Cromwell Bottom

Dark Chestnut caught by Barry in January and 6 Satellite last night all on sugar....

Rishworth - A very interesting ID! (EArly Early tooth striped maybe...)

Moth Trapping Session 22nd February 2020
A good night with a very interesting ID.

List of Species
March Moth x1
Tortricodes alternella x1
ID x1

                                                           ID Above

                                                           March Moth Above

                                                        Tortricodes Alternella above

Rishworth - A twenty plume

A twenty plume moth in the house this evening ..

Moth night at Cromwell Bottom

There will be a moth night at Cromwell Bottom. See cromwellbottom.blogspot.com

Grey shoulder knot

Afternoon,

Grey shoulder knot, one to keep an eye out for this comin g few weeks (Andy,Gordon)

Only 2 Calderdale records

Netted Carpet Moth Caterpillar videio.

I've just found a nice video of the Netted Carpet moth cat, feeding on Touch-me-not seedheads. After watching it, I think I know why they are decreasing un numbers. The photohgragrapy is stunning.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ5dQ_Pdfac

Rishworth

Moth Trapping Session 17th February 2020
Another March Moth, a much darker individual this time.

List of Species
March Moth x1

Rishworth - It is not March!

Moth Trapping Session 14th February 2020
A march moth, its not march! Trap brought in at 21;00.

List of Species
March Moth x1

Pale Brindled Beauty and Moth Report update

This was on Daves door today when i popped round........
Many thanks for all the emails and letters received about the moth report it has been selling well and i have now broken even on the sales with 10 copy ' s left ....this money will go to Butterfly Conservation. Many thanks to Dave for all his help.....If anyone still needs a copy please get in contact asap...thanks again Andy

Rishworth

Nothing last night

Lee Mount - 31st January

Nothing since my last post on 25th Jan. Last night - one moth, a dark form of Pale Brindled Beauty.

Rishworth - First micro of the year

Moth Trapping Session 31st January 2020
A good night with the first record of Tortricodes alternella for the garden .

List of Species
Tortricodes alternella x2
Chestnut x2

                                                        Tortricodes alternella

Chestnut

Moth Night at CB

See cromwellbottom.blogspot.com

The Butterflies and Moths of Calderdale is now ready to order......

Copies are £7.50 + £2.00 for post and packing......they can be obtained from -
1 ) e-mail andrewcockroft@talktalk.net
2) Collect from 9 Hedge top lane Northowram HX3 7ER (correct money please)
3) Hebden Bridge birders meeting at Fox and Goose 7o 'clock Tuesday 4th Feb
4) DJS has 10 copies and will be at the HXSS meeting on 11th Feb ( Askam Bog talk) or speak with Dave and collect...

Lee Mount - 25th January

All still a bit slow yet with the weather still pretty cool - but it could be a lot colder !!!.
2 Pale Brindled Beauty on and off this week - think they are just hanging about.

A new species for the year this morning on the fence by the trap was very welcome ! With another darker individual turning up on the pebble-dashing this evening.

Spring Usher

Rishworth - A hiding one!

Moth Trapping Session 24th January 2020
A Chestnut hiding next to a rock on a tarpaulin covering wood!

List of Species;

Chestnut x1

Least Carpet Yorkshire records

One to keep an eye out for in the Summer ................

Rishworth - 2 More!

Moth Trapping Session 23rd January 2020
I had nothing in the trap last night but got 2 Chestnuts tonight.

List of Species
Chestnut x2







Seperately a melanistic Pale Brindled Beauty just flew in the house.

                                                          Chestnut

Pale Brindled Beauty F. Monacharia

Add caption

Bare Head Tunnel

I could only find 8 Heralds yesterday and no Butterflies in the tunnel..?/ they are probably flying around in this glorious weather...!!!!!

The Butterflies and Moths of Calderdale

This will be available as from next week the price will be £7.50 its just short of 200 pages , after i have paid for all the costs , any monies left will be donated to the Yorkshire branch of  Butterfly Conservation....Many thanks to Charlie Streets , DJS , Brian Leesey , Martyn Hayes , Colin Duke , Annie H and Charlie Fletcher  for much help over the years........ Lets go moffing.........

