Shandy Hall Moths

21 December 2011 - Winter Moth

2011-12-21T07:27:00.000-08:00

Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)

A light in the kitchen, close to an outside window, attracted a moth to rest on the glass. From beneath it was quite drab in appearance and difficult to photograph. However, catching it and bringing it inside was simple and after a short burst of frantic activity, it came to rest with its wings together in traditional butterfly position. This moth is a tiny scrap of nothing – so delicate it seemed barely alive – and 69 attempts to photograph it later, the photograph you see here was sent to Dave Chesmore who reckons it is probably a Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata). (The colouring is brown, not orange as in the photograph.) The brumata refers to brevissima: the shortest, ie shortest day – which is tomorrow - so its appearance is most appropriate. Operophtera is a nineteenth-century typo for Oporophtera – opora: fruit and phtheiro: destroy. This moth spends its caterpillar-days munching on apple leaves and travels by ‘ballooning’ on silken threads from one spot to another. The adult female is flightless so it might be possible to see it on the tree trunks by night.

Merveille du Jour (Dichonia aprilina)

Driving home later that night similar scraps of nothing could be seen caught in the headlight glare. Were they all Winter Moths navigating their way in search of their flightless Andromeda-like partners?
The Merveille du Jour is shown once more as a reminder, as it was for Linnaeus, of Spring….(see September posting).

26 October 2011 - The Chestnut

2011-10-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

The Chestnut (Conistra vacinii)

The lightning and the downpour prevented a trap last night, just when it seemed the weather was favourable. It’s getting late in the year now but maybe it is still worth a chance this weekend. The last posting mentioned that there were two other moths in the trap – both similar but not straightforward to identify. Dave Chesmore confirmed that the moth was The Chestnut (Conistra vacinii). The Latin name: Conistra - a place covered in dust and vacinii - the bilberry, a possible food plant. So, it’s another new species for Shandy Hall and an appropriate time for a Chestnut to drop in. Why 'The' Chestnut and not Chestnut? There is The Lappet, The Drinker, The Mocha, The Vestal – but Drab, Old Lady and Sorcerer, all without the definite article. And why not Chestnut Moth like the Parsnip Moth, Turnip Moth or Ghost Moth?
Between September and May is when the Chestnut flies and feeds at ivy flowers which have also been attracting the few remaining Red Admirals - the crab apples, their earlier passion, having long disappeared from the lawn.

17 October 2011 - Green-brindled Crescent

2011-10-18T03:07:00.000-07:00

Green-brindled Crescent (Allophyes oxyacanthae)

It is such a pleasure to identify a new species to arrive at Shandy Hall and on Saturday night two Green-brindled Crescent moths were drawn to the light trap. Allophyes oxyacanthae is the Latin name coming from the hawthorn (Cratageus oxyacantha) that the caterpillar often feeds on. Allophyes means ‘changeful in nature’. ‘Brindled’ refers to the streaky, tabby markings and the ‘green’ part is far more magical than the colour might suggest as this moth is sprinkled with a light coating of almost iridescent green that allows it to blend in with moss and lichen extremely convincingly.

However there were only four moths in total – the moon and the clear skies both conspiring to keep the numbers down. (I need to check the other two to find out if they too can be recorded as new species.)

The apples photographed in the last posting have all been pressed at Husthwaite apple press and the juice is now on sale – if you are passing.

19 September 2011 - Merveille du Jour

2011-09-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

Life's complications

The Canary-shouldered Thorn was kindly confirmed by Dave Chesmore. Since then life’s complications have made setting the trap difficult and when it has been - still the wasps come. What time do they get up? Do they go marauding at night? When I look at the contents of the trap in the morning it is usually around 6.15am and the wasps inside are very slow-moving and can’t have arrived with the first light. It’s a mystery. However last night attracted a newcomer – a moth described as ‘common’ yet one I had never seen before apart from a display specimen pinned out in a case, but the colours had faded.

Merveille du Jour (Dichonia aprilina)

The Merveille du Jour (Dichonia aprilina) that arrived in Shandy Hall gardens has the most beautiful mottled markings in green, black and white and looks as fresh as a daisy. The aprilina refers not when to when the moth flies (September and October) but to the springtime colour that the green evokes. A memory of freshness and new life was written, for Linnaeus, in the moth’s wings. The moth is as beautiful as its name – the green becoming almost turquoise blue at the moth’s head. The photograph does not do it justice. (Dichonia refers to the double white lines on the wing.)
So another new species to add to the list which now stands at 173.

