Ghost moth update

It looks like 40mm+ to me,?? most books and  web sites quote 'when fully grown 28 - 32mm.I wonder if this is a female .?
1.Eggs collected from pair in cop 7th june 2011
2.When laid the eggs were white and turned black within 24 hours
3.4th- 21st  Julyeggs hatched
4.larvae start off clear with pale heads soon turning to white with orange heads after 10 days.
5 After 10- 12 days larvae are about 8/10mm
6.larve feed on the roots of young dandilion
7.By late September only 4 larvae left at 20mm
8.The four soon became 2 as we approached late September
9.the 2 stayed deep in the soil until April 2012( still 20mm) when they were observed feeding in new growth dandilion roots
10.21st august 2012 one larvae left at 40mm and feeding well...

Craggs Sat night

A hot and humid night ,2 Devon Carpets , 1  Buff Footman,2 Lempke's Gold Spot ,and 2 Dark Marbled CarpetsStill a few micros to sort.

Moth for identifying

This moth came into our house the other evening. Can someone name it? Side on it looked like a small bat!

Also a photo of female Broad Bodied Chaser at Sunnybank, Tod

Philip

Hardcastle Craggs

Will be running trap at hardcastle craggs top car park by the picnic table this sat night from 9ish all welcome.....Target is DEVON CARPET we should get a few with a bit of luck ,this is the best chance to see this species in Yorkshire......................................

Cromwell Bottom Moth Night

Sat 25th  August  weather permitting more details to follow...all welcome

The Olive

Old bird nest

A friend of mine has just cleaned out a nestbox used by Great Tits and mindful of the fact we offered the old nests from the Crags boxes on here for moth IDs has left it with me, does anyone want it?

Orange Swift dark form

Mega Midgley Moths!

OK perhaps not mega but two are new for us up here, Drinker and Buff Arches and the Scarce Silver Y we've only had the odd time.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth Todmorden 27 07 12

Hummingbird Hawkmoth seen nectaring on Honeysuckle in her Todmorden Garden on 27 07 12 Portia.

Bird Dropping That Wasnt !

Thought this Ash Bud Moth was a Bird Dropping at first till i looked a bit closer ! another nice easy one to identify with the aid of the latest Micro Moth Book.

Gothic,Garden pebble,Bee Moth and Red barred tortrix

Antler feeding on Thistle

                                                      Antler moth on Ragwort

Narrow Borderd 5 spot Burnet moth

Loads of antler moths feeding on thistle and ragwort  today at Rishworth in the sunshine

Moth for naming

I disturbed this moth today at the base of meadow grasses, Sunnybank, Tod. I would be pleased to have it identified (not that I can identify moths but this one I haven't seen  before).
Thanks
Philip

Sun Wood, Shelf

Out today looking at Sun Wood in Shelf in terms of future management. Lots of Speckled Woodand Meadow Browns, but the highlight was a Purple Hairstreak on a medium sized oak near the bridge.

Last night

Riband Wave top and Plain wave below  shows  lack of a kink in the outer line,and  has dashes along the wing edge rather than the dots and dashes of Riband Wave

                                        Small yellow wave new for the garden

A cracking night at long last at Northowram , any one like to guess at this lot above...

Carpet - it's a Large Twin-spot. The bulge on the outer edge of the dark fascia

is diagnostic. I find supplementary plate A in the new edition of Skinner to be
really useful here.Thanks Charlie F
 This is the first time this species has been recorded in Calderdale and as soon as I saw it on the Garage window , I had an idea what it was good to get confirmation.



 .

Gorse Pupa Emergance

This beauty emerged from one of the Pupae inside the Gorse Seedpods on 07 07 12,was half expecting a Parasitic Wasp,so what a suprise when this Red-barred Tortrix 1010 Ditula angustiorana emerged,i could see the Pupa darkening so i lightly sprayed it with a bit of water and almost immediately out it popped,i struggled at first on the side on view,but as soon as i saw it from above it was straight forward to id.regards Bri.

More Cromwell Bottom!

I reckon I've finally nailed this one down as Acleris Hastiana. It's a dead ringer for the pic on the Hants moth site complete with two pairs of scale tufts.A common sallow feeding species.

More Cromwell Bottom

A few more from last night at Cromwell Bottom,top Acleris forsskalena a common and beautiful micro,and one of 2 Dingy Shears a uncommon moth in Calderdale.an excellent night. 

Cromwell Bottom micros.

The micros I took home to ID were as follows:

2x 518 Coleophora teifolii

2x 1201 Eucosma cana

2x 640 Batia lunaris

1x Scoparia ambigualis

1x Cydia splendana

1x Bryotropha affinis

1x Batrachedra praeangusta

Plus two to ID.

The mystery micro/caddisfly netted beforehand was indeed a caddisfly.

An enjoyable, calm, warm night with loads of moths and no mossies or midges.

Batia lunaris - forewing 5mm.

Coleophora trifolii - showing the thickly scaled base to the antennae.

Cydia splendana - all three micros new to me plus umpteen new macros.