Moth Night - June 30th

A good turn out with eight present for at least some of the time and the weather played ball with a warm, calm night - even the fullish moon didn't spoil things. It was a fantastic night with the usual moth numbers and diversity but this time we had the quality to back it up.

On emptying the trap at first light (yes, Barry and I did stay till then!) I found this Anania perlucidalis which could well be a first for Calderdale. It's a bit like Mother of Pearl but tiny in comparison. It has a preference for damp habitats and thistles.

Even better was this Acleris logiana - found by Barry - well done to him, a Calderdale first (spawny git). It's Yorkshire status is classed as "Very rare and very local resident" and I'm pretty sure it's the first recorded in Calderdale. The larvae feed within rolled birch leaves.

One of my favourites of the night was this pristine Large Fruit-tree Tortrix - one of three.

Not to be outdone the macros put in a good show with this White Satin complete with diagnostic black and white legs and the large antennae denotes a male.

A single Blackneck also turned up and is quite a scarce visitor to Calderdale.

Not reliably identifiable by visuals alone this minor species had to be "checked" under the microscope and turned out to be a male Marbled Minor - one of eleven new moth species for myself that night.

Other highlights were too many to include but Barry is keeping a log and I'm keeping an overall list of ALL Lepidoptera we record on the reserve in 2018. It stands at 135 so far.

Thanks to the dedicated CB Wildlife Group for the event and the excellent amenities - keep up the great work.