Lee Mount

 Nothing doing yet here at all this New Year - we live in hope !

Three micros from last year (with help from CS and CF)

Bucculatrix ulmella (14th Aug 22)

Caloptilia rufipennella (20th Aug 22)

Ypsolopha sylvella (21st Sept 22)

2022 AND INTO 2023

  2022 was again an excellent year with record temps and again more new species for Calderdale. Obscure Wainscot , Scarce Footman , Scarlet Tiger ( no one had that on there list of maybe's) , Heath Rivulet  and Vines Rustic.   Small Mottled Willow , Red Necked Footman , Box Moth and many more. HNY and here's to 2023....who knows what will turn up next..??????

Lee Mount !

Nothing doing at all here in December other than indoors a single Twenty-plume Moth on 4th. With the weather as it is, it's not looking hopeful for any moths just yet though I keep hoping for December Moth (don't think they like our area !)

Lee Mount - 27th and 28th October

Very mild last night but plenty of rain. This was a new one for here , well first time I've recognized this micro though it has quite a distinct shape.

Exapate congelatella (10mm)

The weather still produced just a few moths for this morning.

Tachystola acroxantha x 1

November Moth agg x 2

Feathered Thorn x 1

Brick x 1

Sallow sp ? x 1 (still to confirm)

2 shots of suspected Sallow sp. - looks quite faded at 15mm -any thoughts ?

Confirmed as Scarce Bordered Straw (thanks to AC CF and DIC)

Also later in the day singles of...

Mottled Umber and a Red-green Carpet

Lee Mount

 Last few days - not a lot..........though November Moth agg up to 3 most nights

Silver Y x 1 (18th) and a Feathered Thorn

Lesser Yellow Underwing (22nd) looked freshly emerged ! 

24th Oct

Shuttle-shaped Dart x 1 - seemed quite late for this sp.

Tachystola acroxantha x 2

Light-brown Apple-moth x 2

26th October

Mottled Umber x 1

Common Marbled Carpet x 1

Lee Mount - 18th October

Just a single Feathered Thorn this morning and a Red-green Carpet still from yesterday.

A Streak just turned up fluttering around the light trap, a first for here, Hopefully a photo if it complies !

Streak - best angle I could get so far

Speckled Wood in Luddenden this afternoon.

Shibden Valley

Red Admiral 1 

Lee Mount - 17th October

Just a few moths on and around the trap this morning

Red-green Carpet x 2

Light-brown Apple-moth x 2

Ypsolopha sequella x 1 (stunning little micros)

Large Yellow Underwing x 1

November Moth agg x 1

Yellow-line Quaker x 1

October Butterflies

Small White.... 13th Holly Blue...13th Comma ...15th Red Admiral .....14th Small Tortoiseshell ....13th Peacock........13th Speckled Wood ...13th Wall Brown .......11th

Red Admirals

Three Red Admirals seen yesterday in different locations and one at Mixenden reservoir on 10th. Will be on the lookout for more if we get some sunny days !

Have been trying for Haworth's Minors but no luck as yet - hardly any ragwort in flower on the uplands !

Lee Mount - 6th October

I went out into the garden just after dark - 3 moths buzzing around the Erysimum and Verbena bonariensis looking like Hummingbirds Hawkmoths - too small. 

Indoors for the camera and managed to get a single shot of one on the Verbena, wings always in motion. I came to the conclusion they were probably Silver Y's but they didn't seem to like the torch, or my presence ! I couldn't re-find them though I tried shortly afterwards but the wind had also increased so might try again tomorrow night - unless they end up in the trap in the morning !

Still a Red Admiral around the garden late morning.

Lee Mount - 3rd and 4th October

 A little milder last night(3rd) produced just a few !

.

November Moth agg x 1

Lunar Underwing x 1

Common Marbled Carpet x 3

Red-green Carpet x 1

Light-brown Apple-moth x 4

Tachystola acroxantha x 2

Red Admiral and 2 Speckled Woods late morning of 3rd.

4th Oct

Acleris sparsana x 2

November Moth agg x 4

Snout x 1 (was my latest ever though it was fading)

Black Rustic x 1

Lesser Yellow Underwing x 1

Large Yellow Underwing x 3

Pug sp unidentified

Beacon Hill Road

Red Admiral 1

 

Lee Mount - 1st October

 One Red Admiral still on the Buddleia across mid-day.

29th September

Where has this month gone !!

Lee Mount - One each Red Admiral and a Comma on Erysimum still - but they stayed only briefly.

Suspicion, in sunny spells,  of a Vapourer moth this morning, at home, and another disturbed in an herbaceous border near Ogden this afternoon. Both really brown and both flew rapidly straight up and into the canopy though I can't be 100% sure that was what they were. Both fleeting glimpses and I couldn't re-locate either of them - so they hace to remain as 'might have been's.