Rishworth - First Moths of the year!

Moth Trapping Session 21st January 2020
A good night with the first moths of the year. V. pleased. trapping session ended at 8;30 as no point carrying on.

List of Species
Chestnut x2
Pale Brindled Beauty x3 ------- Normal x2
                                                   F. Monacharia x1

                                                           Chestnut Above

                                                    Pale Brindled beauty f.monacharia Above

                                                Pale Brindled Beauty Above

Lee Mount - 21st January

A good start tonight with this Common Plume that arrived soon after sunset.

Emmelina monodactyla

Lee Mount - 20th January

Persisting with the light trap paid off at last with 2 moths.
First was a Dotted Border, it came into the conservatory when I opened the door and I managed to catch it in a plastic cup - hence the hazed photo.
I checked the trap and in the slots on the fence was this melanistic individual - Pale Brindled Beauty. Thought.... I need to careful with identification with this form. I guess the pink on the abdomen is a help so I'm thankful the photo just shows this feature which was impossible to see otherwise.

 Dotted Border

Pale Brindled Beauty

Anomalous in the Rishworth Area

Afternoon,

I am planning to go to the green withens area or baitings area one night next month searching for Anomalous larva.

2 Questions :

Are there any records for the Rishworth Area?

And..

Are there tips that may help me other than searching on wavy hair grass and tufted hair grass ?

Edward

Stainland. First Caterpiller this year

I've seen my first moth caterpillar of the year the year, just now. It's an Angle Shades. It's sheltering on the pointing right, by the door. It has it's head tucked into where two strips of pointing meet. All the moths I've had here, put their heads into any small depression with a slight overhang, in wild weather. They're protecting their brain, obviously.

 Angle Shades.

Detail, showing the red-brown side marks

and the whiteish markings on it's back.

First Garden Moth Species Of The Year

Doing a bit of tidying up in the garden yesterday and I noticed a few of these on the Pyracantha. It's the mine of Firethorn Leaf Miner, the upper surface silvery blotches are easy to spot, as are the feeding larvae. I suspect most bushes will have a colony of these, if you have one nearby give it a once over and let me know if it's colonised, apparently supermarket car parks are good places to search.

I wonder what else that garden has to offer this year...……..

Small Magpie ..!!!!

An interesting record of a Small Magpie flying about a house in Cragg Vale on the 23rd December 2019(Jacki and Nick)...I sent the record to Charlie Fletcher and this was the reply ..... The latest we’ve got is 19th October and the earliest is a couple of March records, both indoors, so nothing in December at all.!!!!!!

Also a Satellite (white spot) to an outside light in Hebden on the 4th Jan (AMills)......

Out of Calderdale

I have been in Cheshire East for the day and I saw a Pale Brindled Beuty at a security light in  Wrenbury. Not exactly Calderdale but sorry...

National Moth Night 2020 Date

Morning All,

I put this up to notify everyone that NMN (National Moth Night) Date has been confirmed by 'ATROPOS' the theme will be Red/Rosy/Crimson Underwings and the date is 26-28 August.

Cheers
Edward

Rishworth

Blank in the trap. Nothing apart from 100+ flies.

Lee Mount - 1st Jan

Reasonably mild - ish when I went out late evening to check the trap.
Pale Brindled Beauty x 1 with a pinkish abdomen looked freshly emerged.
Mottled Umber x 1

 Pale Brindled Beauty

Mottled Umber looking a bit worn out !

Queen bee

Not a moth or butterfly but a very large queen red tailed bumblebee was in the garden this morning. Buzzed me and the kids before continuing her way. Nice start to the new year.

Lee Mount

Trap on last few nights to the year end. A Mottled Umber has been on the fence near the trap for the last four days/nights and it's still here this morning though it keeps moving about. Nothing else but looking forward to some good mothing for everyone in 2020.
All the best
Dave

Rishworth

Nothing last night.

Bank Hey Bottom Lane - Ripponden - 28th December

Found a Stigmella Aurella Mine on Saturday. In the left bank of ripponden valley

Also am aiming for early Pale Brindled Beauty tomorrow night anyone else trapping?

Merry Christmas!

