Swales Moor

An interesting hour or so late morning along Ringby Lane. Mainly overcast with a few spells of short sunshine. Quite windy but warm in a few sheltered spots.

Small Heath x 2 but both were camera shy !

Large Skipper x 3 of (upper and underside)

Meadow Brown x 1

Mother Shipton x 1

Wall x 2 of 

At home the light trap only produced one Pug species as yet unidentified.

MOTH BREAKFAST AT PEACHY STEVE'S

There will be one (possibly two) traps run at Steve's Mirey Wall farm near Sowerby this Friday night.

The traps will be inspected on Saturday morning 18th June at 8.00am.
So if anyone would like to come along and help ID some moths 😊 please leave a message or we may start without you.
It won't be a lengthy process as there is a HSS walk planned for 10.00am.
Last July I saw 7 new species so the site has potential!

Ogden

This morning I was hoping conditions would be right to find some Mother Shiptons' along the side of the golf course where I've had them before. Not  a sign - just too windy apart from 3 Silver-ground Carpets and two Common Heath in a sheltered spot. Also another Wall butterfly resting on a dusty track - but no other butterflies either.

At home - still really poor here with just two overnight moths - Heart and Dart x 1 and a Tachystola acroxantha x 1.

Norcliffe Lane

Speckled Wood 2,  Orange Tip 1 male

June so far in Luddenden 

Its been steady in Luddenden this month with reasonable amounts of Moths nightly, highlights were another Pale Prominent on the 5th and these two last night

Alder Moth - 1st record here

                                            

                                                           Beautiful Snout- 8th record here

plus all the usual suspects for this time of year

Lee Mount - 9th June

I can't get to grips with this one from yesterday - any thoughts ?

Nearest I can get is Dusky Brocade..........

Stainland.

 Two moths;

1 x Currant Pug

1 x Garden Carpet

Currant Pug

Garden Carpet

Swales Moor etc 8th June

 Ringby Lane - at least 4 Wall butterflies this morning and a single Painted Lady on the top.

Another Wall at Withens Clough Reservoir this afternoon was the only butterfly. 

Stainland.

Two moths today, one from our doorway, the second one, on Carr Hall Lane this afternoon. (Shown In order of apperance.)

Common Garden Carpet

Silver Ground Carpet

Beacon Hill

Brimstone moth

 

Swales Moor area 3rd June

Early evening - very warm and sunny along Bradford Old Road towards Claremount. We immediately started coming across Wall butterflies along the roadside walls, obviously the stone was very warm after the heat of the day. Unprecedented, Walls are usually quite scarce around Calderdale but this area is usually quite good for them.

Wall x 10 including pairs spiralling, territoriality or pairing.

Painted Lady x 1 resting along a dusty track

Small Tortoiseshell x 5 including a pair copulating

Photos taken on the phone but they didn't come out well in the bright sunlight.

Ringby Lane moths ! - 2nd June

Three day flying moths puzzled me.

30+ Common Heaths around the heather/bilberry west slope were a bit easier to identify !.

Small Yellow Underwing - thanks Andy - a new one for me !

I think this is on the seed head of a Plantain

Grapholita lunulana 

And this one below gave me the runaround, a blighter to get decent photos but good enough - Marsh Pug - also checked with CF . Thanks Charlie.

Swales Moor - Ringby Lane - 2nd June

 A really nice warm sunny morning to start with up there.

I was surprised with the number of Wall butterfly's amounting to 23 sightings with a count estimate of at least 9 individuals along the length of the lane and in and around the top field.

Also seen Small Tortoiseshell x 3, Peacock x 2, Small Copper x 2, Small Heath x 1 and 2 unidentified 'whites'.

Another Wall was also found along Castle Carr Road this afternoon but no sign of any Green Hairstreaks in the usual places.

Just one moth in the trap this morning

Campion

Ogden (Lower Brockholes and Hebble Brook)

Not  a bad morning for butterflies and just a few day-flying moths. A little more sunshine would have helped but it was warmer than of late.

Red Admiral x 1 (on Ragged Robin)

Small Heath x 1 (on the heath-land lower end of golf course)

Green Hairstreak x 1

Orange-tip x 12...

Green-veined White x 6

Large White x 1

Small White x 4

Several 'whites' unidentified.

