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This page is intended to serve as an indication
of the butterflies and moths recently seen
in the Yorkshire region (the Yorkshire
Moths group also provides good information on moth sightings). Sightings
don't have to be rare or unusual, the idea is to give other website users
an idea of what to look out for. If you have sightings to report, send
an e-mail to the webmaster
with details of what you saw, the date you saw it and the general area
in which it was. If you took any pictures on that day that you would like
to share then include your favourite picture with the e-mail (we are looking
for current photos, rather than your best pictures from the archives).
We encourage you to submit your sightings to
your Vice County Recorder details of whom can be found on the
Recorders page. There is a
standard form for recording butterflies which can be downloaded here
and there is a checklist and notes about moth recording in Yorkshire which
can be downloaded here.
Click on the small picture or the links in the individual reports to see
any attached photos - please note that
Images are the property of the photographer and should not be reproduced
without permission.
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6th
July 2008
Nick
Hall went
to Sherburn Willows and surroundings yesterday where he saw 5 Six-spot
Burnets, 1 Large
Skipper, numerous Meadow
Brown and Ringlets.
Dave Howson reports that there were
two White-letter Hairstreak on an Ilkley tree on the 3rd July. Dave
has received several reports of Northern Brown Argus in Upper Wharfedale
from 24th June onwards, the butterfly has been seen by Dave
himself, David and Midge Leather,
Gerald Light, and Paul
Millard. Paul also reported
a Dark Green Fritillary (our first sighting) on 3rd July near Kettlewell.
Lee and Jax Westmoreland caught their
first ever Varied
Coronet overnight on the 4th-5th July. Sheila
Hirst spotted this
Foxglove
Pug in her Brockholes garden. It
was good to see some of you at the YNU VC65 Field Event at Thorp Perrow
Arboretum yesterday. Despite the sometimes poor weather, a good day was
had by all. Charlie
Fletcher, Jill Warwick and Diane Bowes
set the moth traps overnight capturing over 80 species of moth.
David Baker photographed this Green
Oak Tortrix (Tortrix viridana) and Green
Arches. When the weather cleared, a walk in the grounds gave further
sightings of Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Green-veined White along with Mullein
Moth larva which was photographed by Jax
Westmoreland. Over in Sheffield Ange
Garrod has captured her first Barred
Yellow and new for this year a Common
Emerald and Double-striped
Pug.
5th
July 2008
Derek
Parkinson reports
that the Hawthorn
Moth (Scythropia crataegella) now appears in his Baildon garden in
early July every year.Derek says that it is one of his favourite micros.
This one was caught last night. Ange Garrod in
Sheffield reports Bramble-shoot
Moth, Marbled
Beauty (new for garden) and Cinnabar (new for year) in the past few
days. David Baker in Tadcaster has
captured Barred
Yellow, Barred
Straw and Large
Fruit-tree Tortrix (Archips podana). Lee
and Jax Westmoreland went to Brown Rigg Beck yesterday where
they saw lots of Peacock
larvae, a newly emerged Meadow
Brown, Small and Large Skipper, Green-veined White and Small Pearl-bordered
Fritillary.
4th
July 2008
New
in the Scarborough moth trap for Lee and Jax
Westmoreland this morning was this beautiful Swallow-tailed
Moth. Charlie Fletcher tells us
that Michael Flowers' road casualty
moth is an Old Lady - fancy an old lady being hit by a car. Michael
has been out and about today spotting his (and
our) first
Gatekeepers
(with more
than one again) at Kilnsea and then at Spurn Point, he
says there was a
nice selection, but only small numbers of Brimstone (bright, but tatty),
Red Admiral, Peacock caterpillar, Ringlet, Large White, Small Heath, Green-veined
White, Speckled Wood & Meadow Brown. Damian
Money spotted Small
Skipper (with second
photo) and Ringlet
(with second
photo) in Skelton. Tony Butler reports
2 Gatekeepers (joint first sighting), 151 Marbled Whites at Sprotborough
followed he says, "by a measly" 23 Marbled Whites at the nearby
earth centre! Paul
Brothers, Karon Sharp and Julian Matthews were
at Brockadales today where Paul tells us that at last there were some
decent butterflies to record - we should say so - their totals were 1
Red Admiral, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 2 Large Skippers, 6 Small
Skippers, 6+ Gatekeepers (joint first sighting), 150+ Meadow Browns,
150+ Ringlets, 2 male Brimstones, 200+ Marbled
Whites, (with second
photo showing the underwing), a Comma,
a Cinnabar Moth and 3 Six-spotted
Burnets !!! David
Baker in
Tadcaster has captured Dusky Brocade and well behaved Small
Blood-vein and Common
White Wave (tell us your secret David!).
