Shandy Hall Moths
2 July 2013
2 July 2013 – Caterpillars in the Roses.
Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica) Hebrew Character Caterpillar We found two caterpillars on a rose bush in the garden today! I believe the smaller one is a Hebrew Character caterpillar due to its green color and white streak on its side. It also has small black dots on its segments which are too small to be visible […]
1 July 2013
1 July 2013 – Flocks of Bird Droppings.
Today marks my half-way point at Shandy Hall! I will be here for just another month, though there are plenty more moths up ahead for the blog so stay tuned! The Plum Tortrix (Hedya pruniana) is another of the bird-dropping micro-moths. We had a ‘flock’ of them mixed in with some Epiblema cynosbatella and a few Celypha lacunana, all […]
30 June 2013
30 June 2013 – Pretty Little Pug.
We found a splendid pug a few days ago in the moth trap, meaning on my part that it wasn’t some shade of grey and didn’t look like all the other pugs of the world. It was extremely windy so I only had a few seconds to snap some pictures before it flew off. I […]
29 June 2013
29 June 2013 – Good Humour and Moths?
Everyone at Shandy Hall has been hustling and bustling about in preparation for the opening of the exhibition “The Good Humour Club” tomorrow. Patrick and I will be doing a moth trap tonight as well for anyone who might be interested in seeing a sample of Shandy Hall’s moth species. We’ve been averaging around 70 moths […]
28 June 2013
28 June 2013 – Making Mobile Homes.
For a rather large genus of moths, we have only recently found members of the Coleophora genus here in the gardens. The name is derived from koleos ‘a sheath’ and phoreo ‘to carry.’ This is because members of the genus as larvae create portable cases that they hide and protect themselves in, kind of like a do-it-yourself mobile […]
27 June 2013
27 June 2013 – Spot the Difference.
At first glance I almost dismissed this Lesser Swallow Prominent (Pheosia gnoma) as a Swallow Prominent. It was comfortably asleep on the door of the cage so I set the it down while I checked the moth trap. It wasn’t until after I was done collecting all of the moths that I realized that it […]
26 June 2013
26 June 2013 – The Small Gentleman.
Eucosma cana The Eucosma cana was found among an assortment of many other micro-moths. That was the same day we got our golden speck, the Argyresthia trifasciata. A comparison of the two only begins to show how varied creatures of the order Lepidoptera can be. Visually, beyond the possession of wings, a head, antennae, and six […]
25 June 2013
25 June 2013 – A Speck of Gold.
A quick glimmer of gold was all I saw before catching this micro-moth in a tube for safekeeping. The Argyresthia trifasciata was quite a perky fellow and upon letting it out perched happily atop my right index finger while I attempted to one-handedly (my left hand too – the wrong hand for the camera) take a […]
25 June 2013
24 June 2013 – Cupid’s Moth.
Smiling then He took his Dart, And drew her Picture in my Heart. – John Hughes, The Picture, 1714 Heart & Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) While the Heart & Dart (Agrotis exclamationis) moth probably isn’t what people think of when it comes to symbols of love, it does get its common name from the heart- and […]
23 June 2013
23 June 2013 – A Long Search.
Patrick has been looking for the Broom Moth (Melanchra pisi) at Shandy Hall for a few years now. He mentioned to me that he knew we should be getting them, but he’s never actually found one – until now! This is the first and only one that we’ve had though. The longer you stare at […]
22 June 2013
22 June 2013 – Flaunting its Colors.
The Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera silaceata) has been sighted at Shandy Hall before. It was the very first moth Patrick pointed out to me on one of our trapping mornings. He was definitely excited to see it. The Small Phoenix’s coloration and pattern are a marvel, especially against the contrasting color of the blue power strip […]
21 June 2013
21 June 2013 – Daughter of the Sea.
Common White Wave (Cabera pusaria) The Common White Wave (Cabera pusaria) is an especially elegant and beautiful moth. We found it perched on top of the moth trap a few mornings ago. It patiently waited for me to finish my photo shoot before making its way. Cabera is the daughter of Proteus, the old man of […]
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
