Shandy Hall Moths
10 October 2018
10 October 2018 – The Marvel of the Day
Merveille du Jour (Dichonia aprilina) Out walking near Adel last night, without a coat, I noticed the relative warmth of the evening was causing some fluttering among the shrubs and bushes that line the main road – the Otley Road. There were lights everywhere – overhead street lamps, upstairs and downstairs bed and dining rooms, […]
23 September 2018
23 September 2018 – Fugitive Green
Mercury Vapour Lamp trap in the Wild Garden The majority of the moth trapping at Shandy Hall takes place in what used to be a quarry. Stone was taken from the ground and the resulting spoil heaps formed a miniature landscape of humps and hollows. When the supply of stone came to an end the […]
11 September 2018
11 September 2018 – Sallow and Button
Orange sallow (Xanthia citrago) When I went out to see what the night had brought it was clear that it was not going to be an easy job. Crane flies and wasps, beetles, caddis flies and midges were in the majority and although there were moths hiding in the egg-cartons, the majority were Large Yellow […]
7 September 2018
6 September 2018 – Four Brown Moths
Brown-spot Pinion (Agrochola litura) The leaves on the apple trees are still green and the crop of fruit is being collected for pressing in Husthwaite. It could be a record year. However, the colour brown is beginning to appear on the margins and this gentle transformation is reflected in the moths that are being lured […]
30 August 2018
30 August 2018 – Enter : Autumnal Rustic
Autumnal Rustic (Eugnorisma glareosa) ‘Pale ashy colour tinged with purplish rufescence, powdered with thick black irrorations.’ Humphreys and Westwood included the Autumnal Rustic in British Moths and their Transformations (1843) and described the species very carefully. ‘Irroration’ means ‘moistened with dew’ or ‘bedewed’. In 1843 the moth was recorded as having been seen in Devon […]
25 August 2018
25 August 2018 – Myth Moth
Sallow (Xanthia icteritia) A pretty dismal response to last night’s trap. The temperature fell rapidly as the sun went down and I wasn’t optimistic but 4 moths is very low indeed. Partly due to using the ‘rain tent’ and trying to find a spot that wouldn’t attract the new colonies of wasps that have sprung […]
20 August 2018
20 August 2018 – The Perfect Moth
Lime-speck Pug (Eupithecia centaureata) I first saw a Lime-speck Pug (Eupithecia cenaureata) in York Museum Gardens in the late summer of 2014. We were trapping in the gardens to see whether there was a difference in the species to be found in the centre of the city compared to those found in the country village. […]
18 August 2018
18 August 2018 – Back to the Trap
Centre-barred Sallow (Atethmia centrago) I am not certain how the weather has affected moth-trapping nationally this year. Numbers are certainly down in the gardens at Shandy Hall – particularly those members of the variety known as ‘underwing’. Perhaps it is too early to say. August is supposed to be the warmest month in the UK […]
31 July 2018
31 July 2018 – Black and White Moths
Ypsolopha sequella The heavy rains this weekend were welcome after such a long dry spell, and I swear I could hear the entire garden breathe a deep sigh of relief. Ever dutiful to our moth-catching responsibilities, Patrick and I did not let the winds or rain deter us from setting up a trap on both […]
26 July 2018
26 July 2018 – A Misfit Moth
Antler (Cerapteryx graminis) First, I must apologize for the lack of activity on the blog: due to some unfortunate and unforeseeable computer problems, I am left forlorn and laptopless as my time at Shandy Hall begins to end. Secondly, I must apologize on behalf of all humanity, for the lack of moths in the gardens: climate […]
17 July 2018
17 July 2018 – The Moth to the Flame
(Acrobasis adventella) In Friday’s trap there were quite a few unfamiliar moths, but it turned out none were new to the garden. A visitor of note, however, was Acrobasis adventella: a very interesting moth, if only for its name. The genus Acrobasis comes from the word “akron” meaning a point, or a step which is […]
12 July 2018
12 July 2018 – Golden Argent
(Argyresthia goedartella) With the sun still unrelenting, the trap this past Monday was teeming with agitated insects of all kinds: bees, beetles, flies, mosquitoes and, of course, moths. Amongst all these creatures hidden amongst the egg cartons, there was an extra surprise – a new moth! So now we’re up to a satisfying 432 species […]
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
