Many thanks

Thanks to all who sent in records for 2011 they are now sent off to the Yorkshire recoreder to be included in the annual report.There were some great records from Calderdale so well done. Also thanks to all who posted on the blogg and also all those who read it .All the best for the new year ahead.

Can you guess what it is yet?

After last night's frost I thought I'd take a look of three of my charges to see how they were coping. No clues as to whether anything is still alive inside but no reason to suggest otherwise. It's little wonder the camouflage is so good having to over winter in such a vulnerable position.

Not much else on the go at the moment other than a few phyllo mines on cherry.

Happy new year

So here we are again,in the quiet of winter.I am planning a trip to hardcastle Craggs tomorrow evening sat,to look for Spring Usher etc...will be there from 4.30 till 7 latest.All the best for the year ahead..........A couple of hours tree searching with torches produced nothing but 2 yellow spot ladybirds and a few spiders...Next week going up langfield common looking for anomalouse larvae..
Some Highlights of 2011 were
Devon Carpets  86 recorded at Hardcastle Craggs only a handful of yorkshire records from one other site..
Pine Carpet ,Buff Footman and Grass Rivulet first calderdale records  from Hardcastle Craggs
Southern wainscot..32 in one night
Silky wainscot....28 same night as southerns.
Golden Rod Brindle at Luddenden Village light trap
Humming Bird Hawkmoth beeding in Charlies garden
Fox Moth to light at Hardcastle Craggs along with dark form of Northern eggar,and eventually finding female Winter moths and sorting out Nov aggs at last..........This year 2012 we will be consentrating our efforts around Cromwell Bottom....Allthe best Andy

Priority Species Workshop POSTPONED

Please note this event has been POSTPONED until February. The new date will be confirmed ASAP. If you would like more information please contact Hugh Firman: hugh.firman@calderdale.gov.uk

Christine

January Priority Species workshop

Hello all,

To celebrate the new year there will be a priority species workshop on Weds 4th January at 7.15 in the Mytholmroyd Countryside Services Office (above the library). The meeting will include an update on Calderdale's Biodiversity Action Plan and small discussion groups for different species.

It will be a opportunity to discuss actions for priority species in Calderdale for the coming year with Hugh Firman and other interested parties. If you would like to come along and represent Calderdale's lepidoptera please email Hugh to express your interest: hugh.firman@calderdale.gov.uk.

We look forward to seeing you there!


Christine

Arctic Woolly Bear Moth

After our chilly conversation about Frozen Planet, while Winter moth hunting at Hardcastle Crags, I looked up the mysterious 'Woolly Bear' that David Attenborough told us about. It appears that is is the Arctic Woolly Bear Moth, Gynaephora groenlandica, found in Greenland and Northern Canada.
There seems to be some uncertainty about the length of it's freeze-thaw cycles, the estimate of 14 years that Frozen Planet went with, having been revised to 7 years by some sources. However long, it is pretty amazing, and you can still see the clip here in case you missed it.
Christine.

Charlie's back

Glad to see Charlie's blogg is back,,,,,,,,,,,,I for one have missed this great blogg.


http://charlielepidopteraofcalderdale.blogspot.com/

Winter Moths(males and females)and id request..

Hi all, yes, a fantastic night on Sunday at Hardcastle Craggs with the predominent species being Winter moth Operophtera brumata (see below)

With females as well as males being found on trunks

Also (What surely must be) a female Scarce Umber Agriopis aurantiaria. ID comments appreciated.


Pt 2 was a 1 hour session tonight at 5pm in my local woods just to the East of Hebden Bridge. Again a fine display of maybe 30 Winter moths flying and settling on trunks and twigs. 2 females also found and a Scarce umber male.
Win

Sunday Hardcastle Craggs

|Meeting at 4.15/30 in top car park for a couple of hours,,,,,

Female Winter Moth steals the show at Hardcastle Craggs Sat 19 11 11

Interesting nights mothing,  Winter Moths most of the 27 males and 1 female found by trunk searching with a few males coming to car headlights ,2 species came to actinic ie red green carpet and a small autumnal moth id on size all the others to mv light,about 3ft from base of ash tree we found these winter moths in cop the pair slowly made their way up the tree female 1st with male in-tow stopping and seperating when reaching about 5ft up the trunk,whereby the female slowly crawled upto nearly 7ft higher up and stopped on a knot on the trunk presumably laying her eggs,frustratingly out of our view.we also found a few males expanding their wings.also a few of this form of mottled umber,Bri/Andy