Small Heath

Moths

Common Heath x 10+

Nettle-tap - numerous on the nettles

Silver -ground Carpet x 2

Stainland.

I had a nice surpise this morning. Inside the hall was a Cinnabar moth. I found one last year at Hollins, I only got poor photos. Today I got a good shot, before releasing it outside.

Total moths for today.

1 x Blastobasis lacticolella  (poor photo)

1 x Brimstone (Perhaps the same one as on the 30th of May, it's impossible to tell.)

1 x Cinnabar

Cinnabar

Lee Mount

 Still quiet this last week or so and not a lot to report at all.

This is the best.......yesterday morning 30th May

Green Silver-lines

Also recently...................

V-Pug x 1

Cabbage Moth x 1

Spectacle x 2

Brimstone Moth x 1

Common Swift x 1

Scalloped Hazel x 1

Garden Carpet x 1

Common White Wave x 1 (22nd)

Heart and Dart x 1 (20th)

Hopefully get some warmer nights later this week ...!

Stainland.

 Three moths this morning. 

 1 x Brimstone (My first this year.)

 1 x Foxglove Pug

1 x Small Phoenix (I've had a few of these this year already.  I've  had both forms; one with the central dark band broken with two brown and white lines. The other where the dark band is not broken.)

I can't tell if the Foxglove Pug is the same as yesterday'sor not. Yesterday's was such a poor photo. It's nice to have a good shot of one.

 

 

Brimstone

Foxglove Pug

 

Small Phoenix

 

 

Stainland.

 25th May and 29th May.

25th May

ID updated 10th June 2020

Currant Pug

29th May.

1 x Common Marbled Garden Carpet

1 x Foxglove Pug

The Pug was moving it's wings when I found it in the sunlight. I knew it was about to fly, so I grabbed a quick shot. It flew off and I have one blurred photo. It isn't good enough to show, unless anyone wants to look at it. However, Colin taught me that it's always good to have a record. 

Common Marbled Garden Carpet

Stainland.

 23rd May. 2022.

A nice surprise for me;

2 x Light Brown Apple

1 x Small Phoenix

1 x Garden Carpet (My first this year)

1 x Green Carpet (The best of the lot. It must be very fresh, it has a lovely, vibrant colour.)

 

 Garden Carpet

 

Green Carpet

 

 

 

Wood Tiger Cat.....

                                                           Wood Tiger

                                                                Wood Tiger

                                                              Green Hairstreak

                                                                  Northern Eggar

 This week in Luddenden

still pretty quiet here with few Moths nightly, however I've had some real beauties

Muslin Moth 18th May 2022 - a new species for me

Pale Prominent 19th May 2022 - a new species for me

Yellow-barred Brindle  15th May 2022 - third record here

others this week included

Buff Ermine

White Ermine

Scalloped Hazel

Poplar Hawkmoth

Pale Tussock

Knot Grass

White-spotted Pug

 

 

Stainland.

Last night was very quiet.

 

1 x Twenty Plume

2 x Light Brown  Apple.

Lee Mount - 19th May

One good moth this morning plus one that I suspect is beyond recognition though it did have a fairly distinctive shape. 

Also Small Phoenix x 1 

Alder Moth only ever had one of these before

A struggle with this one despite the shape ! Think it's just pretty well faded ?

Various !

 Still not doing well for moths here in Lee Mount. Just one moth this morning - but it was  a good one.

Spectacle

 

Later in the day spent some time at Ogden / Ovenden Moor and later on along Castle Carr Road.

A good do with butterflies all round - it was warm / hot at times today.

Red Admiral x 1, Green Hairstreaks x 10, Wall x 1, Small Coppers x 4, Speckled Wood x 4 along with a decent show of Orange-tips, Green-veined Whites and Small Tortoiseshells and just a few Small Whites.

On Ovenden Moor plenty Common Heaths included two in cop' and 2 more on Castle Carr Road. Paul B also got a nice shot of a male Common Heath showing the feathery antennae very well.

Common Heath male (thanks PB)

Red Admiral

Small Copper

Walshaw Dean

 Masses of Common Heath on the wing this morning..500 + , Green Hairstreaks 50 + and Oak Eggar Cats 20 + ..the top cat is a Oak Eggar that had been stung by parasitic wasp.....!!!