Lee Mount - 1st July

Slight improvement last couple of days.

This morning.

Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix x 1

Common Footman x 1

Chrysoteuchia culmella x 2

Peppered Moth x 1

Elephant Hawkmoth x 1

Garden Carpet x 1

Bordered White x 1

Marbled Minor agg x 1

Purple Clay x 1

Heart and Dart x 1

Common Wave x 1

Ingrailed Clay x 1

Ingrailed Clay ? (I think - not had many of these before)

Bordered White

Elephant Hawkmoth

Peppered Moth

Yesterday - last day of June

Silver Y x 1

Flame x 1

Green Oak Tortrix x 1

Cabbage Moth x 1

Tachystola acroxantha x 4

Agriphila straminella x 2

Common Marbled Carpet x 1

Rustic Shoulder-knot x 1

Lozotaenia forsterana x 1

Ash Bud Moth x 1

Brimstone Moth x 1

Anania coronata x 1

Green Oak Tortrix

Butterflys in June..?/

 A slow year so far , but has anyone see seen Brimstone , Small Skipper , Holly or Common Blue in JUNE ....??? or any HAirstreaks..??

Any thoughts ?

One micro ?? from last night - very small - minute - 5mm 

 

Hunter Hill - 29th and North Dean/ Hollas Bridge this afternoon -30th

 Not  a lot to report on moths but will try to post later  !

We did find a Meadow Brown, Large Skipper, Red Admiral and 2 Small Tortoiseshell's in the garden yesterday. 

Also a few Ringlets on Hunter Hill and still some Small Heaths. Very few 'whites' about last few days.

This afternoon we walked down the fields from North Dean woods towards Hollas Bridge. We came across a really interesting looking field, just up from  a decent sized pond, with a good show of Meadow Brown's, and a Ringlet. 

4 Speckled Woods, 2 Ringlets, Meadow Brown and a Peacock by Hollas Bridge. 

Then we ran out of time !

Cromwell Bottom moth night

 Around 56 species were recorded including the star of the night a pristine Beautiful Hook-tip. Others photographed were White Plume Moth, Spectacle and Flame which didn't look like a Flame to me until it settled with its wings held tightly to its body.

Tawny Marbled Minor and Marbled Minors were taken for dissection.

Stainland.

The first Marbled Beauty of the year, (for me). Two days ago I was thinking that they should be arriving now July is almost here.

Marbled Beauty

Stainland.

 I was lucky enough to find a Comma butterfly (Polygonia c-album) - caterpillar on a wall, down Carr Hall Lane, this afternoon. It's the first I've seen and a very striking thing it is.

Comma butterfly caterpillar

Rishworth - 13th June - What a scorcher!

 A belated post from the 13th, a really good night with some scarcer moths kicking around.

Moth trap 13th June:

Marbled Minor Agg x4 [NFY]

Coxcomb Prominent x2

Clouded Border x1 [NFY]

Scorched Wing x1 [NFG and rare in Calderdale I think]

Flame Shoulder x5

Small Phoenix x1

White Ermine x1

Common Marbled Carpet x1

Rustic Shoulder Knot x1

Bright Line Brown Eye x1 [NFY]

Pale Tussock x3

Ruby Tiger x1 [NFY]

Clouded Bordered Brindle x1 [NFY]

Miller x1 [NFY]

Small Angle Shades x1 [NFY]

Marbled White Spot x6

Scalloped Hazel x1 [NFY]

Clouded Silver x1 [NFY]

Silver Ground Carpet x7

Green Silver Lines x2

Lesser Swallow Prominent x1

Silky Wainscot x1 [NFG and I think scarce in Calderdale]

Poplar Hawk Moth x1

Elephant Hawk Moth x1 [NFY]

Silky Wainscot

Scorched Wing

Cold Edge

 Just 1 Small Tortoiseshell and 1 Small Heath id'd

Stainland. 24th and 26th June.