Hello all,

Thought that a merry Christmas would be good. I found A Diptera mine earlier (phytomyza Illicis). Not exactly moths but hey ho. I had a look with my microscope and can confirm it. My pictures later.

THE KEY MESSAGE: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Edward

HAPPY X=MAS .......

Stainland.

At last, I have a moth. I was resigned to not seeing any more until next Spring. It's a Winter Moth - Operophtera brumata, as one might expect.

Winter Moth.

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone., and a peaceful New Year.

Lee Mount - 22nd December

One here for scrutiny found in the trap this morning. Very small, only 6mm  max

The nearest I can get within any realms of possibility is maybe........

Caloptilia rufipennella or maybe Aspilapteryx tringipennella

The Field Guide (Sterling, Parsons, Lewington) to micros suggests the former usually has no markings but 'has an orange brown form with small black spots in a line below the costa and one below the dorsum with a similar spot before the termen'....

Confirmed (CF) as Caloptilia rufipennella

Rishworth - Yet another!

Moth Trapping 21st December 2019
Yet another moth for the tallies. A Mottled Umber on the trap's umbrella. Annoyingly no pictures as it flew away befor I could get a picture.

List of Species
Mottled Umber x1

Rishworth - First moth for 4 weeks!

Moth Trapping 20th December 2019
Very pleased as got my first moth this month or since 23rd November so pleased with last night. Another Chestnut for the tallies. Every Record Helps!

List of Species
Chestnut x1

Lee Mount

This week - just one Winter Moth on 17th 
I was just about to give up putting the trap on at night until the new year but put it on tonight in the drizzle not really expecting anything.
This one turned up on the fence by the trap and thought at first Pale-brindled Beauty. Taking a closer look I'm not so certain now. The shape of the wing, I think, suggests Mottled Umber (?) but I've not seen a melanic form previously so I'm still puzzling over it.
Any thoughts ?

It is really dark with a hint of a purple tinge to it and some dark brown. Wing length c22 mm.

Moth Night at CB

 See cromwellbottom.blogspot.com.

The Rishworth Records 2019 UP TO OCTOBER ONLY

My Records This Year
KEY:
NFG= New For Garden
NFY= New for year

22/7/2019 - Sugar
8 Old Lady
6 Common Rustic Agg.
16 Large Yellow Underwing
8 Dark Arches
6 Copper Underwing Agg.

28/08/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
2 Sallow [NFG]
17 Autumnal Rustic [NFG]
21 Large Yellow Underwing
12 Copper Underwing Agg.
11 Lesser Broad Bordered Yellow Underwing [NFG]
11 Lesser Yellow Underwing [NFG]
1 Dingy Footman (F.Stramineola) [NFG]
1 Blood-Vein [NFG]
2 Garden Carpet [NFG]
2 Mother of Pearl [NFG]
7 Svensson's Copper Underwing [NFG]
3 Dun-Bar [NFG]
2 Chevron [NFG]
3 Least Yellow Underwing [NFG]

30/08/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
1 Canary-Shouldered Thorn [NFG]
17 Large Yellow Underwing
18 Autumnal Rustic
1 Setaceous Hebrew Character [NFG]
8 Frosted Orange [NFG]
9 Lesser Yellow Underwing
3 Rosy Rustic [NFG]
4 Brown-Spot Pinion [NFG]
1 Angle-Striped Sallow [NFG]
12 Square-Spot Rustic [NFG]
7 Small Wainscot [NFG]
2 Dun-Bar
3 Least Yellow Underwing
1 Antler Moth [NFG]

31/08/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
7 Square-Spot Rustic
8 Dark Arches
4 Rosy Rustic
7 Frosted Orange
18 Large Yellow Underwing
14 Autumnal Rustic
8 Copper Underwing Agg.
6 Small Wainscot
1 Angle Shades [NFG]
3 Common Rustic Agg.

