Shandy Hall Moths
30 June 2016
29 June 2016 – Overlooked Little Moth
Small Dotted Buff (Photedes minima) Strangely enough, the Small Dotted Buff (Photedes minima) has been recorded here before but no-one has photographed or recorded it properly on the blog. A delicate, creamy creature, it has a distinctive arrangement of black dots along the central cross-lines: a straight inner row and an outer row that curls […]
28 June 2016
27 June 2016 – Difficult Identification
(Phycitodes maritima) This moth was captured on 25 June. It has greyish silver wings, ‘seeded’ at one-half and two-thirds down, and palps that curve around clayish black eyes. I believed that I had identified it as a Phycitodes maritima, but because of the poor condition of the insect I could not get a solid confirmation […]
27 June 2016
26 June 2016 – New ‘Bird Dropping’ Moth
Epiblema trimaculana Though to me the scenery may not change much from day to day, the moth world is seeing a total revamp. The first of the summer for the Barred-fruit Tree Moth, Common Footman, Common Wave, Coxcomb Prominent, Large Yellow-underwing, Phlyctaenia perlucidalis, Straw Dot, and Uncertain have all made an appearance, while some previously […]
23 June 2016
22 June 2016 – Not a Threadbare Carpet
Dark Marbled Carpet (Dysstroma citrata ) We are in luck to finally get a photograph of the Dark Marbled Carpet (Dysstroma citrata) here at Shandy Hall.* Having decided that this moth was a worn Broken-barred Carpet, I had to struggle with myself for quite a time when I was informed of its true identity by […]
21 June 2016
20 June 2016 – Chance Encounter
(Dicroramphra .agg) A few nights ago, a stroll in the garden with a cup of hot chocolate in my hands destined my encounter with this moth. I searched myself for a camera but alas! I had made the conscious decision not to bring any technology on the walk (the one time!). I hurried back for […]
17 June 2016
17 June 2016 – The Moth with the Striped Antenna
Coleophera mayrella I was beginning to think that moth-trapping is merely a serendipitous venture, but it turns out that you really have to know what you are looking for so as not to miss any precious species. This little one (above) has been confirmed by Charlie Fletcher as Coleophora mayrella, a newcomer to Shandy Hall. No […]
17 June 2016
14 June 2016 – Knot Grass
Knot Grass (Acronicta rumicis) With the epic influx of Diamond Backs making BBC News, moths are now en vogue – bad news for cabbages, surprize news for moth enthusiasts. A trap put out on 13 June had plenty of lodgers, many of which were new to me: Silver Y, Fan-foot, Garden Pebble, Argyresthia trifasciata, Bright-line […]
15 June 2016
13 June 2016 – Wet Weekend
Small Square-spot (Diarsia rubi ) In the wild garden, the bucket of rain that had collected from our Japanese rain chain (kusari doi) shows that it rained plenty the night before. Even so a total of 17 species turned up in our trap in the garden on the morning of 10 June, including one example […]
10 June 2016
9 June 2016 – Two Nights in One
Diamond Back (Plutella xylostella) I arrived in England when it was emerging from a fortnight of unprecedented cold. The sun returned with a vengeance and has been grilling the pastures outside my kitchen window for three whole days – an unusual occurrence I am told. For all its glory, the warmth was deceptive, for the […]
7 May 2016
6 May 2016 – Quakers and a New Species
Powdered Quaker (Orthosia gracilis) The night was chilly once again. The owl, for all his feathers, sounded somewhat a-cold as he hooted from the granary roof and the idea that any moths would be out and about seemed optimistic. When both traps were examined the following morning a grand total of 15 moths could be […]
27 October 2015
27 October 2015 – Wormingford Moths
Bottengoms Farm, Wormingford Shandy Hall dates from 1430. Bottengoms Farm is probably earlier, probably Saxon. A period of time that allows a wide enough margin to encompass the ancient feeling of this spot, in this dell, down a track. The day had been glorious with warm sun and not a breath of wind, winding down […]
15 October 2015
15 October 2015 – Suffolk Trapping
Feathered Ranunculus (Polimixis lichenae) Sunday night was spent in Suffolk, just down the road from Lavenham, in the village of Monks Eleigh. The weather forecast made no promises and even though the afternoon was warm, after a spectacular sunset, the evening turned chilly. The trap was set close to a stand of bamboo next to […]
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