The Pink-barred Sallow (Xanthia togata) is not new to the garden but it is a useful one for teachers seeking variety for the National Curriculum as it derives its name from the broad purple stripe on the toga worn by Roman senators.

Pink-barred Sallow (Xanthia togata)

23 August 2011 - A Thorny Question

2011-08-24T03:05:00.000-07:00

Canary-shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria) ?

Wasps and plums have been two obstacles hindering successful traps over the last couple of weeks. The trap is normally placed on grass not far from a plum tree, but the increase of ripening fruit, and the number of young wasps from one of the nests in the garden, has meant that the trap fills up with unwelcome invaders.

A colony of bees has also taken up residence in the wall-cavity of the gallery using an air brick as access – so that area of the garden is out.

So last night the trap was placed on the gravel next to the catmint, out of range of the plummy scent and out of sight of the bees and happily the catch was mothier.

The result was plenty of familiar species but not a great variety.

Pebble Prominent (Notodonta ziczac)

The Pebble Prominent, Iron Prominent, Yellow Tail, Silver Y and a rather sumptuous looking Thorn (which one though?) made it worthwhile.

The pair of Prominents – Pebble (Notodonta ziczac) and Iron (Notodonta dromedarius) are familiar visitors to the garden. Notos – the back; and odontos – a tooth, refer to the scale-tufts on the forewings. Ziczac is Latinized from the German for zigzag which refers to the posture of the caterpillar of the species. An egg batch of Pebble Prominents was bred at Shandy Hall a couple of years ago and the caterpillars fed with their tails in the air and looked as if they had danced out of a Max Ernst painting – have a look on UK Moths and you will see for yourself. Dromedarius (camel) refers to the projecting scale-tufts on the forewings.

Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

The elegant and restrained Silver Y (Autographa gamma) and the immaculate Gold Spot (Plusia festucae) are both fast-flying Noctuids – the largest family of macro-moths in the UK. Plusia means ‘rich’, referring to the golden marks and Festuca is the name of the foodplant, a species of fescue grass.

The Thorn in the trap looks like the Canary-shouldered variety (Ennomos alniaria) – for the ‘ennomos’ see an earlier posting (25 July) and alniaria refers to the food source – the Alder. If it is that species then there is another to add to the list: and that makes 172.

Gold Spot (Plusia festucae)

3 August 2011 - Wrapped in a veil

2011-08-03T01:45:00.000-07:00

The past two moth-traps have had nothing of great interest to record. Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings (Noctua fimbriata), Common Rustics (Mesapamea secalis), Common Footmen (Eilema lurideola)* and Wainscots (Mythimna pallens) making up the majority of low species counts. Meanwhile the caterpillars are beginning to pupate. A tiny hole in the corner of the cage (enlarged by a wren?) has reduced the population to about twenty-five as a number must have made it into the wild. Freedom comes at a price and whether they will find such a regular supply of succulent dandelion leaves is another matter. The photograph shows two caterpillars transformed into pupae; a pupa in a cocoon where a dandelion leaf has been used to act as a covering; a caterpillar about to pupate – its body becoming smaller and crescent-shaped and its legs adopting a position of prayer; and five others still hungry and ready to carry on for another day or two as caterpillars. Three have spun cocoons on the floor of the cage and are entombed in suspended animation.
A trap will be tried tonight as the weather is warmer.
*Eilema lurideola takes its name from the Greek for a veil, a reference to the way this moth wraps its wings around its body and luridus - the colour of pale straw.

25 July 2011 - Thorns

2011-07-26T02:28:00.000-07:00

August Thorn and Purple Thorn

When opening the trap first thing in the morning, the spotted flycatchers sit in the lilac or the plum tree and wait to twirl after any moth that is disturbed when lifting the sheet or moving an egg carton. If the flycatchers happen to be elsewhere, the swallows will swoop on any flapping insect, even if it just to catch and drop it after a few airborne yards. Care has to be taken while the whole moth-trap paraphernalia is carefully examined and moved from the lawn into cool shade otherwise that morning's rarity turns into an early bird's breakfast.

