Shandy Hall Moths
12 July 2012
12 July 2012 – It’s All in the Presentation
Our Moth arrangement Last night was unusually cold, which made for a mediocre catch and no new species. So rather than spending the morning identifying moths, I helped Carry Akroyd, our next featured artist, set up her exhibition in the gallery. She is showing her latest lithograph series, “Found in the Fields”, based on John […]
11 July 2012
11 July 2012 – Diamond-back and a Girl… Best Friends
Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella) We have two new micromoth species today: the Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella)and Clepsis consimilana. The most extraordinary characteristic of the Diamond-back Moth is its almost limitless distribution… a fair share of this species has even been recorded in the Arctic Circle! I was grateful that it stuck around long enough for a […]
10 July 2012
10 July 2012 – Eggs before Coffee
Before I even had my morning coffee, I was in for a beautiful surprise… a cluster of spherical, pale green moth eggs! Aren’t they incredible? They are so symmetrical and perfect, almost mystical. We don’t know what species they are yet, but we will need to start figuring it out so that when they hatch, […]
9 July 2012
9 July 2012 – Species List Breaks 200
Short-cloaked Moth (Nola cucullatella) Short-cloaked Moth, side view We have four new confirmed species today, bringing us to 202! The first was the “Unidentified micromoth” in the previous post of 6 July. Dr. Chesmore identified it as the Plutella porrectella. The origin of this name is unclear. It probably first came from ploutos (wealth) but later was interpreted as plutos (washed) […]
6 July 2012
6 July 2012 – Micromoth Mysteries
The Uncertain (Hoplodrina alsines) ready to take flight The Uncertain (Hoplodrina alsines) at rest **This post has undergone significant edits after a reader brought to our attention that the photographs above looked like The Uncertain (Hoplodrina alsines). Before his email, we identified the moth as a new species, the Mottled Rustic. So, for this day, the […]
4 July 2012
4 July 2012 – When Camouflage Fails
Buff Tip Elephant Hawk-moth Swallow Prominent It was too wet to do a trapping last night. Instead, I’d like to fill you in on the activities of the [Moth-Eating] Bats of Shandy Hall. With their various designs and colors, moths are certainly beautiful and eye-catching. But in nature, these features are meant to do the […]
3 July 2012
3 July 2012 – Discovering the “Hidden”
Cryptoblabes bistriga We await confirmation on a few species, but we do have one new moth today! It was a cloudy, but still warm welcome for species number 195. The Cryptoblabes bistriga, our latest micromoth, stayed around just long enough for me to photograph him. Its name, crypto (hidden) blabe (damage), refers to the larvae […]
2 July 2012
2 July 2012 – Manic Monday
Large Yellow Underwing, Noctua pronuba No new species today, but we did get a couple of exciting moths to look at. The most eye-catching was the Barred Straw who we’ve had in the past but not since I’ve arrived. The Chrysoteuchia culmella was also surprisingly perky for its morning photo shoot. See the photographs below. Barred Straw, […]
29 June 2012
29 June 2012 – One new species
Coxcomb Prominent, Ptilodon capucina We have one new species today, the Nematopogon swammerdamella (pictured below). What a fussy name to say! Nema, a thread, and pogon, a beard, describe its long antennae. Swammerdamella comes from Swammerdam, a Dutch entomologist. It’s a shame that the micromoths have not been given common names like the macro moths. […]
28 June 2012
28 June 2012 – No blood spilt at Shandy Hall
Blood-vein, Timandra comae We might have had some new species today but these particular micromoths cannot be identified by their photographs alone. Some species need to have their genitalia dissected in order to truly be identified. Dr. Chesmore would need the actual specimens and we had already released them. It is just as well because […]
27 June 2012
27 June 2012 – A Crowd of Moths and More
Last night we caught more moths than I’ve yet uncovered in a single night, including five (or six) new species. This would bring the total to 194 confirmed species or 195, depending on the outcome of the unknown. We were overwhelmed with trying to differentiate micromoths from the colorful beetles, flies, and gnats. Perhaps this is what I should […]
26 June 2012
26 June 2012 – Pale Prominent, Pale Ghost, Bright Morning
Pale Prominent (Pterostoma palpina) My moth station in Shandy Hall’s gardens What a beautiful morning in Coxwold! The sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, and the birds were chirping in the treetops, hoping that I would leave the moths unattended for their mid-morning snack. We found an impressive Pale Prominent (Pterostoma palpina), who could […]
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
