Around 56 species were recorded including the star of the night a pristine Beautiful Hook-tip. Others photographed were White Plume Moth, Spectacle and Flame which didn't look like a Flame to me until it settled with its wings held tightly to its body.
Tawny Marbled Minor and Marbled Minors were taken for dissection.
The first Marbled Beauty of the year, (for me). Two days ago I was thinking that they should be arriving now July is almost here.
Marbled Beauty
I was lucky enough to find a Comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album) - caterpillar on a wall, down Carr Hall Lane, this afternoon. It's the first I've seen and a very striking thing it is.
A belated post from the 13th, a really good night with some scarcer moths kicking around.
Moth trap 13th June:
Marbled Minor Agg x4 [NFY]
Coxcomb Prominent x2
Clouded Border x1 [NFY]
Scorched Wing x1 [NFG and rare in Calderdale I think]
Flame Shoulder x5
Small Phoenix x1
White Ermine x1
Common Marbled Carpet x1
Rustic Shoulder Knot x1
Bright Line Brown Eye x1 [NFY]
Pale Tussock x3
Ruby Tiger x1 [NFY]
Clouded Bordered Brindle x1 [NFY]
Miller x1 [NFY]
Small Angle Shades x1 [NFY]
Marbled White Spot x6
Scalloped Hazel x1 [NFY]
Clouded Silver x1 [NFY]
Silver Ground Carpet x7
Green Silver Lines x2
Lesser Swallow Prominent x1
Silky Wainscot x1 [NFG and I think scarce in Calderdale]
Poplar Hawk Moth x1
Elephant Hawk Moth x1 [NFY]
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| Silky Wainscot |
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| Scorched Wing |
I've not had time to post these, so they are all in this post.There are a couple that I'm not 100% certain of.
24th June
2 x Brimstone moths (Anne found them in one of our shrubs at 11pm. She's getting good at this.)
1 x Garden Carpet
1 x Blastobasis lacticolella (Wakley's Dowd)
1 x Eudonia lacustrata
The two I'm unsure about are below:
The Blastobasis l. does not have folded wings, as the books suggest. Also, it's very short on markings, quite a common feature I know. I think I got this one right. (?)
The second one I'm quite sure about is Eudonia lacustrata TBC. Tricky little set of moths. Again, I THINK I got the correct ID.
I seem to have regained the ability to post on blogs again - for now!
I've done little in the way of mothing lately but I did manage a trip up to Sowood to see a thriving colony (some would say an infestation) of Case-bearing Clothes Moth larvae.
And a little out of area, Askham Bog, York - one of my favourites, Psyche casta.
My absence from the blog for the past week isn't because I haven't trapped, it's just I haven't found the time to post my trap results. They include some lovely moths including Silky Wainscot and Scorched Wing.
Ringby Lane this morning as below plus around 25 Small Heaths
Ogden (Back Lane)
Again a good show of Small Heaths and a couple of Small Tortoiseshell's
This was on the door at midnight, gone this morning. Is it a Dark Arches please? I've only had one once before, sometime ago, I took a terrible photo back then, so I'm not certain I have this right.
Thanks.
Still very quiet here with not much at all - but I keep trying !
I spent three and a half hours walking the moor yesterday, I saw;
17 Small Heath butterflies
5 Small white's
1 Small Tortoiseshell
Also. several Skylarks. (One of my favourite bird songs.)
Two Curlews. (Another favourite bird song. They were the first I've heard this year, I was a little worried about not hearing them. My third birdsong is the Chaffinch)
Have other people noticed the scant amount of Swallows this year? We normally have a flock flying over us all day, in the village. This year, we've had very few. We've only seen about ten at any one time. It's not a good sign.
Some improvement on the 14th but this morning (15th) just one moth - Common Swift x 1
Luddenden 6th - 13th June
still a bit quiet here even with the warm nights. not a bad selection though
Ghost Moth 1
Common Swift 3
Pebble Hook-tip 1
White-spotted Pug 1
Freyer's Pug 3
Foxglove Pug 4
Toadflax Pug 5
Broken-barred Carpet 1
Small Phoenix 1
Common Marbled Carpet 5
Silver Ground Carpet 6
Garden Carpet 1
Brimstone 2
Flame Carpet 1
Purple Bar 2
Poplar Hawkmoth 5
Scalloped Hazel 1
Pale Tussock 16
Buff Ermine 1
Coxcomb Prominent 1
Ruby Tiger 1
Knot Grass 1
Flame Shoulder 3
Ingrailed Clay 3
Having not done any serious moth recording in the last 10 years or so its a case of relearning species I could ID at a glance years ago :(
Still hardly anything here at all.....pretty dead for moths
Sandy Carpet, Ghost Moth, Peppered Moth, Anclys badiana, green carpets, Silver G carpets, Common Swift, Peach Blossom is just a small selection of moths that had arrived when we left at 1am
The moth night is in tonight, see the Cromwell Bottom blog, I'll be there
A very rare for Yorkshire moth in the trap this morning, it was trying to get out, so I took a picture through the plastic baffles, and when I tried to pot it, it flew off. Bugger. But I did get a record shot (If it even meets that standard) as you can make out the moth and it's markings. It was an absolutely beautiful moth.
Update: CF says that this is a superb record, and may have possibly come over from a population in Lancashire. He also says there are no Yorkshire records nearby, and this is the 3rd ever in VC63 and first for 51 years since 1 at Thorne Moors in 1970. I, personally hope they start to breed here!
Elsewhere in the trap:
Pale Tussock x2
Peppered Moth x3
White Ermine x3 [NFY]
Silver Hook x1 [NFG] And Calderdale .......
Buff-tip x2
Silver Ground Carpet x3
Rustic Shoulder Knot x1
Pebble Prominent x1 [NFY]
Flame Shoulder x1
Marbled White Spot x1
Coxcomb Prominent x1 [NFY]
Lesser Swallow Prominent x1
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| Silver Hook, Rishworth |
This is Saturday night's moths and it was quite busy, with another Muslin turning up.
Moth Trap 5th June:
Brimstone Moth x1 [NFY]
Green Silver Lines x1 [NFY]
Common Marbled Carpet x2
Marbled White Spot x1
Brown Silver Lines x1
Diamond Back Moth x1 [NFY]
Silver Ground Carpet x5
Purple Bar x1 [NFG]
Common White Wave x1 [NFY]
Muslin Moth x1
Bee Moth x1
Lesser Swallow Prominent x1
Buff-tip x2 [NFY]
Rustic Shoulder Knot x1 [NFY]
Flame Shoulder x1
May Highflyer x1 [NFG]
Latticed Heath is very noticable on the moor with hundreds seen every day as I cross the moor and Manshead with the dog on our daliy hikes
Butterflies seen so far this year on the moor are : Green Hairstreak (one only) Small Heath and Small copper in small numbers most days, a few Orange tips and whites, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell
A nice varied mix in the garden MV so far but very very few micros and nothing of especial note so far in the macros. A better year to be honest than I was expecting up here after 4 months of snow and the deluge in May after the frosts in April.
Going through the trap here in Rishworth right now and there is a Silver Hook!!!, I only have a blurred picture but it should be enough
My second ever Flame Carpet is on the fanlight at the moment. This has a richer colour than the one I posted on the 25th May. Such a nice moth.
Flame Carpet