Acleris sparansa  x 1
Exapate congeltella  x1
Winter Moth  x  27
Mottled umber  x 6
Chestnut x1
Dark Chestnut x 1
Spruce Carpet x 1
Red Green Carpet  x 1
Autumnal Moth    x 1
Small Autumnal Moth   x 1

Craggs Saturday Night

This saturday meeting 5.15 top car park..target species   Sarce Umber , December Moth (not much chance ) and Sprawler..??(cancelled ;last week due to crap weather) All welcome...Any Records for this year asap please so I can send them to the YNU in time for next years report.....My computer has blown up this week and has caused no end of trouble..Ive lost all this years records on mapmate,hopefully I will be able to salvage some off the old hardrive but if not i will putting them in to the new year.all the best Andy

Craggs Friday Night

1041 Acleris sparsana 2

1760 Chloroclysta siterata Red-green Carpet 1
1795 Epirrita dilutata November Moth 3
1795x Epirrita dilutata agg. November Moth agg. 8
1797 Epirrita autumnata Autumnal Moth 5
1935 Erannis defoliaria Mottled Umber 4
2258 Conistra vaccinii Chestnut 7
Couple of good hours hours before the rain,

What a beauty!

The first of the Mottled Umbers emerged overnight and lo and behold it's a female.It's practically wingless as well as flightless but quite distinctive and should be easy to find by trunk hunting if they are present.Might try and assemble this one tonight.

Autumnal Moth

After finally getting to grips with the Epirrita  gen det,I managed to id 4 Autumnal moths from Hardcastle Craggs on sat night.If any one catches any in the next week or so can the keep them for me.

Harlequin Ladybird - EGP

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/186782-a-spot-of-bother-in-the-ladybird-worldHad a Harlequin Ladybird in the car park at Cromwell Bottom this afternoon.
I didn't i.d. it until I got home and had a quick google on tinterweb. Apparently, they are an invasive alien species new to Britain and even bite people.....allegedly.

The following link is for an article in t'metro.
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/186782-a-spot-of-bother-in-the-ladybird-world 

Craggs sat night

                                               Northern Winter Moth....


1026 Exapate congelatella 1
1760 Chloroclysta siterata Red-green Carpet 11
1764 Chloroclysta truncata Common Marbled Carpet 1
1795x Epirrita dilutata agg. November Moth agg. 12
1798 Epirrita filigrammaria Small Autumnal Moth 3
1799 Operophtera brumata Winter Moth 4
1800 Operophtera fagata Northern Winter Moth 9
1923 Colotois pennaria Feathered Thorn 3
1935 Erannis defoliaria Mottled Umber 7
2256 Eupsilia transversa Satellite 1
2258 Conistra vaccinii Chestnut 10
2262 Agrochola circellaris Brick 2
A realy good night despite the weather plenty of moths still about , torrential rain at 9 stopped us.

A couple of flightless winter moths - sort of....

At last a female Northern Winter Moth has emerged today,albeit looking a bit bedraggled after emergence.No worries about her flying off during the photography session.

Also this other, quite different moth emerged today - any ideas anyone? Should have labelled the pots :-)

Just waiting for the Mottled Umbers now.

All the larvae were collected from Silver Birch in N.Dean wood in late Apr./early May. Northern Winter Moth was one of the most common surprisingly.

Dark Chestnut

Ive never recorded Dark Chestnut locally and records suggest it is not common in Calderdale.This is the closest Ive seen what does anyboby else reckon.???,Also last night Yellow Line Quaker,Barred Sallow,Spruce Carpet,Red Green Carpet,Silver Y, 4 Exapate congellatella and Acleris Sparana



SaturDAY  NIGHT GOING TO RUN TRAP AT HOLLINS HALL FOR A FEW HOURS 6.30 ONWARDS ALL WELCOME

Carpet type

Took me a while to sort this one out.??What does anyone think.??

The Many faces of Mottled Umber 2