Shandy Hall Moths
11 July 2018
11 July 2018 – Beware the Dun-bar
Dun-bar (Cosmia trapezina) The weather has been treacherously, dangerously dry these past two weeks and if rain doesn’t come soon plants in the garden could be in serious trouble. The moths, however, have not yet seemed to notice the looming catastrophe and are still visiting the garden in considerable numbers. Just like the Udea olivalis, […]
9 July 2018
9 July 2018 – Olive Tree Moth
Udea 0livalis Over the past few weeks, the traps have been increasingly populated with a micro moth called Udea olivalis. This moth is common to the garden yet has never before been featured on the blog. Udea comes from a word meaning “surface of the earth” because the larvae feed on low-growing plants and the […]
4 July 2018
4 July 2018 – Gemstones and Inkblots
Buff Arches (Habrosyne pyritoides) The trap was filled to the brim with moths this morning –each and every one of them brilliant in their own way. However, because of their magnificence, nearly every moth has already been featured on the blog! What’s a young lepidopterist to do?! I suppose I’ll just have to barrage you […]
1 July 2018
1 July 2018 – Moth from the Underworld
Varied Coronet (Hadena compta) Last Friday was another National Garden Scheme open evening –and what a beautiful evening it was! As the day cooled off, a handful of visitors gathered in the garden to learn more about those tiny, elusive creatures fluttering throughout their gardens at night. And because of the heat, we had a […]
1 July 2018
29 June 2018 – Ash Bud Moth
Bee Moth (Aphomia sociella) Last Monday’s catch brought a number of moths that were new to me and it took me many hours, leafing through books and consulting the internet, to identify them all. Wednesday’s catch was a bit smaller but still gave us a few different species – and a new moth to the […]
28 June 2018
28 June 2018 – Flycatcher Predator
Barred Straw (Eulithis pyraliata) After a day of mixed weather, the temperatures dropped extremely low on Wednesday night. Because of this, the trap was relatively empty when I checked it on Thursday morning, except for a smattering of some familiar friends. A moth that I’ve encounter a few times now, but never been able to get […]
21 June 2018
20 June 2018 – Pineapple Scented Moth
Gold Swift (Hepialus hecta) female Mother Nature must follow this blog, for just as soon as I made the claim that no new species were left to be found at Shandy Hall she threw not one, but two new varieties our way. It’s more exciting than I could have imagined and I feel a bit […]
20 June 2018
19 June 2018 – National Moth Nights
Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) Last weekend was National Moth Night, an annual three-day Lepidopterist extravaganza. At Shandy Hall, we celebrated by trapping on both Thursday and Saturday night –not an unusual occurrence, but done with a bit more zeal this time. In our first trap on Thursday, we had quite a few stunners! Although the […]
17 June 2018
16 June 2018 – Moth from Dr Seuss
Pale-shouldered Brocade (Lacanobia thalassina) The warm weather we experienced earlier this week brought new and old moths in similar measure –well new to me, that is. While I don’t think that we’ve identified all the moths that have ever graced the Sandy Hall gardens, I don’t anticipate discovering any new ones this summer. What, with […]
16 June 2018
15 June 2018 – Flames like Twigs
The Flame (Axylia putris) It’s now been over a week since I arrived at Shandy Hall and just when I thought was getting a handle on things, a few new moths arrived that threw me off my game. There were a few mystery moths and a particularly enigmatic bird dropping micro, however none are new […]
12 June 2018
12 June 2018 – National Garden Moths
National Garden Scheme visitors (Homo sapiens) The weather on Thursday was absolutely beautiful and it followed on from a warm night, which was fortunate for us because Friday was the National Garden Scheme open evening. While the good weather may not have lasted, neither humans nor moths were deterred by the chillier evening and we […]
7 June 2018
7 June 2018 – First Catch
Blood-vein (Timamdra comai) My first morning examining the moth trap I learned that long, unruly hair and micro moths do not mix well. After tying up my hair, the second thing I learned was that there were many more moths in the trap than I had imagined there would be – even after researching what […]
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