A couple of Speckled Woods at Ogden this afternoon - looking a bit faded now.

Black Rustic in the  trap yesterday morning and a single large Yellow Underwing.

Cold Edge

 Speckled Wood 1

Fox Moth ....

 I counted 107 Fox Moth cats yesterday in one area of heather moorland up near top Walshaw  and 24 in another area near Widdop rocks........\They seem to like the top stems of heather and stand out from a distance when you get your eye in................

Lee Mount - 24th September

 I didn't expect one of these just yet - then had to check as it is quite unusually marked.

Feathered Thorn

Lunar Underwing x 1

Large Yellow Underwing x 3

Painted Lady from yesterday was still around the garden this morning.

Cold Edge

An angled shot of the Common Darter, in the same spot as yesterday. It shows the 2 yellow patches on the side of the thorax.

And 1 of 3 Black Darters.

Cold Edge

 Common Darter

Last couple of Nights 19th and 20th September

 Red Green Carpet x 1

Autumn Green Carpet x 1

Shuttle Shaped Dart x 2

Common MArbled Carpet x 4

Large YU x 31

Burnished Brass x 1

Oak Hook Tip x 1

Lunar Underwing x 11

Garden Rose Tortrix x 3

LBAM x 4 

Barred Sallow x 1

Pink Barred Sallow x 1

Currant Pug x 1

Small Dusty Wave x 1

Green Carpet x 1

Spruce Carpet x 2

Copper Underwing agg x 3

Black Rustic x 4

Angle Shades x 2

Brown Spot Pinion x 4

Lesser yellow Underwing x 1

Canary Shouldered Thorn x 1 

Lee Mount - 21st September

 Not a lot overnight.

One each Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing and Acleris sparsana along with this one below.

Lunar Underwing

Just eight records of this species here - all in September

Lee Mount etc - 20th September

 Brown-spot Pinion this morning (only 4th record for here - all in September)

Elsewhere - Plenty of Red Admirals and 1 Comma about still. At home and Red Admirals even in town centre areas where Buddleias are growing by the roadside. 

Lee Mount - 19th September

 Not a lot doing other than 4 Red Admirals at the same time and 1 Comma on both Erysimum and Sedum over the last few days.

This mornings trap

Black Rustic x 1 was the best

Large Yellow Underwing x 10

Lesser Yellow Underwing x 1

Light-brown Apple-moth x 1

Copper Underwing agg x 2

 

Black Rustic (very black but I've lightened it up a bit to show the markings better)

Also this afternoon a Hummingbird Hawk-moth briefly on Verbena and the last few flowers on a Buddleia but it was away before I got the camera to it.

Beacon Hill Road

Red Admiral 2, Painted Lady 1

Lee Mount - last few days

Not much doing at all recently though evenings have still been fairly mild the rain seems to have slowed things down here.

Best on 11th  was this smart looking Spruce Carpet

Large Yellow Underwing x 8

Copper Underwing agg x 1

Garden Carpet x 1

Tachystola acroxantha x 1

Not many butterflies about home other than a few Speckled Woods and a Red Admiral yesterday.

Lee Mount...

 Been puzzling this one from 2nd September. Looking in the wrong direction - at Pyrausta sp. and then tonight 'the penny dropped'

Gold Triangle

Before the rain set in last night 4th September I found this one on a window ledge.

Canary-shouldered Thorn

Lee Mount - 3rd September

Decided not to put the trap on last night till the 'hangers on' from the last few days have cleared. Found this one on the kitchen window late on. Second one on the last few days, this time intact after the last one was 'spidered' .

Blood-vein (second ever record for here)

Lee Mount - 2nd September

 Started off the morning with a new one for me in Calderdale - a Blood-vein -then I saw the spider clinging to it and the body parts just about gone. What a shame for such a beautiful moth, long awaited here for me !

The rest of the catch was intact including....

One each of Setaceous Hebrew Character, Garden Carpet, Marbled Beauty, Mouse Moth.

Still plenty Large Yellow Underwings with 35 along with 2 Lessers and 2 Lesser Broad-bordered plus a few other expected species and a Pyrausta sp. I am still trying to sort !

 

Luddenden last night 28082022

Another Vine's Rustic here plus this beauty below which I can't make my mind up about, is it a Crescent or Ear Moth spp? I've seen a lot of Ear Moths including 17 here but they have never looked like this, a large moth at 17mm. Any ideas, I've still got it if anyone wants to see it

also a good autumn for Blood-vein (none in spring) but seven in the last two weeks

Vine's Rustic

Ear Moth?

Neglected Rustic - red form 23082022

Vines Rustic ..?

After Daves first Vines Rustic on the 18th August , Anthony had one on the 28th and I recorded SIX last night...Any other records of this speceis..?? Its certainly moving in...!!!