August Thorn

This morning two moths crouching on the top of the pile of egg cartons were immediately apparent. They looked like Thorns, but which species? The August Thorn and the September Thorn are difficult to tell apart unless you have them both to compare.
Dave Chesmore has identified this one as an August Thorn (Ennomos quercinaria) and a male as it is orange in colour. Ennomos is the Greek for ‘legal’ and quercinaria refers to the oak, the larval foodplant. The reason for naming it Ennomos would require a footnote containing a short lesson in taxonomy – all interesting but this is not the right place. It has two resting positions both shown in the photographs.

Purple Thorn

The Purple Thorn (Selenia tetralunaria) is exquisite. It holds its wings as a dancer might position her arms above her head, arched and curled. Four crescent moons decorate the fore- and hind-wings and give the appearance of a magician’s cloak. The moth’s delicate,striped legs, positioned close together when at rest, hold this canopy in perfect symmetry. A moon moth with four crescent moons and, together with the August Thorn, two new species for Shandy Hall bringing the total to 171.

Purple Thorn

Meanwhile the caterpillars are chomping (audibly) through a small bunch of dandelion leaves every night. The numbers have dropped to around fifty, some having fallen by the evolutionary wayside, and it will soon be time for them to pupate. If they are White Ermine they will need to overwinter as pupae in cocoons formed among leaf litter. It seems a caterpillar is for life not just for Christmas.

15 July 2011 - The 169th species

2011-07-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

Acleris forsskaleana

Last night was a better night for moths – cloudy, warmish and not much in the way of a moon, or at least not over Coxwold. This morning at 6am there were four Garden Tiger moths, four Poplar Hawks, three Brimstones, Silver Ys, Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings, enough Common Footmen to staff a palace and Muslin Footmen in abundance. As a bonus there were some even more special: the significant 169th species to be identified at Shandy Hall, a Large Emerald (Geometra papilioneria), a Scalloped Oak (Crocalis elinguaria), an Acleris forsskaleana (new species), a Yellow-tail (Euproctis similis) and a Drinker (Euthrix potatoria).

Yellow-tail

Scalloped Oak

The Scalloped Oak takes its Latin name from the fact that it has no means of feeding as it is elinguis, speechless, without a tongue. The crocalis refers to the moth’s yellow colour. The Drinker is a favourite of mine. The caterpillar likes to sample the morning dew (the Latin name means ‘hairy water drinker’) and when this moth is preparing for flight, its wings beat so furiously and with such intensity that, should you be carrying it on your finger, the vibrations are quite disconcerting. A little powerhouse – and remarkably like a hedgehog in profile.

Drinker

The Large Emerald is gloriously green and sedate and unruffled. Its resting position is so like that of a butterfly that it always seems about to flit away - but it doesn’t. It just stays still all the day and waits for tonight’s release.

Large Emerald

12 July 2011 - Two new species

2011-07-15T06:39:00.000-07:00

The identification of a Smoky Wainscot (Mythimna impure) and Agriphila straminella take the number of different species found at Shandy Hall to 167. The total will be checked carefully as the number is achieving significance.
Mythimna is named after a town on the island of Lesbos and impura,
meaning unclean or dirtied, refers to the ‘fuscous suffusion’ on the hindwing. ‘Straw-coloured field-lover’ is Agriphila straminella and it looks like the field it loves must be on Mars as this moth is most peculiar.

Meanwhile the caterpillars grow, shed their skins, eat more dandelion leaves, grow, shed their skins, and so on. Piles of frass decorate the bottom of the box and they need cleaning out and feeding every morning – the first job of the day. The photograph shows two odd ones from the original 85 (now mysteriously reduced to 65). The one at the top is markedly smaller than all the others and the one beneath has a dislocated body. Will they survive? Do they know about Darwin?

5 July 2011 - Brightly coloured petticoats

2011-07-06T04:21:00.000-07:00

Another week passes and this post must go up. A Garden Tiger moth (Arctia caja) turned up. What a wonderful moth it is. Arctia from the Greek for ‘bear’ – the hairy larva is called the ‘wooly bear’ –and caja is taken from a Roman lady’s name (the female of Caius). Linnaeus used feminine names for species with brightly-coloured hindwings and this moth certainly is a suitable candidate. The red colouring is so intense. The caterpillars have now embraced a dandelion leaf diet and they are increasing in size at an alarming rate. One larval skin-shedding has taken place and the hairs on their backs grow longer and longer.