06/09/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
2 Large Yellow Underwing
3 Square-Spot Rustic
2 Common Marbled Carpet [NFG]

07/09/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
1 Centre-Barred Sallow [NFG]
1 Angle Shades
1 Large Yellow Underwing

10/09/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
1 Mouse Moth [NFG]
3 Large Yellow Underwing
2 Red Green Carpet [NFG]

14/09/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
6 Lesser Yellow Underwing
5 Large Yellow Underwing
8 Copper Underwing Agg.
4 Yellow-Line Quaker [NFG]
3 Silver Y [NFG]

20/09/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
1 Copper Underwing Agg.
1 Brown Spot Pinion
3 Large Yellow Underwing
3 Pink-Barred Sallow [NFG]
1 Orange Sallow [NFG]
1 Celypha Lacunana [NFG]
1 Yellow Line Quaker

21/09/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
1 Black Rustic [NFG]
1 Pink-Barred Sallow
8 Red Green Carpet
1 Lesser Yellow Underwing
1 Brown Spot Pinion
1 Chestnut [NFG]

27/09/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
2 Black Rustic
4 Red Green Carpet
3 Yellow Line Quaker

02/10/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
2 November Moth Agg.

04/10/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
3 Yellow Line Quaker
9 Red Green Carpet
2 Red Line Quaker [NFG]
1 Flounced Chestnut [NFG]
1 Epinotia Ramella [NFG]

06/10/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
6 Yellow Line Quaker
1 Red Line Quaker
12 November Moth Agg.
6 Red Green Carpet
1 Common Marbled Carpet
1 Feathered Thorn [NFG]
1 Satellite [NFG]
1 Angle Shades

07/10/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
1 Merveille du Jour [NFG]
2 Chestnut
3 Red Green Carpet
1 Black Rustic
6 November Moth Agg.

11/10/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
2 Feathered Thorn
1 November Moth Agg.
1 Copper Underwing Agg.
1 Satellite

19/10/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
7 November Moth Agg.
1 Red Green Carpet
2 Mottled Umber [NFG]
1 Yellow Line Quaker
4 Feathered Thorn
2 Brick [NFG]
1 Chestnut
1 Red Line Quaker
1 Acleris Sparsana

24/10/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
1 Brick
2 Mottled Umber
2 Chestnut
2 Satellite
1 November Moth Agg.

26/10/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
1 feathered Thorn

28/10/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner 
1 Red Line Quaker
2 Satellite
1 Red Green Carpet
2 Yellow Line Quaker

31/10/2019 - 20w Actinic ALS Compact Skinner
3 Red Green Carpet
1 Brick
3 Yellow Line Quaker
15 Satellite
3 Chestnut
1 Mottled Umber

Lee Mount - December

Not  a great deal doing this last week
A few Winter Moths with a maximum of 5 to light on 3rd December
Mottled Umber x 2 also on 3rd - one was caught in a spiders web but I released it !
Red-green Carpet x 1 on 4th
Yellow-line Quaker x 1 on 7th

 Winter Moth

 Winter Moths x 2  underwings

 I've also been looking out for Northern Winter Moths to try get a decent under-wing shot but non appeared as yet this winter here.

Yellow-line Quaker from 6th/7th Dec

Stainland.

We have been away in our town house for a few days. I came home 100% certain I would not have had any moths. I was wrong. I only looked for moths 10 hours after getting home today. I have one, a Mottled Umber. To me, this moth is one of those that a person new to moth-ing would really struggle with. It's the second of this species I've had this year, the other was on the 25th Oct. They look nothing like each other.

Mottled Umber.

Rishworth- Common Plume

Wandered around the garden at dusk. Just an Emmelina Monadactyla.

Indoor mothing

There's been a Mompha subbistrigella on my landing window sill for the last few days, surprisingly it hasn't moved at all.

Cousin Lane - Halifax

A chestnut reported at 12:30 today...

Lee Mount - end of November

26th November was the best night
5 Winter Moths along with these below

 Mottled Umber x 2

 Red-green Carpet

 Scarce Umber

Tachystola acroxantha

26th still present on 27th November
Pretty sure this is a fading Brick with the outermost cross-line looking jagged under the lens.

Brick

Also on 26th I did Shroggs landfill site around part of the tree belt - I managed 18 Winter Moth males between 16:30 and 17:10 - before the torch ran out !!

Only House Wood

Winter Moth male  x 340
Winter Moth female x 2
Scarce Umber x 1
Mottled Umber x 2
Yellow line Quaker (not Brick)  x 1