Shandy Hall Moths
6 April 2014
3 April 2014 – Thracian Quilt
Oak Beauty (Biston strataria) A warm day with a much cooler night – but overcast. Last year at this time there were so many disappointing mornings with no evidence of moths but this year (not counting the visitors to the kitchen window) the first proper trap produced this beauty. The pectinated antennae, the broad, grainy […]
14 March 2014
14 March 2014 – Mistaken Identity
(Agonopterix heracliana) A moth ‘with a wing without an angle’ (Agonopterix) whose larvae feed on hogweed (Heraclieum sphondylium) seems straightforward enough but there is more to this moth than meets the eye. It seems the specimen in the collection of the Linnean Society of London was mistakenly identified as a Parsnip Moth (Depressaria pastinacella). For 200 years […]
19 February 2014
18 February 2014 – New Year, New Moth
Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria) Most of the lighting in Shandy Hall is from energy-saving bulbs but the spotlight in the kitchen is old and (while it lasts) still sends forth a piercing light. Last night two beautiful, green-tinged moths were drawn by the light to the window; one a new species and the other […]
13 January 2014
Overwintering 2014
Overwintering on clematis stalk It’s difficult to know how anything survives – the rain, the cold, the wind all conspire to drown, freeze and blow all apart. This example of resilient fragility was spotted by Chris in the quarry garden. The colour of this pupa is similar to that of the clematis shoots that are […]
18 December 2013
18 December 2013 – Who is who?
Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) Last week it seemed all was done for this year. Then this tiny moth was seen in the porch – no attempt to hide itself away – motionless. It was much smaller than the Winter Moths already seen in the garden, outside the window and in the woods down the road. […]
14 December 2013
13 December 2013 – Old Year’s Final Post
Male and female Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) Each night I have searched the trunks of the trees in the garden in the hope of finding the wingless female Winter moth. Males of the species have settled on the porch door and the kitchen window, with their wings closed over their abdomens like cobweb-coloured butterflies. They […]
30 November 2013
27 November 2013 – Night Traffic
Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata) The night-drive back to Shandy Hall is as twisted and contorted as one of Sterne’s plotlines. Barn owl, fox, badger and stoat can occasionally be glimpsed disappearing over or through the hedgerows, but the air is virtually moth free now. Each night the trap has been set and each morning there has […]
2 November 2013
1 November 2013 – One out of Five
Juniper Carpet (Thera juniperata) This is the first time the trap has been put out specifically with the hope that one of a small number of possible species might appear. Consulting Yorkshire Moths – Flying Tonight website reveals that there are five common species on the wing that have yet to appear in the gardens at Shandy […]
25 October 2013
24 October 2013 – Brick-coloured Brick
The Brick (Agrochola circellaris) The Brick (Agrochola circellaris) should have been an easy moth to identify, but the one found in the trap is either a paler version of the species or, perhaps, a bit care-worn. The two spots at the centres of the wings are diagnostic points, but illustrations in books and online show a generally richer colouring and clearer markings. […]
21 October 2013
20 October 2013 – Rush Veneer
Rush Veneer (Nomophila noctuella) Ten minutes after putting out the trap (warm evening, no wind, bats flying, owls hooting, moon conveniently below the horizon) came the most tremendous downpour. The light was quickly extinguished, for I am not certain it will tolerate torrential rain, and then re-set an hour later. This morning a Feathered Thorn, a (small) Golden […]
17 October 2013
17 October 2013 – Hop-dog
Pale Tussock (Calliteara pudibunda) There are apples all over the grass but thanks to Cameron in Husthwaite (the next village) the fruit gets pressed and turned into delicious juice. Gathering the apples can be a bit of a chore, so when an apple with a Mohican hair-cut took my attention it turned the labour into delight. Although the Pale Tussock Moth […]
8 October 2013
7 October 2013 – Bespattered and Bedewed
(Acleris sparsana) Leaving Shandy Hall late in the afternoon meant the light was positioned in the garden and turned on much earlier than usual. As a result, next morning, the number of midges and wasps was high, but the bonus was a new moth, a dusk flier Acleris sparsana or ‘Ashy Button’. The moth’s wings have spatterings of tiny rust-coloured dots […]
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