Lee Mount - 27th August

 Eighteen species with two 'specials' for here.

After a mis-identification..... carelessness I guess, I had a prompt from Charlie of my WhatsApp photo which I assumed was a Autumn Green Carpet. Correction made....

Yellow-barred Brindle

Another nice moth below which is a 1st for me.

Dusky Thorn

Also 72 other moths included a Mouse Moth, Flounced Rustic, Riband Wave and a Double-striped Pug as well as 45 Large Yellow Underwings !

Beacon Hill Road

 Red Admiral 7

Castle Carrr Road etc.

Castle Carr Road his afternoon - Small Tortoiseshell x 3, Painted Lady x 2, Wall Brown x 2, Red Admiral x 2, Small Copper x 1, Large White x 1.

Comma at home on Sedum and Buddleia.

Wall Brown x 5 above Cold Edge and Withens Head area.

Lee Mount - 26th August

 Just one new moth this morning.

Angle-striped Sallow

Ogden Water

This afternoon - two Buddleias down at 'Bogart Brig'. At least 15 Red Admirals, we counted them several times....never seen so many close together before !! Just one other butterfly with them - a Small Tortoiseshell.

At the rear of the reservoir cottage a very nice  bit of heath-land with flowering heather the main attraction for a single Common Blue, Small Skipper looking pretty worn, 3 Small Coppers, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell.

Lee Mount - 25th August

It's been fairly quiet the last few days - much better this morning with these below the 'pick of the bunch'. A sense of autumn coming on !

Centre-barred Sallow

 

Least Yellow Underwing

Mother of Pearl

Ypsolopha parenthesella

Around and about.

Holly Blue still around the garden this afternoon but not a lot else.

Cold Edge and Hunter Hill produced 6 Wall Browns between them. Also at Cold Edge a few Red Admirals, Small Coppers, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacocks with just one Small Skipper on a creeping thistle head. 

Stainland.

Life is running away with me just now. (For a change.) As David forecast, I have more catching up of moth reports to do. I'm going to put the first four dates in this post.

8 Aug 2022

2 x Marbled Beauty
1 x Dark Arches
1 x Blastobasis adustella
1 x Blastobasis lacticolella
1 x Epagoge grotiana
1 x Brown House Moth
1 x Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
1 x Lozotaenia forsterana

This is only the second Dark Arches I've ever seen. Lovely markings.

Dark Arches

Updated ID below, thanks to Charlie.

Light Brown Apple, female

Yet another common moth which I've only seen once before.

Lozotaenia forsterana

 9 Aug 2022 

 2 x Marbled Beauty 

1 x Small Phoenix 

1 x Lesser Broad-bordered Underwing 

1 x Udea prunalis

10 Aug. 2022

6 x Blastobasis lacticolella 

1 x Blastobasis adustella 

1 x Marbled Beauty 

1 x Brown House Moth 

1 x Common Footman 

1 x Riband Wave


11 Aug 2022 

2 x Riband Wave 

2 x Blastobasis adustella 

2 x Blastobasis lacticolella 

2 x Brown House Moths (mating)

1 x Eudonia (ID) |

1 x Plain mid size ID

More to follow. However, we are off to Whitby Folk festival on Saturday. I'm not sure how much free time I'll have before we go. It's three years since I gave a public performance. I'm looking forward to it, I've packed all my instruments. I'll be doing plenty of gigs in the coming week. It's very tiring when you do three in a day, but rewarding and lots of fun.

Lee Mount - 18th August

 Just a suspicion of a Vine's Rustic (13mm) this morning in the trap. Also sent to CF for his thoughts. These are the best I could get before it escaped. Quite a grey moth though the photos show more brown.

CF confirmed - Vine's Rustic

Also below, another good one for here as I only ever had one previously. A really nice moth.

Purple Bar

Lee Mount - 15th August

 A new one for this site this morning. 

The only ones I've seen previously were 3  in Hardcastle Crags on 19th Aug 2017 with AC BL CD along with NP the then NT Warden at the site.

Barred Hook-tip

Not a lot else - Square-spot Rustic x 4, Marbled Beauty x 2, Large Yellow Underwing x 15, Agriphila tristella x 8  and one each - Common Carpet, Dark Arches, Small Phoenix, Flounced Rustic.

Beacon Hill

Male Wall. Thomas and Lewington say that males typically live for just 3 days; and their description of the butterfly's courtship is quite something!

Lee Mount - 14th August

This micro was a real challenge trying to get any sort of decent photo of such a small moth - barely 4mm. 

Pretty sure it's Bucculatrix (maybe ulmella or thoracella)) though I think gen det is required to confirm identification either way. It's gone now though how anyone manages to gen det such a small moth I have no idea (Charlie will know)!