29 October

Just one Angle Shades moth today, it looked like the others I saw this year, so I didn't bother to post an image.

I forgot to say that I was surprised to find any moths in view of the strong, gusting wind, rain and cold. It's a hardy moth!

Lee Mount - 24th October

In or around the trap this morning - it makes a difference when the weather is mild.
November Moth agg x 1
Common Marbled Carpet x 1 (worn but still just about showing the orange blaze)
Large Yellow Underwing x 1 (thought it was getting late for them)!
Mottle Umber x 5
Tachystola acroxantha x 1
Light-brown Apple moth x 7
Red-green Carpet x 1
Yellow-line Quaker x 1
Satellite x 1

Will try getting some photos on later if I get time.

Stainland, 24th October .

I have a Red-Green Carpet moth on the door this morning. It's yet another first for me. They really are nice looking little things.

 

Red-Green Carpet.

Gallows Pole Plantation

Had a wander up to the plantation yesterday - with the rain and leaden skies it looked like something out of a dark fairytale. The ground is permanently water-logged and I regularly flushed flocks of Wood Pigeons from the stunted, gnarly tree tops - very spooky!

There were dahlica bagworm cases on the side of the main road at Greetland and on Norland moor near the plantation - seems they are widespread and locally abundant. That's 6 areas at 4 sites now.

Another interesting find was this Exapate congelatella resting on a dry-stone wall by the plantation. I thought with the cool, wet weather it would hang around for photos but it was up and away from the off allowing just one record shot. Seems they do fly on calm afternoons. 

Stainland 20 October

Hi David, yes the size is right for Angle Shades cats. Below are two photos of the green form which I took this year on the 5th of April.

Updated Comment:
I should have mentioned that I've never seen a Small Angle Shades (in answer to your remarks about them.).

Angle Shades caterpillar.

Lee Mount - 20th October

In the trap this morning..
Blair's Shoulder-knot x 1 (a different individual from the day before)
Light-brown Apple-moth x 1

I think this other one could be a Red-line Quaker which, if confirmed, would be another new one for me after the Yellow-line Quaker from the day before.
A much greyer moth than the YLQ though of a similar size and just about showing the outermost cross line along with darker on the kidney marks. I could be missing something though but not sure what else it might be.

UPDATE after a re-think and looking at the pale marks around the kidney - could more likely be Pale Mottled Willow.

Red-line Quaker or Pale Mottled Willow (?)

Caterpillar trail

Thanks for your help Gordon.With your prompt I just found this on Small Angle Shades Euplexia lucipara  - which apparently has two colour forms. Though this reference below does not refer to 2 colour forms on the Angle Shades Phlogophlora meticulosa - though it might have (??)

I did find 2 of the same caterpillars of different sizes on the Phlox - I didn't measure them though the larger one was c24mm and the smaller one was c17mm

http://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/euplexia-lucipara/larvae-2-colour-forms/

Stainland 20 October

I've just found out that the global decline of insects is far more serious than was thought. Follow the link below, it is not happy reading. (Copy the link and past it into your browser).

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/flying-insects-numbers-drop-ecological-armageddon-75-per-cent-plummet-a8008406.html

Stainland 20 October

The attached photos of an Angle Shades Caterpillar were taken last year. They are simply a cross check reference for David with his caterpillar post. The trouble is, David didn't give an proximate size of the cat he found.  I hope this helps, one way or another.

A quote from:

http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/species/angle-shades

"Larvae that hatch in autumn overwinter as caterpillars and pupate in the soil the following spring to produce the first generation of adults that year".

Angle Shades caterpillar.

Lee Mount - 19th October

Just four moths in the trap this morning
Yellow-line Quaker - x  1 (TBC as it's a first for me. Never had Red-line Quaker either but expect that to be greyer rather than this orangey one)
Mottled Umber x 1
Blair's Shoulder-knot x 1
Acleris sparsana x 1

 Blair's Shoulder-knot

 

 Mottled Umber

 

Yellow-line Quaker

 

Also from earlier in the week

A Red-green Carpet looking a little faded, and a caterpillar found on Phlox with I haven't been able to identify yet.

 Caterpillar still to i d

Red-green Carpet

Stainland 19th October 2017.

Just one moth today, Blastobasis lacticolella. The weather wasn't great during the night, it will have kept most moths safe in bed.

Blastobasis lacticolella.

Lee Mount - 16th October

This morning
Angle Shades x 1
November Moth agg x 3
Common Marbled Carpet x 2 (both faded but still just showing orange blaze)
Light-brown Apple-moth x 3
Tachystola acroxantha x 1
Spruce or Juniper Carpet x 1 - need some help with this one !

 Spruce or Juniper Carpet ?

 

Angle Shades

Northowram 15th October 2017 National Moth Night

Vestal x 1 (first for 10 years )
Feathered Thorn x 1
Light Brown Apple Moth x 11
Red Green Carpet x 2
Blairs Shoulder Knot x 4
Silver Y x 1
Garden Rose Tortrix x 1
Juniper Carpet x  4  ( not seen any for many years so I am tentative about ID )


**Brian Leesey recorded 5 Streak at Meadows Edge Todmorden on Sat Night **

Lee Mount - 15th October

2 Silver Y from this morning... just wanted to check i d as they look quite different..
The top one was much paler (quite silvery) smaller than the lower one which was larger and darker.
I've never seen Scarce Silver Y - which in any case would seem to be out of season anyway but always worth a check. (?)

c 15 mm

 

c20 mm

 

Also this morning...

Common Marbled Carpet x 3 together  - and all pretty worn

November Moth agg x 5

Blair's Shoulder-knot x 1

Light-brown Apple-moth x 4

Tachystola acroxantha x 1

Stainland 13th October 2017

It's 10 pm. I just open the door to find four moths having a party. They were flying around the door, when they settled, they turned out to be Light Brown Apple moths. There seem to be endless amounts of them round here.

Common Marbled Carpet

                        Half a day old Common Marbled Carpet larvae feeding on Sallow.

The Streak

This was found by Andy Huyton in Ovenden on the 4th October . a day time observation...Many thanks Andy not seen one for a few years now.

Stainland 11th October 2017.

A moth appeared by our door sometime after 1:00 a.m. this morning. I spent a while trying to ID it. In the end, I put one of my photos of it into the Google image search. It came up with a moth very similar to this one. I was  amazed to find that the site the Google moth was on was Calderdale Moths... I started to read the entry, half was down, I suddenly realised that I was reading my own entry for the Feathered Ranuculus, last September. What an idiot I can be.

I'm still not 100% sure it's the same species but I think it's another Feathered Ranuculus. If so, it proves that there must be a small colony round here somewhere.

Feathered Ranuculus (TBC)

Norland tonight ..

Looking a bit wet for Norland tonight , tomorrow looks good if any one fancies a moth night ..??

Shibden Head

I had a stroll up there this afternoon and checked Bare Head Tunnel on the way round - torch at the ready ! I could only find 5 Herald Moths but they are still special. Tricky to get any really good photo's through the gaps in the stone and keeping the 'flash' in line, these below are the best I could do.

Herald - Scoliopteryx libatrix