3rd
July 2008
Jackie
Dawson reports
Marbled
White and Small
Heath at Wharram Quarry. David Baker recorded
these Marbled Beauty overnight and says that picture
one and picture
two give a good idea of how well camouflaged (or not) they can be.
Michael Flowers was also at Wharram
Quarry today where his sightings included Marbled
White (this one newly emerged and pumping its apparently damaged wings),
Small Heath, Ringlet, Common Blue and Meadow Brown. Lee
and Jax Westmoreland were out on Fylingdales Moor today where
they saw Common Blue, Small Heath, Ringlet and Small
Pearl-bordered Fritillary along with Clouded
Buff and Grass
Wave. The Scarborough moth trap contained Bordered
Sallow this morning. Terry Rowe was
at Lady Spring Wood near Malton today where he saw Meadow Brown and Ringlet.
2nd
July 2008
Ange
Garrod in
Sheffield has captured Emmetia
marginea, Uncertain,
Pale Mottled
Willow, Small
Dusty Wave, Ash
Bud Moth (Prays fraxinella) and Cork
Moth (Nemapogon cloacella) over the past few days. David
Baker in Tadcaster has added Dipleurina
lacustrata to his species list for this year along with Yellow Shell
and Swallow-tailed Moth. In Scarborough, the moth trap contained a number
of new species for the year including Blood
Vein, Light
Arches and Marbled
Beauty along with two species new to the garden Foxglove
Pug and Poplar
Grey for Lee and Jax Westmoreland.
In Calley Heath near Pocklington Michael Flowers
reports Common Blue, Meadow Brown and Ringlet but he says they
were not in the numbers you would expect at this time of year, in a very
rich grassland habitat.
1st
July 2008
Maurice Gordon found
this Common
Emerald in his Kirk Ella kitchen today. Sheila
Hirst reports
from Brockholes where she says that the last month has been very poor
for butterflies, there have been a few visits from whites but nothing
else. Today the weather was very warm and sunny and a Meadow Brown came
into the garden and stayed on the small Hebe and Dactylorhizas. Martin
Greenland reports the first sighting of a White-letter Hairstreak
at Roche Abbey today. David Baker reports
the the catch in his Tadcaster garden included Riband
Wave, Marbled
Beauty, Fan-foot
and Stenoptilia
milleridactyla. New in the Scarborough moth trap for Lee
and Jax Westmoreland was this Gothic.
A walk around Bempton Cliffs today produced lots of Gannet sightings but
only two Ringlets, a Chimney Sweeper and a Large White in the cooling
sea gale!
30th
June 2008
Martyn
Priestly tells
us that the area he watches in Bradford is called Raw Nook and it has
just been granted the status of a local Nature Reserve. Martyn is the
warden/recorder for the site. Today he saw Common Blue 7, Ringlet
6, Meadow Brown 8, Speckled Wood 4, and a Large Skipper. Tim
Nelson went to Fen Bog today where, despite overcast and breezy
conditions, he managed to find two Large Heath. Jon
Harvey reports that on Saturday 28th, on a walk along the floodbank
at Paull Holme Strays he spotted 10 Meadow Browns, which were just managing
to avoid getting blown away by the strong winds. On the 29th June at North
Cave wetlands he spotted 5 Ringlets (his first this year), 4 Meadow Browns
and 1 Small Skipper, also his very observant 6 year old spotted a Cinnabar
moth. David Baker has been trapping
at Elvington where the catch included
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, both sexes of Ghost
Moth in the same trap (image of male), Oblique
Carpet and Coxcomb
Prominent. Micros included Aleimma
loeflingiana. Ange Garrod in Sheffield
has captured Clepsis
consilimana, Freyer's
Pug, Marbled
Minor agg., White-spotted
Pug and Dipleurina
lacustrata. Lee and Jax Westmoreland went
for a walk in Deepdale (Dalby Forest) today where they saw Small
Copper, Large
and Small Skipper, Ringlet,
Meadow Brown, Common
Blue and Small
Pearl-bordered Fritillary.
