Moths and butterflies of Formby Point.



This small grass moth was find of the day . It is Crambus pratella and it is the first confirmed record of this moth in Lancashire.

Painted lady larvae were found at several places amongst the dunes which is what you would expect after the invasion in the spring. This larva was feeding on comfrey whilst others were on spear thistle.

My first gatekeeper of the year

This leaf mine was on horse chestnut. You can see 2 mines which have the larva of Cameraria ohridella, the horse chestnut leaf miner. It is only a recent colonist to the UK which is rapidly spreading north from where it was first found in Wimbledon in 2002

Feeding signs of Mompha sturnipennella on rosebay willowherb

adult Cinnabar moth. Thousands of black and orange larva were feeding on ragwort.

Six spot burnet

Some moths and butterflies from North Lancs and just over the border,
Spent a few days BB in Arnside, a beautiful part of the country .

Lancs
high brown fritillary 2
dark green fritillary 3
pyrausta cingulata 1
celypha rufana 1
Cumbria
high brown fritillary 1
small pearl bordered fritillary 1
dark green fritillary
Large heath 30
Grayling 8
dingy skipper 1
small heath 30

northern eggar
catoptria margaritella
clouded buff
barred straw
purple bordered gold
grass wave
least minor
chimney sweeper
coleophora mayrella
High brown fritillary

High brown fritillary. You can just see the high brown spots on the udderwing

Large heath

Dark green fritillary

Grayling

Purple bordered gold

Catoptria margaritella

common lizard

Moths and butterflies in North Wales. 22nd June 09

Citrus forrester

dark green fritillary

silver studded blue

silver studded blue

july belle

grayling

brown argus

Ancylis obtusana.
The first record for Lancashire found by myself and Chris Derrie at Gait Barrows on Tuesday. Now confirmed by Lancashire moth recorder.

Scorpion flies.

The male scorpion fly looks a nasty beast but it is perfectly harmless and they do not sting. The scorpion like tail being just enlarged male genitalia.

Male scorpion fly

female scorpion fly

Small pearl bordered fritillary,
A lovely butterfly which only differs slightly on the upperwing from pearl bordered fritillary.

small pearl bordered

pearl bordered

Day flying moths in north Lancashire,

An excellent selection of moths seen on a mostly overcast day. All the moths below new to me.

Anania funebris

Chimney sweeper

nemophora degeerella, A longhorn moth with extremely long antennae

olethreutes arcuella , a beautiful little moth with metallic like markings

Ancylis obtusana

Pyrausta cingulata on thyme

Speckled yellow doing its best to impale itself on thistle

Pyrausta aurata

A watercolour of the collared pratincole at Swillington ings, Yorkshire.

roseate

artic

Seaforth NR,

It was like mid winter instead of June as the rain poured down and temperatures dropped. All the birders present were in winter plumage( hats and big coats) instead of summer attire. A male roseate tern was a delight to see amongst the hundreds of common terns today. Doing its best to display to any common tern that was nearby made this an obvious male. An artic tern was also amongst the terns.

A Lady, a Duke and a Skipper ,
An excellent selection of natures beauties on show today in Lancashire. Simply stunning.

Lady's slipper orchid

Duke of Burgundy

Duke of burgundy

pearl bordered fritillary

dingy skipper

pyrausta cingulata

pyrausta purpuralis

Peregrine
A first summer hobby,

hounds tongue

painted lady

nettle tap

wall brown

yellow tail larva

A painted lady invasion,

We drove across plex moss towards Ainsdale and the painted ladies were everywhere. Many basking on the track and fluttering up as we progressed across the moss. At sands lake and the dunes nearby it was the same with a constant stream of these long distant migrants. Amazing that these butterflies have come from north Africa, across the med and western europe.

Ainsdale dunes:

Lepidoptera:

5 wall brown

200 painted lady at least

30 small heath

1 small copper

3 large white

1 latticed heath

8 silver Y

1 nettle tap

1 drinker larva

2 yellow tail larva

Ordonata:

4 emperor teneral

1 broad bodied chaser

1 4 spot chaser

2 common blue damsel

1 azure damsel

A lizard was seen very briefly so not sure which species.

Seaforth NR,

The pallid swift showed well over the freshwater pool with about 200+ common swift over crosby marina. 4 artic terns were amongst the 700 common terns. A 2nd summer yellow legged gull and an adult kittiwake today and 2 reed warblers still in the reed bed.

Yorkshire,

An early morning visit to Swillington ings and a brit tick in the form of a collared pratincole and also whiskered tern were seen by 6.20 am . The pratincole was only seen distantly in flight and on the ground but the tern showed well . Onto Hatfield moor but no sign of yesterdays buff breasted sand but a woodlark gave stonking views.

Frodsham Marsh and Delamere

Very quiet at Frodsham with the yellow wags and reed warblers the star turns, with lots of whitethroat and a couple of buzzards also. The spindle bushes have swarms of spindle ermine larvae munching away on them. Some bushes looking like Christmas trees draped in silk decorations!!

At delamere my first cuckoo of the year and an albino black headed gull was in the breeding colony. Only large red damselfly on the ordonata front. A 'cream wave' and 20 'drinker' larvae were of interest on the lepidoptera front.

Pallid swift

Pallid swift

Pallid swift

Common swift for comparison

Seaforth nr,
The pallid swift was showing really well around hide 'A' mid afternoon . Feeding over the mounds and wizzing past just a few feet above my head with about 20 common swift and a few house martins. Amazingly its been around for 3 weeks now. A couple of artic terns still and reed warbler singing in the reedbed.

A watercolour of some black necked grebes seen recently

Prescot res,

A female whinchat and a grasshopper warbler were welcome birds after a very quiet period. Lots of swifts, martins and swallows and a couple of little ringed plovers also. A report of a red footed falcon in St Helens today had everyone wondering who had seen it and when and where exacty and male or female???

Edit: Seen by Dave Owen over the town Hall area but only very distant and mainly going on jizz and ruling out other species. Only a possible but at least birders are aware and can keep eyes to the skies.