Barry's Cromwell Moth Night is Back...yipeeeeeeeeeeee

This Saturday night 8th May,,,9 onwards all welcome ..if anybody need a lift give me a shout...or leave a message......lets hope its not freezing or raining..... :::: )))))))

Emperor Moths and an Enquiry about running moth nights at Cromwell Bottom Local Nature Reserve

I was contacted recently by Anthony Arak who is about my age and was a member of the Halifax Scientific Society as a teenager, long before I joined. He has or has had a career in Ecology. I knew his name because his project, along with another teenage member, to reintroduce Emperor Moths onto Norland Moor in the 1960s is written about by Clifford Lees in one of our publications, ("The Natural History of Norland Moor.")

He refound the HSS via me on Facebook. What luck he did that when we are still called HSS! (I hope we always are.)

He has been introducing us to the delights the Emperor Moth as I told him we had never seen one, only the caterpillars. So now we've seen them on Wadsworth Moor (above Hebden Bridge,) Whirlaw Common (above Todmorden,) and Stiperden Moor (above the Long Causeway - the Burnley Old Rd -  above Todmorden.) We used an artificial pheremone lure briefly. It is very effective! If the weather is warm enough and there is a light breeze the males, which are day fliers, arrive very quickly! Now we just have to be lucky and find a female, as they sit still, pumping out their pheremone, and wait for the males to arrive. (Moth folk will know all about this - I originally wrote this for the general Halifax Scientific Society blog.)

Anthony would like to resume his great interest in moths. He has asked me by email if he needs permission to run moth evenings at Cromwell Bottom. I've said I will put him in touch with the various people already involved in this.

He says he would like to try, apart from a light trap, sugaring, wine ropes and "mad moth netting by torchlight."

I have mentioned the CBWG enthusiasts who already do moth nights. Is Robin Dalton still involved for the Council? I was going to ask about how Graham Haigh is but just remembered I might be able to find out on Facebook.

Lee Mount

Nothing much doing at all these last few days - still cold !

Hebrew Character x 2

Common Quaker x 2

Brown House-moth x 1

High Royd this afternoon

1 male Orange-tip

1 Small Tortoiseshell

Both of them on Dandelions

Lee Mount - last few days

 Still pretty quiet with the recent cold nights

23rd - Angle Shades caterpillar (I think ?) retrieved from the plastic door frame. No idea where that came from so put it safely back in the nearby vegetation

24th Twin-spotted Quaker x 1

Common Quaker x 1

White-shouldered House-moth x 1

26th / 27th- 

Agonopterix heracliana x 1

Common Quaker x 1

Dyseriocarnia subpurpurella x 1

Garden Carpet x 1 (that was a bit unexpected)

Garden Carpet

Dyseriocarnia subpurpurella

 Luddenden

like everywhere else it has been pretty quiet in Luddenden with the cold nights. This last week I have been getting 1 to 7 moths nightly highlights have been

Purple Thorn  1

Early Thorn   2

Satellite   ws

Brindled Pug  5 

and this Early Tooth- Striped last night

Around and about 23rd April

Mixenden Reservoir, Hunter Hill and part of Ogden golf course this morning. A lovely warm sunny day.

Fly-through Brimstone at Mixenden was only my second ever for Calderdale. Also in that same area an Orange-tip and a Green-veined White - the latter took some finding in the vegetation for a photo but I wasn't quick enough for the Brimstone.

Green-veined White

Elsewhere, around Hunter Hill and the golf course - A decent show of Peacocks, and Small Tortoiseshells and to a lesser extent Orange-tips.

A similar return from Hag Lane / Pepper Hill above Claremount this afternoon.

Also one Speckled Wood resting on a holly bush and later, another one in the garden at home.

Not a lot in the trap this week.....enough to keep me interested though !

Brindled Pug x 1

Double-striped Pug x 1

Common Quaker x 2

Small Quaker x 1

Hebrew Character x 3

Twin-spotted Quaker x 2 (one much darker than the other)

Early Thorn x 1

Green HAirstreaks

Plenty Green HAirstreaks about at the moment on the local moors and also loads of Emperor Moths flying . Ornage Tips , Small White , Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks also seen in good numbers...Still freezing every night so just Hebrew Chracters and a few Common Quakers here.....

Castle Carr Road - 18th April

 Common Heath x 1 earlier today

Common Heath - Photo courtesy Paul B

This afternoon in some nice warm sunshine

Green Hairstreak x 11 - all were found on dandelion flowers adjacent to heather and bilberry heathland. None found on the plentiful dandelions elsewhere along the road other than the heath areas.