29th
June 2008
Lee
and Jax Westmoreland in
Scarborough captured Common
Wainscot, Codling
Moth and the Miller
overnight. David Baker tells us that
there were not as may moths in his Tadcaster trap this morning, but two
newcomers for the year worth were Riband
Wave (non-banded) and a Leopard
Moth clinging to a garden seat cover. Whilst moving it the moth curled
its body and seemed to feign death. However, it had relaxed twenty minutes
later and David managed a shot, although it is a very worn specimen. Peter
Swallow reports that in a brief sunny period this morning,
he spotted his first Ringlet of the year at Lowthorpe Church and a second
near Ruston Parva. Peter says that butterflies have been very scarce in
the area this Spring. Paul Brothers and Karon
Sharp say that they only saw 3 Meadow Browns today at Golden
Acre Park.
28th
June 2008
David
Baker is
back in business again in Tadcaster with quite a good catch of 52 specimens
encompassing 25 species, with new for year species Common Emerald, Dark
Arches, Snout, Plutella xylostella (Diamond-back), Pyrausta
aurata, Common
Footman, Ditula angustiorana and Eudonia mercurella an the return
of Cydia
pomonella. Paul Brothers and Karon Sharp
went to Fairburn today and saw 1 Red Admiral, 1 Large Skipper
and 1 Ringlet. and around 80 Nettle-taps. Nick
Goulthorpe put the moth trap out last night and had caught
a Small Elephant Hawk-moth, an Elephant Hawk-moth, a Burnished Brass,
a Poplar Hawk moth, and a Barred Yellow. Paul says that is a vast improvement
on previous weeks, when they have been lucky to get just a couple of species.
New in the Scarborough moth trap for Lee and
Jax Westmoreland were Small
Angle Shades, Brown
China-mark and Dioryctria
abietella.
26th
June 2008
Damian
Money captured
this Garden
Tiger in his Skelton garden. David Baker
found a Hofmannophila pseudospretella (Brown House-moth) on
his Tadcaster bedroom curtains this morning. Michael
Flowers spotted this moth
which appeared to have been struck by a vehicle and wonders if anyone
can identify it. Paul Brothers and
Karon Sharp went to Bempton Cliffs
today and saw a couple of Green-veined Whites, Silver-ground Carpets and
a single Chimney Sweeper moth. Paul says it's not a good set of records
for the time of year. Ange Garrod has
been busy over in Sheffield capturing Broad-barred
White, Large
Yellow Underwing, Grey
Pug and Straw
Dot in her garden moth trap. Steve Graham
tells us that the butterfly recording and moth trapping in
his corner of VC63 has been rather slow so far this year. However, he
visited Thorne Moors on the 24th and briefly called in at Bulcliffe Colliery
site, West Bretton near Huddersfield where he saw his first Meadow Brown
of the year. Steve says that Thorne Moors was excellent despite a slight
breeze, he followed the yellow trail and recorded Large Heath - 57 (probably
100-200 on the wing if the whole site was fully surveyed), Meadow Brown
- 4, Speckled Wood - 6, Large Skipper - 15, and Green-veined White - 1.
There were 2 fresh Wall on Shelley Bridle in early June which was encouraging
as there were no local sightings last year. Steve's highlight of the year
so far was finding a Dingy Skipper on the TPT for the first time, again
in very blustery conditions back in early June and says he's sure there
would have been several more but they were keeping out of the wind. Steve
photographed a mating pair of Privet
Hawkmoths found at Noar HIll NNR in Hampshire whilst visiting his
in-laws in May. New in the Scarborough moth trap for Lee
and Jax Westmoreland were Phlyctaenia
coronata, Small
Blood-vein (first for garden), Udea
olivalis, Small Dotted Buff (first for garden) and Snout.
25th
June 2008
Ange
Garrod recorded
this Speckled
Wood in her Sheffield garden. She has also been busy with the moth
trap recording Grey
Pine Carpet, Barred Fruit-tree Tortrix, Dipleurina
lacustrata
and Teleiodes
vulgella all new for the garden. Ange
tells us that several moths landed on the north-east facing wall of the
house during daylight hours. Dave O'Brien was
working over the border in Greystones Community Woodland where he saw
9 Speckled Wood, 15 Ringlet, 2 Common Blue, and 1 Large Skipper, as well
as a Drinker caterpillar. Michael Flowers reports
that there were at least 3 Latticed
Heath at Beacon Ponds (nr Spurn) today. Also present were Cinnabar,
Silver
Y, Yellow-tail
larva his first Meadow Brown of the year, plus 5 Speckled Wood. New
in the Scarborough moth trap for Lee and Jax
Westmoreland were Light
Emerald, Purple
Clay, Burnished
Brass and Mottled
Beauty.
