northowram MV light trap 19th July 17

Despite the storm and wind last night it was a bit of a bumper night for Northowram , White Satin , Yellow Barred Brindle ,Lempke's Gold Spot and Swallow tailed Moth  with 100 moth of 31 species.

Stainland 20 July 2017

Five moths today. Sadly I'm at a loss with three of them, so they need confirmation please. Colin told me that it was better to get them recorded and get the names later, than not record them because you don't know their names.

At 3 a.m. I let our cat out. By the door was a Swallow-tailed moth, then I saw the others. I'd been awake about 5 minutes, but had to take the photos. That's dedication, or possibly lunacy. They had all gone except the Swallow-tailed this morning.

The photos are in the order below.
Blastobasis adustella TBC.
Eudonia truncicolella TBC (I can't see any ring or X marks).
Grass moth sp. TBC. I really have no idea what it is.
Marbled Beauty - Bryophila domestica. (I'm showing this as the orange brown varietal form are becoming more frequent than the grey and white ones now).
Swallow-tailed moth. Ourapteryx sambucaria. Such a lovely moth.

Blastobasis adustella.

Eudonia truncicolella TBC.

Grass moth sp. TBC.

Marbled Beauty.

 Swallow-tailed moth - 

Ourapteryx sambucaria.

Met Office Forecast for Hebden Bridge. As given Wed. 19th July 2017. 1900 hours.

That's very flattering of you Andy, thank you. I've screen dumped the Met office forecast, things may change. I'll keep an eye on it. If there is a big change I shall post it.

I'm sorry to say that I was not sure what you meant when you said, "Friday night 10 - first light in Hebden". I assume you meant 10 a.m. "First light" would be Saturday morning about 5 a.m., so I am puzzled.

Stainland 19 July

Blastobasis adustella.

Blastobasis adustella

Beacon Hill Butterflies

Had a group working on Beacon Hill today, so took the opportunity to view the butterflies.

Red Admiral
Small Tortoiseshell
Large White
Small Skipper
Meadow Brown
Ringlet
Gatekeeper

With the exception of the first 2 there were lots of each species around.

Stainland, 18 July

2 Eudonia sp (too high up for me to get good ID).
2 Marbled Beauties.
1 Phoenix - Eulithis prunata.

It's first time I have managed to get a photo of a Phoenix, they seem flighty. Two years ago, one flew off as I got the camera near it. This one did the same after three quick shots. I'm pleased I got a photo.

The Phoenix - Eulithis prunata. 

Hardcastle Craggs Friday

Looks like we will be running a few traps at the rangers hut near the car parks at Hardcastle craggs on friday night ..all welcome.The weather looks a bit iffy so we may change to sat if it looks any better.

Lee Mount - 18th July

A new one for here this morning.

 Blue-bordered carpet

Copley 17th July

Set the trap up last night and came down in the morning to find it knocked off the table and on the floor. Not major damage to trap thankfully.

1175 Bramble shoot moth
1887 Clouded border
1906 Brimstone moth
1917 Early thorn
1956 Common wave x2
2000 Iron prominent
2050 Common footman
2089 Heart and dart
2107 Large yellow underwing x10
2330 Dusky brocade
2477 Snout

There are a couple more but I am working on identifying them and will add when sorted out.

Lee Mount - 17th July

Not a lot this in the trap this morning but this Slender Brindle was very nice to find.

 Slender Brindle

 

Later in the morning this moth below fluttered out from the Buddleia bush and I  thought at first - 'Butterfly' with closed wings ! I managed to catch it but this was the best photo I could get as it landed briefly on the window frame. It wouldn't open it's wings at rest though. 

Early Thorn 

Banana

This banana cut and tied to a branch of a tree in the garden is as good as sugaring to attract moths just after dark  ??? ..will keep you posted.