5 March 2013

2 March 2013 – Overwintering another way

The Herald (Scoliopteryx libatrix)

Here is another version of overwintering found in the dark in Nidderdale on 2 March.  Tom Taylor’s cave is in the heart of the rock at How Stean Gorge. It is very black and the pathway through from the Gorge (passing the dripping stalagtite) is narrow.  Handy dynamo torches are available from the helpful assistants in the shop to help find the way safely.  About 20 yards from the exit, clinging to the wall above my head was a splash of colour in the torchlight – The Herald.  The weather was warm outside but cold and black (pitch black) inside the cave.  Had the moth emerged from hibernation after overwintering as an adult?  Was it still in its hibernation place and waiting like Lazarus to herald new life this year?  The torch illuminated the moth and my friend’s mobile phone clicked the image of the crooked-winged sleeper.

This post is of a moth off-site and the only one to date.  Perhaps it’s time to see what there is to be seen in the garden at Shandy Hall.