Green Hairstreaks

Also along the road

Small Tortoiseshell x 2

Peacock x 3

Lee Mount - 18th April

Still quiet for moths but despite that a bat was flying around last night at 8pm ( probably a 'pip'. )
Twin-spotted Quaker x 1
Common Quaker x 1

Brindled Pug x 1 

Agonopterix heracliana x 1

Male Orange-tip Butterfly in Shroggs Park woodland this morning.

16th April

3 Emperors kicking about near the Wind Farm , 20 + Philedonides lunana and 2 Mottled Grey....Speckled Wood , Orange Tip , Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell reported today..(thaks Nigel)

Lee Mount - 13th April to 15th April

Better than nothing at all......this cold weather is preventing much activity at night.

14th April

Hebrew Character x 1

Common Quaker x 1

Early Thorn x 1

Diurnia fagella x 1

Double-striped Pug x 1

14th April

Small Tortoiseshell x 2 on Soil Hill on Coltsfoot flowers

Later in the day on and around Castle Carr Road near Wainstalls

Small Tortoiseshell x 3

Peacock x 1

15th April

Agonopterix heracliana x 1 - the only moth at home

Shackleton Knoll / Walshaw and Crimsworth Dean today

Small Tortoiseshell x 5

Peacock x 1 

Philedonides lunana

Lots of these flying over heather on the walk up to Greater Manshead via Flints moor yesterday. They seemed to occur in great numbers all the way across Flints Moor and up Manshead but I only checked a few to confirm species.

Lee Mount - 8th April

Still cold overnight so not a lot doing

Clouded Drab x 1

Hebrew Character x 2

Common Quaker x 2

Double-striped Pug x 2

Agonopterix heracliana x 1

Lee Mount 3rd and 4th April

I recently got into the habit, if I could collect them safely, of moving moths well away from the house - otherwise the same ones seem to appear or stay around for several days.

3rd - Early Thorn x 1, Hebrew Character x 2, Common Quaker x 2, Diurnea fagella x 1, Brindled Pug x 1 and Early Grey x 1

4th - Twin-spotted Quaker x 1, Small Quaker x 1

 LUDDENDEN 310321

Brindled Pug  2

Oak Beauty  3

Clouded Drab  1

Hebrew Character  5

Twin-spot Quaker  1

Early Grey  1

Pine Beauty  2

Pine Beauty - grey variant

Small Quaker  11

Common Quaker  11 (there back)

Rishworth - Overnight Moths - 30th March - 50 moths and a couple of unknowns

 Everyone agree on Engrailed?

 Edit: I originally had this on for ID but after about 2hrs I have it as Oak Nycteoline, an excellent Garden first.

 A really good night last night, I have two unknowns. FYI I did trap on the night of the 29th but I lost my list :)

Moth Trap 30th March;

Chestnut x4

Common Quaker x13

Small Quaker x21

Water Carpet x1 [NFY]

Mottled Grey x6

Hebrew Character x10

Brindled Pug x7

Oak Beauty x4

Brown House Moth x1 [NFY]

Twin Spot Quaker x3

Clouded Drab x1

Red Green Carpet x1 [NFY]

Oak Nycteoline x1 [NFG]

30 march 2021

Oak nycteoline f notata

 Luddenden  290321

Oak Beauty  1

Common Quaker  8

Small Quaker  8

Twin-spot Quaker 3

Hebrew Character   6

Chestnut  1

Early Grey  2

Luddenden  303021

Double-striped Pug  1

Brindled Pug  3

Oak Beauty   2

Dotted Border  1

Pine Beauty  1

Small Quaker  7

Twin-spot Quaker  2

Early Grey 1

Chestnut  3

Hebrew Character  2

I don't know what happened to the Common Quakers last night

 

Lee Mount and Wheatley Valley 30th March

A good day yesterday with a new one for me us in the form of an Orange Underwing - just one flying around in an area of birch woodland in Shroggs Park overlooking Shroggs Road (thanks for the tip off AC and BL).

Also on the former landfill site and further up the Wheatley Valley on a lovely sunny afternoon a good show of two species of butterfly.

20+ Peacock

20+ Small Tortoiseshell  - several in cop

Also yesterday and last night - a few moths overnight and mostly in the trap this morning (31st)

Brindled Pug x 3

Hebrew Character x 3

Chestnut x 2

Common Quaker x 4

Agonopterix heracliana x 2

Early Grey x 3

Diurnia fagella x 1 (photo still to double check)

Pug sp still to check on x 1

30.March .2021

lots of reports today of , Brimstone , Small Tortoiseshell , Peacock , Comma and Orange Underwings...