27 June 2011 - Hairy larvae everywhere

2011-07-06T04:11:00.000-07:00

They hatched. Here they are like a small herd of buffalo all off in search of food. Clover turned out to be the tastiest of the varieties presented. Getting the caterpillars off the mesh and into a container was easier than it looked and now they are growing fast. Dave Chesmore thinks they may be White or Buff Ermine.
Thank you to all (over 50 in total) who came to the moth night on 24 June. The previous night was cold and a miserable total of 5 species was the result. In true Just William fashion a slide-show was cobbled together in the gallery and images of the species to be found (but not seen that night) were considered and discussed. But we did get a new species – the Barred Straw (Eulithis Pyriliata), so it was worth it. 'Resembling goodly stone' is the Latin meaning. The moth's colouring is similar to sandstone.

The following night the trap was completely crammed with moths – including this magnificent Oak Eggar (Lasiocampa quercus - hairy larva that likes oaks). I had to take this photograph (below) while it was still in the trap in case it was a bolter and took flight easily. This proved sensible, for when I tried to move it to a more bucolic background, it became activated and started to beat the mesh with its wings. I hadn’t the heart to keep it enclosed any longer and (having read it flies during the day) opened the trap and it flew off into the trees like a little bird. It’s not much smaller than a wren so the comparison isn’t as ridiculous as it may sound.

21 June 2011 - Sons of egg blog

2011-06-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately very little has turned up in the trap of late. The cool nights seem to be keeping the moths at bay. Lots of Beautiful Golden Ys and Heart and Darts; the odd Brimstone and the first Broad-bordered Yellow Underwings but nothing special. However, the cluster of eggs has now changed colour from pale emerald to a smoky grey – all except one. A plastic box has been placed over the top of the clutch and a few grass stems left close by to see if grass is a food plant. If it isn’t then a substitute will need to be found quickly.

Noctua fimbriata is the name given to the Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing. Noctua is the name for the short-eared owl, sacred to Minerva but whether Linnaeus had the bird in mind is not known. The fimbriata part refers to the orange on the rear wing – ‘fringed’. This is the moth that blunders into your bedroom and whirrs and crashes about the bed-side light. Do help it back out into the night – even though it can take ages to catch. National Gardens Scheme open evening on Friday (6.30pm – 8.30pm) so the trap will be put out on Thursday evening. The forecast is for thunder and lightning…

13 June 2011 - Bringer of good tidings

2011-06-13T07:33:00.000-07:00

The Eyed Hawk-moth (Smerinthus ocellata) glared at me when I tried to move it from the trap to find a more appropriate background for a photograph. Smerinthus meaning ‘thread’ is a possible link to the Death’s Head Hawk-moth (Acherontia atropos), as the thread referred to could be that of Life itself, woven by the Fates and cut by Atropos. The ‘eyed’ (Ocellata) markings are displayed when the moth is disturbed and this behaviour is apparently sufficient to deter insectivorous birds.

The Hummingbird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) was spotted yesterday morning (before the heavens opened) sizzling next to the sweet rocket flowers in the garden. It zipped over to the honeysuckle took a sharp right and then zoomed off towards a clump of valerian. By the time I returned with a camera it was probably in Thirsk. The Latin name refers to Macroglossum – ‘long tongued’ and stellatarum – a synonym of Rubiaceae, the family containing bedstraw and wild madder, cited as foodplants by Linnaeus. Why such a dramatic speedster should have been given such an ordinary name is odd – unless there is something in wild madder that we don’t know about. The moth is supposed to be a bringer of gladsome tidings - which is all to the good.

The Beautiful Golden Y (Autographa pulchrina) is as beautiful as it sounds. The Beautiful (pulcher) Y is ‘written by the moths themselves’ (autographa) and is variable. The moth in the photograph on the left has written its name with a gap between the v-shape and the spot; the one on the right has a more flowing signature and the 'Y' is more clearly seen.
Tonight should be rain-free and warmer so, in honour of Martin Wainwright’s welcome visit to Shandy Hall tomorrow, a trap will be set.