23rd
June 2008
John
Ash Wilkinson was
at Anston Stones on the 22nd where he recorded 3 Ringlets
(joint first sighting of 2008), 1 Marbled White (first sighting of 2008),
15 Meadow Browns, a few Large Whites,a Speckled Wood and a Yellow
Shell. Ian Marshall in Flamborough
also spotted a Ringlet on the 22nd and Lenora
Bruce in the same location on the same day recorded the first
sighting of a Small Skipper. Damian Money captured
a Pale Prominent
in Skelton on the 21st. David Baker in
Tadcaster captured 0724
Metzneria lapella and 1024
Cnephasia incertana also on the 21st, an early birthday present for
David who celebrates his seventieth birthday today - many happy returns
to you. Ange Garrod in Sheffield recorded
Nemophora
degeerella on the 21st - a new species for her garden. Derek
Parkinson recorded a Currant
Clearwing in his Baildon garden yesterday. New in the Scarborough
moth trap for Lee and Jax Westmoreland on
the night of the 21st were Lime
Hawk-moth, Elephant
Hawk-moth, Mottled
Beauty and Barred
Red. There was also a Scalloped
Hazel which looked remarkably like it had been crossed with a Common
Marbled Carpet! Sally Whale spotted
this Common
Marbled Carpet flying into a Cherry tree in her Headingley garden
today where she also saw a few Speckled Woods and a Small White.
21st
June 2008
Oh
no! They've made it to Scarborough! A Large
Yellow Underwing was present in the moth trap for Lee
and Jax Westmoreland this morning. Also in the trap, new for
year were Green
Pug and Flame
and a very flighty Willow Beauty. Damian Money
tells us that it is still fairly quiet in his Skelton garden
at the moment, he did see a Speckled
Wood yesterday. There was also a Dingy Shell near Upleatham. David
Baker reports from Elvington where he captured Anthophila
fabriciana along with the common, but not always appreciated Celypha
lacunana of which he says that the close-up patterning is more intricate
than it seems just using ones eyes.
20th
June 2008
David
Baker has
been trapping at the reserve at Elvington where he captured 27 species
including Green
Oak Tortrix (Tortrix virdana), Drinker, Nemophora degeerella, Elachista
argentella, Light Emerald, Clouded Border, Lime Speck Pug and Dusky Brocade.
Ange
Garrod in
Sheffield has been busy moth trapping capturing Brimstone
Moth and
Cherry-bark
Moth. New in the Scarborough moth trap for Lee
and Jax Westmoreland this morning were Small
Fan-foot, Small
Phoenix and Green
Silver-lines. An earlier visit to the castle hill resulted in the
sighting of two Speckled Wood only. Paul Brothers
and Karon Sharp were on
Ellerburn Bank today where sightings included Meadow
Brown, Small
Heath, Dingy
Skipper, Common
Blue along with Small, Large and Green-veined Whites. An afternoon
visit to Fen Bog gave sightings of Dingy Skipper, Common Blue and Small
Pearl-bordered Fritillary with Small Copper, Small Heath and Common Blue.
18th
June 2008
Ange
Garrod in
Sheffield has been busy moth trapping capturing Figure
of Eighty, Freyer's
Pug and
a possible (gender determination needed) Nemapogon
ruricolella. David Baker had his
first Large Yellow Horrible (sorry - Large Yellow Underwing), along with
Bee moth
and Udea
olivalis in his Tadcaster moth trap. David also captured his first
Straw Dot
for the garden. Chris Toop spotted
his and our first Meadow Brown at Sykehouse in VC63 on the 16th. Chris
tells us that we should keep an eye out for Small Skipper which is on
the wing just over the border in Nottinghamshire at Misson Carr SSSI,
not too far from Doncaster.
17th
June 2008
Damian
Money tells
us that despite the cooler weather in Skelton he has had a few firsts
for the year recently in the garden including Freyers and Currant Pugs,
Cinnabar, Buff-tip and Spectacle.
David Baker reports that while it
may be flaming June, there aren't many moths. He captured 4 macromoths
last night in Tadcaster along with 3 micromoths including this Brown
House-moth (Hofmannophila pseudospretella) and says that no-one seems
to bother with these common little house moths, but they are rather pretty.
David had a good day out at the YNU
VC64 meeting at Ellington Banks on Saturday along with Charlie
Fletcher and Jill Warwick
and others. There was a good turnout, with plenty of moths from overnight
trapping. Firstly a common moth, the Marbled
Minor, possibly even Tawny, but now classed as Marbled Minor agg.
There seem to have been a large number of Green
Carpets about this year. Another smart macro, is the Small
Angle Shades. Two micros to finish, 0263
Lyonetia clerkella, given the vernacular name of Apple Leaf Miner,
and David's favourite micro, (apart from spelling it!), 0925
Phtheochroa rugosana.Winston
Plowes in Hebden Bridge had his first migrant of the year last
night in the form of a Silver Y.
