Lee Mount - 3rd and 4th July

 Not a lot out of the ordinary

Common White Wave x 1

Common Wave x 1

Brimstone Moth x 2

Rustic Shoulder-knot x 1

Dusky Brocade x 1

Green Pug x 1

Heart and Dart x 1

Green Oak Tortrix x 1

Flame x 1

Large Yellow Underwing x 1

Uncertain x 1

The best was this Mottled Beauty

Stainland. 2nd to 4th July 2021.

This is a catch up post for 2nd & 4th July. I've been too busy to post until now. Ah, the joys of being a house owner. There were no moths on the 3rd.

2nd July:  A busy night, 10 moths.

5 x Marbled Beauties

2 x Brimstone moths

1 x Small Magpie

1 x White Shouldered House moth

1 x Angle Shades Caterpillar TBC (See below)

I thought this was an Angle Shades cat at first, now I'm not sure. Can anyone help with an ID please?

Angle Shades Caterpillar TBC

 

 

 4th July.

5 x Marbled Beauties again. A range is sizes this time. They seem to be gregarious, I often get groups of them each year,

 

1 x Brimstone moth

1x  Garden Carpet

Lee Mount

Varied Coronet last night (2nd July). 

It spent at least an hour around  one of their host plants, Sweet Williams. Not sure if it was a female dropping eggs ?

Pleased I planted some last autumn though I bought them as Wallflowers and realised when I got home they were Sweet Williams. Doh !!!

When I first spotted it buzzing around, just after dark, it looked like a small Silver Y type flight. It was there again last night 3rd July. One of my favourite moths.

Varied Coronet

A few about now

Lots of Chimmney Sweeper moths on just about every road verge and bridleway up here at the moment, a very common species again thankfully.

Most closed up fresh Foxglove flowers contain Foxglove Pug Larvae at the moment

Lots of mines of Mompha raschkiella on most patches of Rosebay Willowherb now

Spotted the first narrow Bordered Five Spot Burnett on 1st July some still on the pupal case

I have to admit I enjoy going out into the field to find moths far more satisfying than running an MV light. I run mine in the garden around once every seven days simply to add to the local records for the area but its not my fav method of recording. I think when you start out its great as you see all the moths that even though they may be common you have only seen in books, but once you have seen several thousand LYW or Common Quaker the thrill wears off :)

I have a Robinson 125 Watt MV which I am will to loan to anyone who does not have a trap and wants to trap their local area. Obviously I would like the trap back every 7/10 days to trap up here but if anyone wants to borrow it feel free to contact me for the address to collect it from

Shark ?

I found this in the trap yesterday and to be honest although I know its one of the Cucullliinae I am not sure which. My initial thoughts were The Shark but then it also has features of several others of this family which is a family I have no experience of so before I record it I seek advice from someone more experienced with this family. The moth is retained in the fridge if needed to check.

Lee Mount (micro's)

 Three here that took some puzzling over if anyone can double check, appreciated.

Argyresthia brockeella (28th June)

Ash Bud Moth - Prays fraxinella (30th June)

Elachista argentella (14th June)

Lee Mount - 1st July

Slight improvement last couple of days.

This morning.

Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix x 1

Common Footman x 1

Chrysoteuchia culmella x 2

Peppered Moth x 1

Elephant Hawkmoth x 1

Garden Carpet x 1

Bordered White x 1

Marbled Minor agg x 1

Purple Clay x 1

Heart and Dart x 1

Common Wave x 1

Ingrailed Clay x 1

Ingrailed Clay ? (I think - not had many of these before)

Bordered White

Elephant Hawkmoth

Peppered Moth

Yesterday - last day of June

Silver Y x 1

Flame x 1

Green Oak Tortrix x 1

Cabbage Moth x 1

Tachystola acroxantha x 4

Agriphila straminella x 2

Common Marbled Carpet x 1

Rustic Shoulder-knot x 1

Lozotaenia forsterana x 1

Ash Bud Moth x 1

Brimstone Moth x 1

Anania coronata x 1

Green Oak Tortrix

Butterflys in June..?/

 A slow year so far , but has anyone see seen Brimstone , Small Skipper , Holly or Common Blue in JUNE ....??? or any HAirstreaks..??