7 June 2011 - Egg Blog

2011-06-07T07:52:00.000-07:00

How many? 85 seems to be about right. Laid with the precision of a machine-gun but on the outside of the moth cage not on the inside. I thought the White Ermine or the Green Silver-lines might have been responsible but they didn’t make contact with the outside of the mesh. The last clutch of eggs deposited on an eggbox were those of a Pebble Prominent (and they grew and pupated and hatched) but it will have to be trial and error with this bundle. When they hatch they will be shepherded (hopefully) into a breeding cage and photographs will be taken. If anyone can identify the species, please make contact.

3 June 2011 - Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth

2011-06-06T04:34:00.000-07:00

Epiblema cynosbatella crept in, nearly unnoticed, on 20 May (photo on side panel) and was identified by Dave Chesmore as Shandy Hall’s newest species. 163 in total.

Last night was the warmest for a while and the trap was out by 9pm which might explain why the dusk-flying Common Swift was seen this morning. Hepialus lupulinus was the name Linnaeus gave this moth: hepialus – a fever: from its fitful flight; and lupulinus: the hop plant which he thought (wrongly) was a food source for the larva.

The most striking moths this morning were: Little Emerald, Green Silver-lines and Peppered Moth. The Little Emerald (Jodis lactearia) could serve as a subject for a sermon by Sterne. The name derives from: iodes – rust-like; from the degeneration of the wing colour with age. The moth's beautifully pale green wings quickly fade to white and bring to mind Matthew 6:19 ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt’. Poor old moths getting the blame as usual. The lactearia part of the binomial refers to the milky white that the wings become as the moth ages. Green Silver-lines (Pseudoips prasinana) – ‘leek-green, false vine-eating bug’ is a rough translation. The colour is startling and this example is near perfect.

The Flame (Axylia putris: rotten, cut wood) arrived as well [six of them in total] and sprawled over an egg-box at the bottom of the trap was a Peppered moth (Biston betularia: birch loving, bacchus worshipper). This moth is supposed to vary its colouring depending on atmospheric pollution – and thereby hangs a lengthy digression which can be followed up at your leisure.

26 May 2011 - Buff-tip and Elephant Hawk-moth

2011-05-31T06:25:00.000-07:00

The Buff-tip (Phalera bucephala, Greek phalaros – having a white patch ; bucephala – bull-headed). Alexander the Great had a horse called Bucephalus so if it had a white blaze on its head, this moth is named after it. At Shandy Hall the Buff-tip never quite makes it to the moth-trap. It is always found nearby lying on the grass and always a surprise to find that it isn’t a twig.

The Elephant Hawk-moth (Deilephila elpenor: lover of the evening). Elpenor was a companion of Ulysses who was transformed into a pig by Circe. It seems the general shape of the moth’s small head and narrow sections of the thorax reminded Linnaeus of a pig’s snout. Well here it is photographed on honeysuckle – a suckling pig. Here you can see a reason for the glorious oriental colouring – against the equally glorious colours of the honeysuckle it virtually disappears.

20 May 2011 - Flame Shoulder

2011-05-23T04:32:00.000-07:00

Cleaning the moth trap (dead midges and mosquitoes accumulate at the bottom of the trap and form a sort of crisp soup) and then putting it out in the dark last night meant I forgot to put the egg-boxes back in. As a result, this morning’s collection were all tucked beneath the rim that supports the plastic inspection cover and extremely difficult to photograph. It was a demonstration of how they are attracted and repulsed by the light.
I hoped there might be a female Muslin moth but all the feathery white speckled ones were White Ermines Spilosoma lubricipeda (spilos – a spot; soma – the body; lubricipeda – swift footed). There was one that I have seen before but took a while to find in the Field Guide. It turned out to be a Flame Shoulder (Ochropleura plecta) Pale (okhros) rib (pleura); plecta – a twisted rope. Very neat and orderly moth as you can see from the photograph.

19 May 2011 - Newt emerges

2011-05-19T04:57:00.000-07:00

At night the temperature is still chilly. A drive back to Shandy Hall in the evening gives a fair indication of possible moth activity and over the last week hardly any have been seen in the headlights. (I’m sure most moth-trappers travel more slowly at night to avoid collisions. A feathery clout on the windscreen is almost tragic.)

