21 April 2019 - Moth in Wolf's Clothing

Brindled Beauty (Lycia hirtaria)

It was a little premature to announce the appearance of the full moon on the occasion of the previous moth-trap. Good Friday was the correct date - and this moth and that date couldn't be more appropriate.  The Brindled Beauty (Lycia hirtaria) makes only its second appearance at Shandy Hall and this is a fine, strongly marked, male specimen with pectinate (comb-like) antennae.  The description of the first recording in 2014 can be found here along with the record of the Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria) - a moth very similar in appearance.

The Lycia part of the scientific name is derived from the Greek for 'wolf' (lycos) and the wolf is the animal that howls at the full moon.

Brindled Beauties [illustration]

The male and female of the species were drawn in flight for the Humphreys and Westwood edition of British Moths and their Transformations - another word we associate with the wolf and the lycanthropic state.

The Brindled Beauty is recorded as being a scarce and local resident in Yorkshire but it seems there may have been an increase over the last couple of years. 

Twin-spotted Quaker (Anorthoa munda)

This Twin-spotted Quaker (Anorthoa munda) is so clearly marked that it serves as a good identity image for this relatively uncommon species. Sometimes this moth will appear in a rusty-red version and sometimes the twin-spots may not be easy to see.  It tends to spend its time in woodland habitats and is the least likely of the Quakers to be seen in the garden.

When first recorded in Coxwold the scientific name was Orthosia munda.  UK Moths now identifies it as Anorthoa munda and I can't seem to find the reason.

Small Quaker (Othosia cruda)

The photograph of the Small Quaker is included purely because it is a particularly fresh and crisply marked example.  It has retained the Orthosia name unlike its cousin above.

The other moths in the trap included two Garden Carpets (Xanthorhoe fluctuata) that dashed off as soon as the egg boxes were moved; an Early Grey and a few other Quakers.

PS

(First swallow spotted in Coxwold on Saturday.)

18 February 2014 - New Year, New Moth

Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria)

Most of the lighting in Shandy Hall is from energy-saving bulbs but the spotlight in the kitchen is old and (while it lasts) still sends forth a piercing light.  Last night two beautiful, green-tinged moths were drawn by the light to the window; one a new species and the other an early awakener.
The Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria) is an appropriate name for this new addition to the list of species with its attractive, stripe-patterned and flecked wings.  When I tried to photograph it this morning I thought it had given up the ghost. It seemed lifeless with its legs tucked and crossed into its abdomen and made no response to being gently handled.  I placed it on a moss carpet and it remained completely still.  It must be dead.  However, one leg suddenly shot out from beneath its wing canopy as I was considering what to do with it - proving it's fine and so will be released tonight.   The Latin name has changed from Apocheima pilosaria meaning the 'shaggy coated one that flies in winter' to Phigalia pilosaria where Phigalia is a town in Greece.  Identifying a new species to the gardens in February is a good start to the year - number 326.

The second moth that was drawn to the domestic window was a Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata).  This moth was just as freshly coloured and must have emerged from hibernation that evening.  Consulting the list of species on the wing in Yorkshire, the Red-green Carpet isn't listed - it should still be asleep.

Pale Brindled Beauty (Phigalia pilosaria) illustration

30 April 2014 - Shaggy Moth for Shaggy Garden

Brindled Beauty (Lycia hirtaria)

Derek Jarman : If a garden isn't shaggy, forget it.  The Brindled Beauty is the perfect moth for the shaggy garden as the Latin reveals - lycia : shaggy like a wolf; hirtaria : from hirtus meaning shaggy.  The moth is very furry and its wing-scales are also sprinkled delicately with gold-dust.  This male will have hatched within the last day or two and is quite a common moth in the south of England but not so many in the north.  This is the first time it has appeared in the garden (Species 333) and its arrival coincided with Waved Umbers, a Streamer, Hebrew Characters, Clouded Drabs, and a couple of Shoulder Stripes - and the micro-moth below.

(Pseudoswammerdamia combinella)

The micro-moth in the photograph was first recorded here in August 2012 but this particular specimen is so clearly and cleanly marked that it deserves a repeat entry.  Its name shows it is allied to the swammerdamia family and named after the Dutch entomologist JJ Swammerdam (1637 -1680) who was an important contributor to the understanding of moths, butterflies and their 'metamorphic' transformations.  Swammerdam proved the life-cycle of a moth was a series of stages of the individual rather than it changing into another state.  He became a mystic.

7 July 2020 - Black and White

Peppered Moth (Biston insularia)

All the Peppered Moths I have seen in the gardens at Shandy Hall have been the whiter versions of the species - until now.  Here is Biston insularia ('insular' meaning : pertaining to an island) which is halfway between Biston betularia and B. carbonaria. This intermediate member of the species is not the result of cross-breeding and is genetically distinct.  
For a full colour range showing the degrees of variety see the UK Moths website here.  

Melanism ('black pigment') takes place in a number of other species of UK moths: Pale Brindled Beauty, Scalloped Hazel, Hebrew Character and Clouded-bordered Brindle to name but four.  The dark, black  carbonaria variety of the Peppered Moth seems to be decreasing in the county.

 

Common Footman (Eilima lurideola)

The description in the Field Guide is interesting -'rests with forewings gently curled over body'. All moths fold their wings in particular ways but to include the word 'gently' shows the authors (Waring and Townsend) have been particularly beguiled by this neat little moth. 

'Footman' was the name given to the servant who would run alongside his master who was mounted on horseback. The term developed to include the liveried footman who waited at table dressed in a garment that 'curled gently over body'.  It is a very common moth at this time of year.  If disturbed it jerks and twitches in spasms rather than just taking flight. 

 

Marbled Minor (Oligia strigils)

Tawny Marbled Minor (Oligia latruncula) and Rufous Minor (Oligia versicolor) are the other possibilities. I am pretty certain that this is a Marbled Minor. It can be identified more easily when a splash of white is visible on the wing edges folded over the abdomen, but this melanic version seems likely.  The wing markings are complex but characteristic.  Oligia is from the Greek oligos meaning 'small' and strigilis refers to the strigil or scraper used by bathers, the shape of which can be seen as a 'little line' on the forewing.

Uncertain (Hoplodrina alsines)

It could equally well not be an Uncertain and be a Mottled Rustic (Caradrina morpheus).  The evidence?  Both are a similar shade of brown - sort of softly blurred caramel - and there were numerous examples in the trap. Both fly during this late June, early July time and both have been recorded once before at Shandy Hall.  Hoplon is the Greek word for a weapon and alsines refers to the Bog Stitchwort, a delightful plant found on water  margins and  one of the foodplants of the species.

5 October 2016 - Flying Tonight

Flying tonight

Another clear sky and another overnight drop in temperature.  Hopes were not high for last night's trap, especially as I realised at 9.30 that I had forgotten to set it.  The head-torch battery had run down to produce barely a glimmer but, as I thought I knew my way around the garden and quarry, I set off with the extension cables. However I discovered that I didn't know my way in the dark and was sufficiently disorientated to have to retrace my steps using the cable as Ariadne's thread.

The photograph above shows the number of moths found in the trap. These six species can be found in the top section of the Yorkshire Moths Flying Tonight website - that is, they are all common. From the top in descending order they are : Yellow-line Quaker, Beaded Chestnut, Green-brindled Crescent, Angle Shades, Dark Chestnut and Red-line Quaker.  The Dark Chestnut is the least common in Yorkshire but it has been a regular visitor at Shandy Hall since this blog was started.

I pick out the moth below for its exceptional beauty. 

Red-line Quaker (Agrochola lota)