Lee Mount - last few days

Not much doing at all recently though evenings have still been fairly mild the rain seems to have slowed things down here.

Best on 11th  was this smart looking Spruce Carpet

Large Yellow Underwing x 8

Copper Underwing agg x 1

Garden Carpet x 1

Tachystola acroxantha x 1

Not many butterflies about home other than a few Speckled Woods and a Red Admiral yesterday.

Lee Mount...

 Been puzzling this one from 2nd September. Looking in the wrong direction - at Pyrausta sp. and then tonight 'the penny dropped'

Gold Triangle

Before the rain set in last night 4th September I found this one on a window ledge.

Canary-shouldered Thorn

Lee Mount - 3rd September

Decided not to put the trap on last night till the 'hangers on' from the last few days have cleared. Found this one on the kitchen window late on. Second one on the last few days, this time intact after the last one was 'spidered' .

Blood-vein (second ever record for here)

Lee Mount - 2nd September

 Started off the morning with a new one for me in Calderdale - a Blood-vein -then I saw the spider clinging to it and the body parts just about gone. What a shame for such a beautiful moth, long awaited here for me !

The rest of the catch was intact including....

One each of Setaceous Hebrew Character, Garden Carpet, Marbled Beauty, Mouse Moth.

Still plenty Large Yellow Underwings with 35 along with 2 Lessers and 2 Lesser Broad-bordered plus a few other expected species and a Pyrausta sp. I am still trying to sort !

 

Luddenden last night 28082022

Another Vine's Rustic here plus this beauty below which I can't make my mind up about, is it a Crescent or Ear Moth spp? I've seen a lot of Ear Moths including 17 here but they have never looked like this, a large moth at 17mm. Any ideas, I've still got it if anyone wants to see it

also a good autumn for Blood-vein (none in spring) but seven in the last two weeks

Vine's Rustic

Ear Moth?

Neglected Rustic - red form 23082022

Vines Rustic ..?

After Daves first Vines Rustic on the 18th August , Anthony had one on the 28th and I recorded SIX last night...Any other records of this speceis..?? Its certainly moving in...!!!

Lee Mount - 27th August

 Eighteen species with two 'specials' for here.

After a mis-identification..... carelessness I guess, I had a prompt from Charlie of my WhatsApp photo which I assumed was a Autumn Green Carpet. Correction made....

Yellow-barred Brindle

Another nice moth below which is a 1st for me.

Dusky Thorn

Also 72 other moths included a Mouse Moth, Flounced Rustic, Riband Wave and a Double-striped Pug as well as 45 Large Yellow Underwings !

Beacon Hill Road

 Red Admiral 7

Castle Carrr Road etc.

Castle Carr Road his afternoon - Small Tortoiseshell x 3, Painted Lady x 2, Wall Brown x 2, Red Admiral x 2, Small Copper x 1, Large White x 1.

Comma at home on Sedum and Buddleia.

Wall Brown x 5 above Cold Edge and Withens Head area.

Lee Mount - 26th August

 Just one new moth this morning.

Angle-striped Sallow

Ogden Water

This afternoon - two Buddleias down at 'Bogart Brig'. At least 15 Red Admirals, we counted them several times....never seen so many close together before !! Just one other butterfly with them - a Small Tortoiseshell.

At the rear of the reservoir cottage a very nice  bit of heath-land with flowering heather the main attraction for a single Common Blue, Small Skipper looking pretty worn, 3 Small Coppers, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell.

Lee Mount - 25th August

It's been fairly quiet the last few days - much better this morning with these below the 'pick of the bunch'. A sense of autumn coming on !

Centre-barred Sallow

 

Least Yellow Underwing

Mother of Pearl

Ypsolopha parenthesella

Around and about.

Holly Blue still around the garden this afternoon but not a lot else.

Cold Edge and Hunter Hill produced 6 Wall Browns between them. Also at Cold Edge a few Red Admirals, Small Coppers, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacocks with just one Small Skipper on a creeping thistle head. 

Stainland.

Life is running away with me just now. (For a change.) As David forecast, I have more catching up of moth reports to do. I'm going to put the first four dates in this post.

8 Aug 2022

2 x Marbled Beauty
1 x Dark Arches
1 x Blastobasis adustella
1 x Blastobasis lacticolella
1 x Epagoge grotiana
1 x Brown House Moth
1 x Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
1 x Lozotaenia forsterana

This is only the second Dark Arches I've ever seen. Lovely markings.

Dark Arches

Updated ID below, thanks to Charlie.

Light Brown Apple, female

Yet another common moth which I've only seen once before.

Lozotaenia forsterana

 9 Aug 2022 

 2 x Marbled Beauty 

1 x Small Phoenix 

1 x Lesser Broad-bordered Underwing 

1 x Udea prunalis

10 Aug. 2022

6 x Blastobasis lacticolella 

1 x Blastobasis adustella 

1 x Marbled Beauty 

1 x Brown House Moth 

1 x Common Footman 

1 x Riband Wave


11 Aug 2022 

2 x Riband Wave 

2 x Blastobasis adustella 

2 x Blastobasis lacticolella 

2 x Brown House Moths (mating)

1 x Eudonia (ID) |

1 x Plain mid size ID

More to follow. However, we are off to Whitby Folk festival on Saturday. I'm not sure how much free time I'll have before we go. It's three years since I gave a public performance. I'm looking forward to it, I've packed all my instruments. I'll be doing plenty of gigs in the coming week. It's very tiring when you do three in a day, but rewarding and lots of fun.

Lee Mount - 18th August

 Just a suspicion of a Vine's Rustic (13mm) this morning in the trap. Also sent to CF for his thoughts. These are the best I could get before it escaped. Quite a grey moth though the photos show more brown.

CF confirmed - Vine's Rustic

Also below, another good one for here as I only ever had one previously. A really nice moth.

Purple Bar

Lee Mount - 15th August

 A new one for this site this morning. 

The only ones I've seen previously were 3  in Hardcastle Crags on 19th Aug 2017 with AC BL CD along with NP the then NT Warden at the site.

Barred Hook-tip

Not a lot else - Square-spot Rustic x 4, Marbled Beauty x 2, Large Yellow Underwing x 15, Agriphila tristella x 8  and one each - Common Carpet, Dark Arches, Small Phoenix, Flounced Rustic.

Beacon Hill

Male Wall. Thomas and Lewington say that males typically live for just 3 days; and their description of the butterfly's courtship is quite something!

Lee Mount - 14th August

This micro was a real challenge trying to get any sort of decent photo of such a small moth - barely 4mm. 

Pretty sure it's Bucculatrix (maybe ulmella or thoracella)) though I think gen det is required to confirm identification either way. It's gone now though how anyone manages to gen det such a small moth I have no idea (Charlie will know)!

Lee Mount - 13th August

 Two new moths for me this morning.

Lime-speck Pug

Barred Rivulet - quite a small moth at just over 10mm wing length

Clay triple Lines

 Another new species for me in the garden this week came in the form of this little beauty........Plenty  Holly Blues , Comma , Purple Hairstreaks , Gatekeepers and Small Coppers about but the highlight was a Wall Brown ....