A few more

Collinson's Collection

Many thanks to Steve Blacksmith for helping me , to finally get to see this magnificent collection. More to follow...

Only house wood 10/11/18 (5 - 6)

Winter Moth x 127
           female x 5
Scarce Umber x 6
Chestnut         x 1
Blasto Lacto   x 2

11/11/18 (5 - 6)

Winter Moth x 153
           female x 2
Northern Winter Moth x 2
Scarce Umber x 6
Mottled Umber x 5

                                            Winter Moth in cop

                                                Mottled Umber ..melanic

Only Hose Wood 7/11/18

                                                               Scarce Umber

                                                             Scarce Umber

                                                    Winter Moth inflating wings

                                                         Male and female winter moths incop

                                                          Scarce Umber

                                                            Blastobasis lacticolella
Winter moth x 30 +
Scarce Umber x 7
Blastobasis lacticolella x 1





 Bare Head Tunnel at lunch time 

Herald x 11
Small Tortoiseshell x 4 (Hibernating)
Peacock x 2 (Hibernating)

8th November.....5.00 - 6.00

Winter Moth male x 23 female x 2
Blastobasis lacticolella x 1
Barred Sallow x 1

Lee Mount - 6th Nov

Not a bad start to the day...
Mottled Umber x 7 including a very black one - all attracted to light but none in the trap, preferring the fence !
Blair's Shoulder-Knot x 1
Tachystola acroxantha x 1
Red-line Quaker x 1
Silver Y x 2 in the trap
Feathered Thorn x 1

Eventually managed to get around to these images from this morning....

 Feathered Thorn

 

 Mottled Umber  - they are so variable !

 

 Red-line Quaker

 

Mottled Umber - another very variable one, so dark, though the shape seems to suggest Mottled Umber though I still need to get to grips with Scarce Umber !

Only House Wood

Had half an hour just after dusk tree searching....

4th November (6 -6.30)
Scarce Umber x 1
Mottled Umber x 2
Winter Moth x 5
Agonopterix sp x 1


November 5th (6.30 - 7.0)

Winter Moth x 11
Scarce Umber x 2

November 6th  (7.00 - 7.30)

Winter Moth x 5
Blastobasis lacticolella x 1

Stainland.

Back again, you can't get rid of me so easily. I forgot to say that in a few hours, I will be putting a new post on my blog. It is a selection of what I think, are my best Natural History macro photos, taken over the last three years.

For anyone interested, please wait for about 4-5 hours after reading this. I need to add some text to the images. Unless, of course, any wants a browse around the site anyway. I mounted a new post in Late September. All welcome, tell your friends.

http://gordonartphotoand3dsci-fi.blogspot.co.uk/

Stainland.

I found the following moth, (Blastobasis lacticolella) on the door, it was 10:30 p.m. on Friday. I've not been in a position to post it before now. I was very surprised to find a moth at all with the rain, wind and cold in the village at the time. It's hardier than it size suggests.

Blastobasis lacticolella.

This will be my last post for a week or two, (I can hear the sighs of relief). I'm going into hospital for the knee operation tomorrow, at 8 am. Goodbye cruel world. *smile*

Northern Winter Moth

Photographed this male at Pixie Wood/Sphagnum Bog at Cromwell Bottom yesterday. Always nice to see any moths at this time of year. Just wish all the fungi were as easy to ID :-(

Stainland.

After the doom and gloom post here, (sorry) I thought I'd better express myself in the way I generally am:

Some people choose to see the ugliness in this world, the disarray. I choose to see the beauty.

World Wildlife population dropped by ahd 60% since 1970.

I thought some people here may like to see this. If all the insects were wiped out, the human race would die off, never mind ALL wildlife. It's hard to know what to do as individuals. 

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/global-wildlife-has-plummeted-by-staggering-60-since-1970-charitys-worrying-report-reveals-a3975091.html

28th October 2018

Had 9 Small Coppers today still feeding on Ragwort and 1 Silver Y on a wall at Dean Clough Mills...Will the Small Coppers make it till  November............

Ogden moths

Two moths at the door light on Monday morning. Have been scrratching my head to ID them so any help would be grateful - I think it might be becuse I have not looked for moths for a few weeks now.

Gosport Clough - Stainland

One obliging Halifax Scientific Society member found this Barred Sallow for me resting in the leaf litter. My first chance to photograph this species :-)

Three Scarlet Caterpillar Clubs (Cordyceps militaris) were found - I excavated this one to reveal it's host - a moth larva.

Also two Lichen Case-bearers (Dahlica lichenella) were found quite a distance from their usual haunts, is there no end to the colony's size?

Stainland.

One Mottled Umber on the door this morning. It's only the second one I've seen. My first one was banded in brown and cream, this couldn't be more different. I never cease to be surprised by the diversity of markings in the same species. It's really good to have examples different markings of the same moth.

Mottled Umber.

Square Chaple Cafe

Seem to be everywhere
...Thanks for the photo ..Pete Smith

More Small Coppers

In the strong cool wind Small Coppers were hard to find initially.With there wings closed and hiding in the ragwort flower heads, Until I got my eye in and the sun cam out then they seemed to be everywhere and I found 16 and 1 Small White.

Large Midget in Snowberry

I found seven mines of Phyllonorycter emberizaepenella at Cromwell Bottom last Tuesday (16th) feeding in Snowberry. It's not straight forward separating them from the Honeysuckle Midget (P. trifasciella), both of which will use Honeysuckle as well. However, prior to pupating the Large Midget larva spins a rugby ball shaped cocoon which is olive green when fresh (see below) whereas the Honeysuckle Midget doesn't spin a recognisable cocoon.

I also have a couple of mines on my spindly little Honeysuckle bush at home which look more like Trifasciella so I'll have to keep an eye on those. 

Castle Carr Road

We decided to have a walk on Castle Carr Road from Wainstalls to the 'Top Lodge' with a few meanderings on the way.What a lovely afternoon to be out with warm wall to wall sunshine.
Butterfly's to the fore....
Starting off with a Comma landing on the car windscreen as we parked up.
Then we started finding Small Coppers along the roadside verges and then further on in the fields alongside the gravel track past Upper Green Edge Farm. The afternoon got even better as we found more butterfly's on the last remnants of Ragwort and Hawkbit's (?? low growing like dandelions with bright yellow flowers) freshly flowering in the close cropped pasture and then at the end of Castle Carr Road, a clump of Ivy with it's flowers just 'buzzing' with insects.
Totals.....
Comma x 1
Small Copper x 35
Peacock x 1
Red Admiral x 2
Small Tortoiseshell x 1
Green-veined White x 1
Silver Y x 2

 Small Copper

 Peacock

 Red Admiral

Small Copper's on ragwort

A field trip to Cromwell Bottom, Oct 16th

https://cromwellbottom.blogspot.com/2018/10/leaf-mines-from-oct16th.html