Shandy Hall Moths
12 July 2017
12 July 2017 – Ghosts Gathering
Ghost Moth (Hepialis humuli humuli) The trap we set out in the garden did not have as big a yield as we had hoped. While the species number was low, there was still an interesting collection. This female Ghost Moth (Hepialus humuli) was a surprise to me, as it camouflaged perfectly with the lemon-sorbet colored […]
10 July 2017
10 July 2017 – A Leaf Miner
Swallow-tailed Moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria) The traps are starting to attract more diverse species. The many moths caught are looking more colorful and vibrant. One of the moths trapped was the Swallow-tailed moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria). It’s a common species throughout Britain, besides northern Scotland, but they only fly for a short period in July. Its scientific […]
7 July 2017
7 July 2017 – Sipper of Dew
Yellow-tail (Euproctis similis) Last night’s trap, in my opinion, was a success. While we did not increase the number of species to Shandy Hall, there were plenty which I have never seen before, including some interesting macro moths. The Yellow-tail (Euproctis similis) was one of those. It was one of the first moths I noticed […]
6 July 2017
6 July 2017 – Caddis fly Headache
(Ectoedemia sp) or (Stigmella sp) The trap was placed in the garden instead of the quarry to figure out if there is any noticeable difference between the two areas. We are getting more species but I believe that may be because of the time of year rather than the placement. After accidentally grabbing hold of […]
4 July 2017
4 July 2017 – National Garden Scheme Mothing
Peach Blossom (Thyatira batis) Friday night was National Garden Scheme open evening – with moth identification by Dr Dave Chesmore. The uncooperative weather was discouraging, but we still had a good number, including children. The turnout for moth species was higher than the session earlier in the month. Everyone seemed very interested in the moths […]
3 July 2017
3 July 2017 – Brown Rustic
Brown Rustic (Rusina ferruginea) The trap was set up in the tent on Monday night due to the forecast of rain. It was still pouring down on the following morning so I sheltered the trap and myself in the moth-shed and went through the contents there. With only the miniscule amount of sunlight filtering through […]
26 June 2017
26 June 2017 – Fiery Splendour
Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor) As we peered into the moth trap this morning the wind started to pick up, so we moved everything and sheltered ourselves near the old stable wall. The trap contained a number of species which I have seen before but there were a couple of new ones as well. One was […]
25 June 2017
25 June 2017 – Moths under Canvas
Engrailed (Ectropis bistortata) With thunderstorms and tempests forecast, we set up a tent to keep any rainfall from getting into the trap and onto our moths. While it’s an effective solution for rain, it does restrict the yield of moths as it hides some of the mercury vapour light, and there’s only one entrance for […]
22 June 2017
22 June 2017 – Collars and Earmuffs
Red-necked Footman (Atolmis rubricollis) The number of moths in the trap has been increasing every week and we are also starting to get a wider variety of species. I had to take care of Monday’s trap alone for the first time. I will admit that it was scary, not the task in particular, but seemingly […]
21 June 2017
20 June 2017 – Beauty Spots
(Phycitodes binaevella) Another new moth is Phycitodes binaevella. We decided to take a photograph of the moth in the trap rather than contain it in a tube. The picture shows the moth in profile. In the guide book for micro moths, some species are shown in profile and some show the species from above. This proved […]
19 June 2017
18 June 2017 – They Toil Not
(Eucosma campoliliana) There are both good and bad sides to this heat wave. The good is that there is greater moth activity so more likelihood of moths coming to our trap. The bad news is that I may have developed sunburn from my long walk on Saturday. From our trap, which was set up Saturday […]
16 June 2017
16 June 2017 – Moth Therapy
Mottled Rustic (Caradrina morpheus) Most of Wednesday was spent identifying the new moths that were trapped on Tuesday night. Of these there was one which I thought was a Mottled Rustic (Caradrina morpheus). Looking back through the blog, there was one post on a Mottled Rustic in 2012 and that entry was about how we […]
Recent Moths
- Rise of the AI Naturalist
- Best Moths for a Haunted Abbey
- The Real and Fake Deaths of Moths
- The Colonizers of Yorkshire
- Glamour in the Dark: Two Newcomers Arrive at Shandy Hall
- 25 July 2023 – Collective Noun for Hawkmoths
- MOTH LIST to August 2023 with links
- 28 July 2023 – TRIPLE New Species Alert!
- 18 July 2023 – A Golden…Plusia!
- 13 July 2023 – Arts and Sciences
- 10 July 2023 – Rise of the Yellow Underwings
- 4 July 2023 – Cold-weather Catch