16th
June 2008
Paul
and Andrew Kipling spotted
their (and our) first Large
Heath at Fen Bog yesterday. They also saw Dingy Skipper and Small
pearl-bordered Fritillary. Ange Garrod captured
this Ingrailed
Clay in her Sheffield moth trap. Paul Brothers
and Karon Sharp have been out and about at the weekend, they
tell us that Friday was a total loss because apart from a couple of Green-veined
White seen whilst driving, they did not see any other butterfly activity
along the River Wharfe from Barden Towers towards Burnsall. Paul saw a
single Speckled Wood in his Cross Gates garden on Saturday morning and
the pair saw around 10 Large Skippers feeding at Fairburn Ings, along
with 5 Common Blues and 4 Green-veined Whites. The only other thing of
interest was a lone Cinnabar moth. Returning to Fairburn Ings at dusk
to see what could be found, they only found a couple of Garden Carpets
and a possible Silver-ground Carpet. Paul says that the bat activity probably
kept the moths at bay, or else they had eaten most of them by the time
they arrived. On Sunday, it wasn't any better as they only saw a couple
of Green-veined Whites at Golden Acre Park, along with 5 Nemophora degeerella.
14th
June 2008
Tom
Hubball reports
2 Small
Copper, 2 Silver-ground
Carpet, 1 Mother
Shipton and 1 Angle
Shades plus 1 Green Hairstreak, 1 Wall, 2 Small White, 1 Green-veined
White, 1 Large Skipper and 5 Nettle-tap moths Anthophila fabriciana from
Timble Ings (VC64) today. Winston Plowes in
Hebden Bridge has captured several species new for year including Small
Angle Shades, Shoulder-striped Wainscot and Coxcomb Prominent along with
Clouded Silver, Pale Tussock, Figure of Eighty, Broken-barred Carpet and
Magpie - all new for the location. On the 10th June, Winston went to Thrislington
NR where he saw Northern Brown Argus, Common
Blue, Latticed Heath, Yellow Shell and Sandy
Carpet and says that these beautiful meadows are well worth a visit.
David Baker confirmed that the mystery
moth at Elvington was a Dusky
Brocade. In Tadcaster this morning he managed to get
a good image of a Willow
Beauty. David also had a walk around Strensall before lunch and managed
to catch Marbled
White Spot and transfer it onto a tree trunk to photograph.
13th
June 2008
Ange
Garrod in
Sheffield has had a busy few days capturing Lozotaenia
forsterana, Elachista
argentella, both new for the garden, along with Scalloped
Hazel and a pair of Anthophila
fabriciana doing what comes naturally. Tom
Hubball spotted a Large Skipper at Timble Ings on the 11th,
at 8.30pm at rest. David Baker tells
us that on a wet morning (Thurs 12th), he didnt expect much, but
captured his first Green
Pug at home in Tadcaster. David went
on to Elvington Air Museum where he had two traps running overnight. he
tells us that the vegetation was wet through but that he still had over
100 specimens to deal with. Straw Dots and Middle-barred Minors in abundance,
an Eyed Hawk-moth.
David says that he agitated it slightly to try to get a shot of the eyes
on hind wings, however, they had both been removed by a predator, presumably
a bird or birds and it goes to show how the body had been protected by
this mimicry. Job done! David almost missed this Peppered
Moth, 6 inches from the floor on the Oak tree near to the trap, and
says that even on the greenish bark the moth's camouflage is good. The
Setaceous
Hebrew Character was the freshest he has seen in 10 years
trapping and again shows how cryptic the colouring can be. New in the
Scarborough moth trap overnigh were May
Highflyer, Dusky Brocade and Ingrailed
Clay. Michael Flowers spotted
this Drinker
Larva at Spurn on the 12th.
11th
June 2008
Derek
Parkinson visited
Otley Chevin on Sunday 8th June with his daughters and Helena (the eldest)
alerted him to the presence of a Wood
Tiger. Derek also saw Orthotaenia
undulana on the bilberry and lots of Cocksfoot
Moths (Glyphipterix simpliciella) on the buttercups. Ange
Garrod in Sheffield has captured Buff
Ermine and Lesser
Treble-bar, two species new for her garden. In Scarborough for Lee
and Jax Westmoreland the surprises in the trap this morning
were Scorched
Wing and Eyed
Hawk-moth.