Only four moths to be found this morning, but of these two, Diaphora mendica (Muslin Moth) and Mythimna pallens (Common Wainscot), are new visitors for 2011.

The male and female of the Muslin moth are strikingly different. The male's drab, smoky-grey colouring reminded the taxonomist (Clerk 1759 – the year of the first edition of Vols I and II of Tristram Shandy) of a Carmelite mendicant friar, whose white mantle the female moth’s wings are supposed to resemble.

The Common Wainscot (one of a dozen or so Wainscots) takes its name from the town of Mithimna on the island of Lesbos and pallens means ‘pale’.

The first newt tadpole has wriggled free of its ectoplasmic blob of jelly. It is a delicate slip of barely nothing but containing a stripe of golden colour, reminiscent of that of a slow-worm. The sandy tint makes it just possible to identify on the pond bottom. A rather large diving-beetle has appeared – I hope the former does not end up inside the latter.

10 May 2011 - Prominent Prominents

2011-05-10T03:54:00.000-07:00

Menophra abruptaria is the Latin name for the Waved Umber. Menophra is derived from the Greek words for ‘moon’ and ‘eyebrow’ and abruptus means ‘broken off’. A collection of words that form another miniature poem. These creatures are so different when at rest in contrast to their flapping, agitated flight. The big lilac tree on the lawn is probably the reason this moth is resident at Shandy Hall. We’ll see if the caterpillars can be found later in the year.

In the air the swifts have arrived and, closer to the ground, the Prominents have come in a gang – Pale, Coxcomb (dark form) and Swallow. The Pale Coxcomb derives its name Pterostoma palpina from 'pteron' (a feather) and 'stoma' (mouth) as it seems to have feathery mouthparts. It is quite easy to photograph as it walks readily from one surface to the next before becoming restless. The Coxcomb Prominent disappeared before we could persuade it to pose so I have to refer you to the image on the right (taken last year) where it merges into the leafy litter. The Coxcomb Prominent or feathery toothed [from the little tuft on the forewing] cowled [the crest over its head] is a magical moth.

The first Poplar Hawk-moth appeared last night – always startling in its magnificence.

3 May 2011 - 57 varieties of human being: 6 varieties of moth

2011-05-03T03:47:00.000-07:00

The National Gardens Scheme evening attracted 57 varieties of human being but only half-a-dozen different moth species, two of which are photographed here.

The White Ermine moth (Spilosoma lubricipeda) – such a beautiful creature – comes readily to light. If the example photographed looks a bit lifeless that is because the moth’s response to being handled is to play dead. The Latin name translates as the 'spotted, swift-footed one', probably a reference to the speed that the caterpillar can travel.

The Waved Umber (Menophra abruptaria) is just a fragment, a sliver of grained wood and entirely disappears when at rest against the bark, with its deeply scalloped wings laid wide open.

Still far too cold in the evenings although the pipistrelles were hunting over the long grass in the quarry – scoffing insects attracted by the apple blossom and the Narcissus ‘Old Pheasant’s Eye’ flowers.

28 April 2011 - App blossoms

2011-04-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

The nights are still chilly and moth numbers are low but if the real creatures refuse to creep from their cryptic resting places we should (as of this afternoon) be able to provide a virtual alternative. When visitors come to the National Gardens Scheme evening opening tomorrow there will be a couple of i-pads with apps entitled Moths & Butterflies of Britain & Ireland. It’s still downloading at the moment but we live in hope….

A bat detector is promised to help identify the three (or four) species we have lurking around the Hall. The pond is starting to establish itself now that daphnia, cyclops and mosquito larvae have moved in to join the resident pond-skaters.

Martin Wainwright has an exceptional blog at Martin’s Moths. He has compiled a fascinating and diligent record of all moths recorded on his patch. Do have a look.

Cold last night – a contrast to the heat of the day – so no great expectations.

2011-04-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

26 April 2011

The unmistakable Scorched Wing Plagodis dolabararia made an appearance and was a welcome addition to the disappointingly small gathering of Powdered Quakers and Hebrew Characters. Apparently the female Scorched Wing is hardly ever seen so we’ll have to be content with the male and its characteristic curl of the abdomen. It is a beautiful moth that visits these gardens thanks to the stand of ash and sycamore in the quarry.