 I've not had time to post these, so they are all in this post.There are a couple that I'm not 100% certain of.

 

24th June

2 x Brimstone moths (Anne found them in one of our shrubs at 11pm. She's getting good at this.)

1 x Garden Carpet

1 x Blastobasis lacticolella (Wakley's Dowd)

1 x Eudonia lacustrata

The two I'm unsure about are below:

The Blastobasis l. does not have folded wings, as the books suggest. Also, it's very short on markings, quite a common feature I know. I think I got this one right. (?)

Blastobasis lacticolella TBC

The second one I'm quite sure about is Eudonia lacustrata TBC. Tricky little set of moths. Again, I THINK I got the correct ID.

Eudonia lacustrata TBC

 

26th June:

1 x Small Magpie, a lovely little moth. It's quite a nice photo, so I'm posting it. 

Small Magpie

Busy weekend

 Please see above........Also Barry's moth trapping event at Cromwell sat night

A couple of case-bearers

 I seem to have regained the ability to post on blogs again - for now!

I've done little in the way of mothing lately but I did manage a trip up to Sowood to see a thriving colony (some would say an infestation) of Case-bearing Clothes Moth larvae.

And a little out of area, Askham Bog, York - one of my favourites, Psyche casta.

A note

 My absence from the blog for the past week isn't because I haven't trapped, it's just I haven't found the time to post my trap results. They include some lovely moths including Silky Wainscot and Scorched Wing.

Swales Moor (Ringby Lane) and Ogden

 Ringby Lane this morning as below plus around 25 Small Heaths

Large Skipper (x 3)

Small Tortoiseshell (x 5)

Small Tortoiseshell on Sweet Williams (in the garden)

Ogden (Back Lane)

Again a good show of Small Heaths and a couple of Small Tortoiseshell's

Silver-ground Carpet

Wall

This one played hard to get, not letting me get within 4 meters or so !

Stainland. 22nd. June 2021.

This was on the door at midnight, gone this morning. Is it a Dark Arches please? I've only had one once before, sometime ago, I took a terrible photo back then, so I'm not certain I have this right.

Thanks.

Dark Arches TBC

Ovenden Moor and Luddenden

Still a good few Small Heaths along the top end of the track from the Withens towards Ogden this week. Also several Small Heaths at Cold Edge yesterday.

Luddenden this afternoon.

One Large Skipper  also a few Speckled Woods and Green-veined Whites, 2 Small Tortoiseshell and 1 each Small Heath and a Red Admiral.

Lee Mount - last week or so...

 Still very quiet here with not much at all  - but  I keep trying !

Beautiful Golden Y (21st)

Clouded-bordered Brindle (16th)

Common Marbled Carpet (18th and 2 on 21st)

Common Swift (15th and 17th)

Soil Hill and Withens Clough

Soil Hill - early evening 16th - warm and sunny - unusual conditions for that location but perfect - and quiet.

Painted Lady x 2 butterflies on the mounds just past the mast on the right

Small Tortoiseshell x 1

Withens Clough - Rudd Lane and reservoir circuit this afternoon (17th)

Large Skipper x 1

Small Copper x 1

Red Admiral x 1

Small Tortoiseshell x 1

Small Heath x 37 and counting !

Large Skipper - best I could get !

Cold Edge

Small Heath 14

Large Red damselfly 1

Ovenden Moor 15th JUne 2021.

 I spent three and a half hours walking the moor yesterday, I saw;

17 Small Heath butterflies

5 Small white's

1 Small Tortoiseshell

Also. several Skylarks. (One of my favourite bird songs.)

Two Curlews. (Another favourite bird song. They were the first I've heard this year, I was a little worried about not hearing them. My third birdsong is the Chaffinch)

Have other people noticed the scant amount of Swallows this year? We normally have a flock flying over us all day, in the village. This year, we've had very few.  We've only seen about ten at any one time. It's not a good sign.