10th
June 2008
Lee
and Jax Westmoreland captured
several new species in their Scarborough moth trap overnight including
Dot Moth,
Timothy Tortrix,
Pebble Prominent
and Coxcomb
Prominent. Martin Wainwright has
captured a long awaited Elephant
Hawk-moth in his Leeds garden moth trap and he asks If anyone has
good ideas for keeping birds away from the trap in the morning (after
inspection), saying that the best he can manage at the moment is to creep
around the garden trying to find places to tap out the moths without the
birds seeing! Anyone with ideas please email the webmistress (who has
had trouble with birds actually getting into the trap to say nothing of
nosy Fox cubs dislodging the lamp!). Damian Money
has been busy (and brave) in Skelton he managed to go out on
National Moth Night with just himself and a Barn Owl for company! Damian
took an Actinic bulb and sheet in to the orchard at work and managed a
few new moths for the site as this is the first time it has been trapped.
In his garden he captured Pebble
Prominent and Oak
Hook-tip. Mike Pearson tells us
that Rich Baines in Flamborough captured
a Flame Wainscot - a first for Yorkshire. Christine
Frost in Withernsea captured Platyptilia gonodactyla last night
as well as a very dark Scalloped Hazel. Michael
Flowers reports Large
Skipper and Drab
Looper at Howden Marsh today. David Baker
tells us that he captured 24 species last night, including
16 macro and 8 micromoths. The best being his first ever dark form of
Scalloped Hazel. David also had his first Willow Beauty of the year
and Bryotropha
affinis. Sally Whale reports Speckled
Wood and Pyrausta Aurata in her Headingley garden today; She saw a Small
Tortoiseshell and various distant Whites on the Chevin yesterday.
9th
June 2008
Tom
Hubball was
out and about yesterday, at Shipley Station Meadow he saw - 3 Common
Blue, at Toad Holes Beck, Bradford - 2 Large
Skipper and a Silver Y and at BEES Urban Nature Reserve, Bradford
- a Speckled
Wood. Sylvia Brennan reports White
Ermine and Speckled
Wood in her garden in Hartburn, Stockton on Tees today. It is the
first Speckled Wood seen there. Later in the day at Dormans Pool, Seal
Sands she saw a Northern Brown Argus, lots of Common Blues and Walls,
Large and Small Whites and what she thought was a Brimstone in flight
but was unable to locate it. There was also a Silver
Y present. Arnold Robson took
a walk along the lane bordering the Bolton Lake YWT reserve this morning
where he counted 19 Speckled Woods, a Wall and a Common Blue. This afternoon
he went to Whitcliffe Scar where there were several fresh Small Heaths,
a Small Copper and 2 Walls. Jesika and Jim Bone
report that yesterday at Wheatlands, they saw theit first Large
Skippers (6). Today there was one in the allotments. Jesika tells us that
even Speckled Woods seem rare, but she did see a Holly Blue today. Two
of the Large Whites which overwintered as pupae have emerged. In Hebden
Bridge Winston Plowes has captured
his first True Lover's Knot and Magpie. In Sheffield, Ange
Garrod has captured her first Nemapogon
cloacella, Small
Clouded Brindle, Clouded-bordered
Brindle, Small
Fan-foot, Marbled Minor agg and Pammene
germmana. New in the Scarborough moth trap for Lee
and Jax Westmoreland overnight were Broken-barred
Carpet, Peach
Blossom, Small
Magpie, Clouded
Silver and Caloptilia
syringella. Lee reports a Red Admiral on the castle hill in Scarborough.
Paul Brothers and Karon Sharp tell
us that this morning they saw a Brimstone moth in their Leeds back garden
and a couple of Speckled Woods all before 10am. The pair went to Golden
Acre Park later where they saw a couple of Green-veined Whites, a Peacock
and their first Red Admiral of the year. At to Otley Chevin they found
a single Green Hairstreak even under the perfect conditions, proving that
they are at the end of their flight season, a couple of Green-veined
Whites
were also present. A Wood
Tiger (their first ever) was also seen. Paul tells us that there was
a distinct lack of flowers on the big field which probably accounts for
the low butterfly count. On National Moth Night David
Baker and John Bowers took
4 traps to a site at Aberford within an orchard area.They
caught 38 species, 27 macro and 11 micromoths. The catch included Miller,
Grey Dagger
and PaleTussock
along with Enarmonia
formosana and Eurrhypara
hortulata. This morning David's catch included Epinotia
bilunana and Agapeta
hamana.