Any thoughts ?

One micro ?? from last night - very small - minute - 5mm 

 

Hunter Hill - 29th and North Dean/ Hollas Bridge this afternoon -30th

 Not  a lot to report on moths but will try to post later  !

We did find a Meadow Brown, Large Skipper, Red Admiral and 2 Small Tortoiseshell's in the garden yesterday. 

Also a few Ringlets on Hunter Hill and still some Small Heaths. Very few 'whites' about last few days.

This afternoon we walked down the fields from North Dean woods towards Hollas Bridge. We came across a really interesting looking field, just up from  a decent sized pond, with a good show of Meadow Brown's, and a Ringlet. 

4 Speckled Woods, 2 Ringlets, Meadow Brown and a Peacock by Hollas Bridge. 

Then we ran out of time !

Cromwell Bottom moth night

 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.

Stainland.

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

Stainland.

 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.

Comma butterfly caterpillar

Rishworth - 13th June - What a scorcher!

 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]

Silky Wainscot

Scorched Wing

Cold Edge

 Just 1 Small Tortoiseshell and 1 Small Heath id'd

Stainland. 24th and 26th June.

 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. (?)

Blastobasis lacticolella TBC

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.

Eudonia lacustrata TBC

 

26th June:

1 x Small Magpie, a lovely little moth. It's quite a nice photo, so I'm posting it. 

Small Magpie

Busy weekend

 Please see above........Also Barry's moth trapping event at Cromwell sat night

A couple of case-bearers

 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.

A note

 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.

Swales Moor (Ringby Lane) and Ogden

 Ringby Lane this morning as below plus around 25 Small Heaths

Large Skipper (x 3)

Small Tortoiseshell (x 5)

Small Tortoiseshell on Sweet Williams (in the garden)

Ogden (Back Lane)

Again a good show of Small Heaths and a couple of Small Tortoiseshell's

Silver-ground Carpet

Wall

This one played hard to get, not letting me get within 4 meters or so !

Stainland. 22nd. June 2021.

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.

Dark Arches TBC

Ovenden Moor and Luddenden

Still a good few Small Heaths along the top end of the track from the Withens towards Ogden this week. Also several Small Heaths at Cold Edge yesterday.

Luddenden this afternoon.

One Large Skipper  also a few Speckled Woods and Green-veined Whites, 2 Small Tortoiseshell and 1 each Small Heath and a Red Admiral.

Lee Mount - last week or so...

 Still very quiet here with not much at all  - but  I keep trying !

Beautiful Golden Y (21st)

Clouded-bordered Brindle (16th)

Common Marbled Carpet (18th and 2 on 21st)

Common Swift (15th and 17th)

Soil Hill and Withens Clough

Soil Hill - early evening 16th - warm and sunny - unusual conditions for that location but perfect - and quiet.

Painted Lady x 2 butterflies on the mounds just past the mast on the right

Small Tortoiseshell x 1

Withens Clough - Rudd Lane and reservoir circuit this afternoon (17th)

Large Skipper x 1

Small Copper x 1

Red Admiral x 1

Small Tortoiseshell x 1

Small Heath x 37 and counting !

Large Skipper - best I could get !

Cold Edge

Small Heath 14

Large Red damselfly 1

Ovenden Moor 15th JUne 2021.

 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.

Lee Mount - 14th /15th June

Some improvement on the 14th but this morning (15th) just one moth - Common Swift x 1

Common Swift

Coxcomb Prominent

Ruby Tiger x 2

Light-brown Apple-moth x 2

Brimstone Moth x 1

White-shouldered House-moth x 1

Clouded Silver x 1

Coxcomb Prominent x 1

Pale Tussock x 1

Elephant Hawkmoth x 1 (on the honeysuckle)

Bee Moth x 1

Middle-barred Minor x 1

Common Pug x 2

Common Carpet x 1

Freyer's Pug x 1

Unidentified Pug - melanistic

Elachista argentella x 1

Bryotropha terrella x 1 (still under consideration)