Shandy Hall Moths
17 September 2012
14 September 2012 – Tracking the caterpillars
Moth eggs were found on the outside of the trap. They weren’t immediately apparent as they were covered with a blanket of tiny brown hairs. A scalpel blade was used to slide beneath and lift them off the plastic and they were put into a specimen box. After ten days they hatched and here they are four […]
12 September 2012
11 September 2012 – ‘Mystically hid under the dark veil’
Brown-spot Pinion (Agrocola litura) Only two moths in the trap this morning and hardly a midge in sight – how things change from day to day. One was a Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata) and the other was new – and appropriately new as it seems to be Agrocola litura, a Brown-spot Pinion. The meaning of the […]
10 September 2012
9 September 2012 – Rhomboid Tortrix
Rhomboid Tortrix (Acleris rhombana) The name is too good to disregard. Named after the parallelogram shape on the forewing, this moth displays the most intricate net-like pattern of intersecting lines. The apex of the wings is also pointed – a diagnostic that should indicate the identification is accurate. The Rhomboid Tortrix can be found all over the UK and the food […]
7 September 2012
7 September 2012 – Knot-horn and Button
New Pine Knot-horn (Dioryctria sylvestrella) Helen Levins, our student intern from UPenn, was particularly good at identifying a new moth using the field guides. She would have spotted this in half the time it took me this morning. I think the identification is correct although it seems that this species, Dioryctria sylvestrella, is by no […]
6 September 2012
6 September 2012 – Fairy Longhorns
Moth on Cuckoo Flower This image is out of sequence. The photograph was taken in May and shows a Fairy Longhorn moth (Adela rufimitrella) resting on a Cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratense). Or at least that is what it nearly certainly is… The image was sent to Dave Chesmore in May and although he was happy to agree that […]
4 September 2012
3 September 2012 – How now Brown House Moth
Brown House Moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella) Ottmar Hofmann was a German entomologist – his collection is in the Natural History Museum in London. He must have had an interesting sense of humour as he claims to ‘love’ (philos) the Brown House Moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella) although it resembles a despised (spretus) but similar clothes moth. This moth is around all […]
3 September 2012
2 September 2012 – Double-striped Tabby
Double-striped Tabby (Orthopygia glaucinalis) Crouching at the very bottom of the trap was a moth that hadn’t been seen in the garden before. The photograph shows the diagnostic feature – a double stripe across the forewing – but it was difficult to identify as the example in the field guide is much darker, almost chocolate-coloured. However […]
23 August 2012
22 August 2012 – Peaceful Kittens
Sallow Kitten (Furcula furcula) Mugshots seem appropriate for this rather beautiful insect whose name could be taken straight from this week’s headlines. The Sallow Kitten (Furcula furcula) has been recorded once before but this is the first time it has been photographed in the garden. Carl Clerck was an entomologist who was a contemporary of Linnaeus and he […]
20 August 2012
19 August 2012 – A Garden Rose
Garden Rose Tortrix (Acleris variegana) The trap was full of Underwings, Sexton Beetles (Necrophorus vespillo), Ichneumon flies and Crane Flies – soft, delicate trembling ones and ramshackle monster varieties. The crowds make it difficult to spot any new micromoth. Every twitching foreleg disturbs a mad underwing which then zooms across the trap and collides with […]
14 August 2012
13 August 2012 – Who are you?
Not yet identified* I am pretty certain I haven’t seen this moth before. It looks like it should be a member of the Crambidae – which contain the grass moths and the china-marks. The moths in this family are, it seems, superficially familiar, particularly if they have been living a turbulent and wearing life-style. This one is […]
6 August 2012
4/5 August 2012 – Abracadabra
Catoptria falsella Agriphila selasella Catoptria falsella has been spotted once before when Dave Chesmore was identifying moths at Shandy Hall, but this is the first photograph to appear on the blog. However, Agriphila selasella is a new record – if it is correct. The longitudinal stripe on the forewing has a hint of banana […]
3 August 2012
2 August 2012 – Shelter from the Storm
Yellow-barred Brindle (Acasis viretate) The rain was torrential again last night but there were enough egg-boxes in the body of the trap to allow plenty of shelter. The Yellow-barred Brindle (Acasis viretata – ‘brotherless, green spot’) is one of those moths that loses its green colouring after a few days. This one, another new species for […]
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