8th
June 2008
The
weather was kind to us on National Moth Day and Night with several people
reporting new for year sightings including Derek
Parkinson who tells us that this Pyrausta
aurata was flying around the marjoram in his Baildon garden during
the day. The Poplar
Hawk-moth was his first of the year as was this Plutella
porrectella. Paz Fletcher tells
us that the family were out on the cliffs at Filey yesterday, where they
saw lots of Silver Y, Wall, Small Copper, a single Peacock and Large White,
along with five Small Heath. Paz was
also trapping on National Moth Night where the best of his catch was a
Cream-bordered Green Pea. In Scarborough the moth trap held three new
species for the year, Angle Shades, Bee
Moth and White
Ermine for Lee and Jax Westmoreland.
A walk in Deepdale later gave sightings of Red
Admiral and Small
Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Dingy Skipper while Pexton and Ellerburn
were also hosts to Dingy Skipper, along with Small Heath and Common
Blue. At Fairburn Paul Brothers and Karon
Sharp spotted a Nemophora degeerella and at Brockadale on the
6th an Orange-tip. Winston Plowes
in Hebden Bridge reports Clouded Border and Peppered Moth as
new for the year. Michael Flowers tells
us that Chris Cox took this picture
of a Puss Moth
at Wetwang yesterday. David Baker was
at At Yorkshire Air Museum on Thursday for Flightpath, where
20 parties of schoolchildren attended. He had three parties of 15 children
in 40 minute sessions. With 20 live specimens caught the night before,
posters and drawing equipment,. David tells us that the children were
so well behaved, interested and inquisitive that he had a really enjoyable
day with them. The
best of the catch included Eyed Hawk-moth, Poplar Hawk-moth, Iron Prominent,
Green Silver-lines,
Gold Spot, Beautiful Golden Y, Middle-barred
Minor, Green Carpet and Peppered Moth and on the 5th June Peach
Blossom, Sandy
Carpet, Scorched Wing, Lesser and Swallow Prominents, Elephant and
Lime Hawk-moths,
Clepsis spectrana
and Eucosma
cana.
7th
June 2008
Richard
Bennett went
went to Nosterfield LNR yesterday where he saw 1 Orange-tip, 7 Common
Blue (with second
photo) 1 Peacock, 1 Wall and several Large White. Richard also found
several of these caterpillars
feeding on birds foot trefoil. A visit to Thrislington NR in County
Durham on the 5th produced a first sighting of a Northern
Brown Argus for Richard. New in the Scarborough moth trap for Lee
and Jax Westmoreland overnight was this Bordered
White. The pair are hoping for a bumper catch tonight as it's National
Moth Night. A walk along the sea cut in Scarborough brought a few
more moth sightings for the day including their first
Straw Dot of the year, Brown Silver-lines, Silver Y, Timothy Tortrix
and Diamond Back. Butterflies seen included Small and Green-veined White,
Orange-tip and Large
Skipper. Barry Dalton tells us
that on a visit to Thornton le Dale on the 1st June he saw a Brimstone,
At home in Norton (VC63) he has found Lime Speck Pug several Grey Pugs,
White Ermine and Common Swift. Terry Rowe had
a walk to Lady Spring Wood, Malton, where he saw 5 Common Blue, 1 Small
Copper, and 8 Green-veined White. New in the Sheffield moth trap for Ange
Garrod overnight were Bee
Moth and Snout.
Paz, Beth and Meredith Fletcher were
out and about south of Levisham today and were lucky enough to see two
Small
Pearl-bordered Fritillary basking as they warmed up and nectaring
on ground ivy. They also had sight of a Chimney Sweeper nearby but despite
the appearance of the sun the only other species they positively identified
was Green-veined White. New for the year in the Hebden Bridge moth trap
for Winston Plowes were Ghost Moth,
Cinnabar, Lime Hawk-moth, Common Marbled Carpet, Green Arches and new
for both garden and year Elephant
Hawk-moth (with second
photo). Paul Brothers and Karon Sharp were
at Fairburn Ings today where their only sighting was a Green-veined White.
6th
June 2008
New
in the Scarborough moth trap for Lee and Jax
Westmoreland was this Pale
Tussock (with second
photo) along with the darker form of Common
Marbled Carpet. Damian Money captured
this Iron
Prominent in Skelton along with Sallow Kitten,Gold Spot and Ash bud
Moth which was new for the garden. Terry Rowe
had a walk near Castle Howard yesterday where he saw Small
and Green-veined Whites and Orange-tip. In Norton he spotted a Comma.