Let’s see what tonight will bring.

18 April 2011-Shandy Hall moths on BBC Radio 4

2011-04-18T04:44:00.000-07:00

Moths have not been plentiful over the last few nights – a bright, nearly full moon and low temperatures brought out just enough to satisfy the hunger of the first pipistrelle of the year – but moth enthusiasts were in plentiful supply. Martin Wainwright and Iain Chambers are putting together a radio programme with a mothy theme for BBC Radio 4 and their research led them to Coxwold to interview young Will Smith. Will was a pupil at Husthwaite Primary School when his class were involved in the Winged Skull exhibition in the gallery at Shandy Hall in 2005 and he was remembering seeing Acherontia atropos, the Death’s-head Hawk-moth in the classroom just after the insect had emerged from its pupa.

After interviewing Will, Martin and Iain went off to the wilds of Kilburn to see how many varieties could be identified on a chilly April night.

The programme they are compiling will be called Requiem for a Moth and will echo the title of a new work by Harrison Birtwistle where the composer will create a requiem for each species of moth that has become extinct since his childhood. We look forward to listening to what should be a fascinating programme when it is broadast on Radio 4 on 6 May at 11.00am.

29 April 2011 - National Gardens Scheme Evening Event

2011-04-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in the mothy side of Shandy Hall then you are welcome to come to Coxwold as dusk falls on 29 April when the results of the previous night’s trap will be examined, photographed and recorded by Dave Chesmore of the University of York. Dave’s knowledge and experience is considerable and there is little he doesn’t know about moths. Arrive around 18.30, see the gardens as the sun goes down and the moths at 19.30. Entrance fee: Adults £2.50 Children £1. All admission charges are donated to The National Gardens Scheme.

Winged Skull

2011-04-15T06:50:00.000-07:00

Moths have been part of the activities at Shandy Hall since a chance glimpse of the Allis Collection in the store at York Museum produced the idea of linking Laurence Sterne and Acherontia atropos – the Death’s-head Hawk-moth. This moth, which is not a native species, is the largest moth found in the UK and has a distinctive marking on its thorax – a shape that resembles a skull. The Death’s-head Hawk-moth is a ‘winged skull’.

Parson Yorick is a character in Tristram Shandy and his name was deliberately chosen by Sterne to remind the reader of his namesake Yorick the jester in Hamlet Act V Scene 1; Yorick - the skull; Yorick the Alas! poor.....

The Death’s-head Hawk-moth is a winged skull and a winged skull is a memento mori – the insect, the character(s) and emblem remind us of death.

Thanks to a grant from Creative Minds (a YMLAC project funded by the Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward) a moth-trap was purchased and the number and variety of moths caught in Shandy Hall’s gardens were identified and recorded. Each day, before assembly, the children at Husthwaite Primary school in Yr 6 were shown the previous night’s catch. Acherontia pupae were purchased and the children saw them hatch. York Museums Trust kindly lent sections of the Allis collection and they were displayed in the gallery at Shandy Hall so the children (and the public) could see the display, the captured species and the newly hatched Death’s-head Hawk Moths.

Carry Akroyd created a poster to attract visitors (a detail is at the top of this blog) and you can see the original work on her website.

The association with moths has continued since this first proper encounter.

Moth trapping at Shandy Hall

2011-04-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

The list of moth species on the right has been compiled by Dave Chesmore and contains all the moth species we have identified in the gardens at Shandy Hall, Coxwold. Traps have been set using mercury vapour lights and have been positioned in three different locations over the last five years - the formal garden, the walled garden and in the quarry.
The list as of June 2009 is the first post on this blog. There has been a slight increase since that date and the additional species will be recorded on the next posting.
Most of the moth-trapping evenings take place in aid of the National Gardens Scheme, or are part of an education programme linked to primary schools, but there are plenty of occasions when the trap is set up for the pleasure of seeing what has been caught. After the moths have been identified and recorded they are released.
The names of the moths are recorded in Latin as well as giving them their vernacular names - where they have them. Images will be posted on this blog but the magnificent ukmoths website is the ideal source for information.

No moths have been or will be harmed in the making of this blog.