Ange Garrod has been busy in Sheffield
where her catch has included Ingrailed
Clay (very lively), Small
Magpie, Bright-line
Brown-eye, Freyer's
Pug, Epiblema
rosaecolana and Dipleurina
lacustrata all new for the garden. Paul Brothers
and Karon Sharp went to Brockadale today where they saw around
10 Common Blues, 2 male Brimstones, a Green-veined White, a Large Skipper
and a couple of Yellow Shells. Although warm, the sun faded pretty quickly
ending any possibility of seeing more butterflies. They returned home
via South Milford, where the only sightings were a lone Common Blue and
3 Cinnabar moths.
5th
June 2008
John
Brookes reports
the first sighting of a Small
Pearl-bordered Fritillary at Raygate Slack (VC62) where he also saw
Orange-tip and Peacock. At Pexton Bank he saw Brown Silver Line and at
Ellerburn Bank, Small Heath, Common Blue, Dingy Skipper, Silver Y and
Green-veined White. Ange Garrod has
captured Epiblema
cynosbatella, Tinea
trinotella, and Brimstone all new for her Sheffield garden. Martin
Wainwright in Rawdon has been experimenting with unusual photographic
angles such as this one for a Poplar
Hawk-moth which he suggests could be used as a "draw the face
on the alien" competition! Martin also captured a Herald and a Lesser
Swallow Prominent. Lee and Jax Westmoreland ran
their Scarborough moth trap overnight and had a bumper catch of species
new for the year including Epiblema
cynosbatella, Lesser
Swallow Prominent, Common
White Wave, Common
Swift, Marbled Minor agg., Beautiful
Golden Y and Dagger
agg. The catch saw the return of Brimstone
moth and Poplar
Hawk-moth and continuing the unusual angle theme - a Common
Marbled Carpet - just look at those eyes!
4th
June 2008
Lee
Westmoreland spotted
his first Painted
Lady and Large
Skipper of the year on the castle hill in Scarborough today. Michael
Flowers was along the Hudson Way today where he saw this Common
Blues, a Holly Blue, a Large White, 3 Green-veined White, a Comma,
and a Speckled Wood which chased off an Orange-Tip twice! There were at
least 2 Cinnabar moths and a Silver-ground
Carpet. Winston Plowes in Hebden
Bridge has been recording new for year species in his moth trap including
White Ermine, Ruby Tiger, Grey Birch, Silver-ground Carpet and Peppered
Moth. On a walk around York cemetery on Monday he spotted Elachista
argentella. Damian Money tells
us that the mothing is improving in Skelton where he has caught several
species new to the garden including 141 Nematopogon schwarziellus, 0332a
Firethorn Leaf Miner, 1904 Scorched Wing, and 1918
Lunar Thorn.
3rd
June 2008
Robin
Adderley spotted
this pair of Lime
Hawk-moths in Harrogate on the 1st June. Martin
Wainwright in Rawdon, Leeds has been keeping watch on butterflies
in the area recording Orange-tip frpm the 5th May, Speckled Wood from
the 6th, Holly Blue from the 19th and Brimstone from the 31st. Martin
tells us that the Brimstone is only in its second or possibly third year
and that Speckled Wood is doing really well, with more and more sightings
each year. In his garden moth trap he captured this Spectacle.
David Baker in Tadcaster reports a
Garden Pebble (which unfortuately flew before sitting for a portrait)
along with two micromoths queuing in numerical order 0409a Argyresthai
trifasciata and 0409b Argyresthia
cupressella. Winston Plowes in
Hebden bridge captured this Common
Carpet. Michael Flowers tells
us that there are now a lot of Garden
Tiger Moth larvae out at Spurn (VC61) along with the Brown-Tails.
Michael also saw a Red Admiral at Kilnsea.
1st
June 2008
Paul
Brothers and Julian Matthews were
at Fairburn Ings on the 31st where they saw Large Skipper, Common
Blue, Orange-tip, Small Copper, Small White, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell
along with Burnet
Companion, Nettle-tap
(Anthophila fabriciana) , Silver-ground
Carpet and Yellow
Shell. A Yellow-tail
larva was also seen. Peter Lees saw
a male and female Orange-tip alongside a footpath near Irton village on
the 31st. Ange Garrod has been busy
in Sheffield capturing Angle
Shades (newly
emerged), Turnip
Moth, Pale
Tussock, Shuttle-shaped
Dart and a pair of mating Esperia
sulphurella. Her garden has been home to Comma, Large White Orange-tip
and Speckled Wood. New in the Scarborough moth trap for Lee
and Jax Westmoreland this morning was a Common Lutestring.
David Baker in Tadcaster has captured
several species new for the year overnight including Lime
Hawk-moth, Green
Carpet, Turnip
Moth and Common
Swift.
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