Neil Freeman
Re: Neil Freeman
You seem to have the 'knack' with Whites, Neil. That female GVW is superb.
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Neil Freeman
- Posts: 4443
- Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:25 pm
- Location: Solihull, West Midlands
Re: Neil Freeman
Cheers Wurzel, I have seen a few GVW females like that this year, I posted one from my garden on June 30th which had washed out looking tips with darker black marking superimposed on them.
Thanks David, I would probably have missed her as well if I had not gone out to look at the pair in cop.
Thursday 2nd July.
The wet and windy theme continued this morning (Thursday 2nd) but the forecast looked a bit more promising for the afternoon with a potential window of sunny spells between 2.00 – 4.00pm so I decided to pop out then and have a look at my local spot at Bickenhill.
In a 'normal' year this would be one of the first of my local spots that I would visit as it is usually reliable for Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks and Commas coming out of hibernation, but with the lack of travelling earlier in the year due to covid 19, this meant that I had not visited then. In fact, due to concentrating on some of my other local sites, I had still not yet been to Bickenhill this year, hence my decision to have a look today.
I arrived just after 1.30pm with some promising bits of blue sky heading in my direction and set off along the usual path alongside a hedgerow and towards a couple of meadow areas. Meadow Browns and Ringlets were soon seen in good numbers along with Small Skippers and a few Large Skippers.
I was also on the lookout for Essex Skippers which in the past have often outnumbered Small Skippers here once they get into their flight period, which usually starts a week or so after the Smalls. Today, because of the stage that each species is at in their flight period, I reckon that the ratio was still something like 70-30 in favour of the Small Skippers. Many of the Smalls were still looking very fresh and it is usually noticeable that when the Essex Skippers are at their peak, many of the Smalls are getting worn and faded.
Most of my photos to confirm the ID's of the Essex Skippers were ropey record shots with grass stems all over the place, the one below showing a male being about the best of a bad bunch.
I also spotted a pair of Essex Skippers in cop which as far as I can remember is the first time I have seen this with this species although I have seen both Large and Small Skippers in cop plenty of times before.
I was also pleased to see more than thirty Marbled Whites here today. Last year and the year before I found single examples here and it was good to see that they have obviously colonised this site now.
It is not that many years ago that Marbled Whites would not be found around Solihull and were considered a scarce and local species in Warwickshire so it is pleasing to find them in increasing numbers at a number of my local spots.
Small Tortoiseshells were flying here although not in the numbers at some of my other local spots with 'just' half a dozen seen today.
Commas also seem to be around in reasonable numbers at my local spots this summer, certainly more so than I saw in the spring, with half a dozen seen scattered around today.
Also seen was a single Red Admiral that buzzed me a couple of times but showed no sign of landing.
For once, the forecast was almost bang on and I enjoyed a couple of hours of nice sunny spells and light cloud from around 2.00pm until just before 4.00pm when some approaching big black rain clouds prompted me to make a move back home.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Thanks David, I would probably have missed her as well if I had not gone out to look at the pair in cop.
Thursday 2nd July.
The wet and windy theme continued this morning (Thursday 2nd) but the forecast looked a bit more promising for the afternoon with a potential window of sunny spells between 2.00 – 4.00pm so I decided to pop out then and have a look at my local spot at Bickenhill.
In a 'normal' year this would be one of the first of my local spots that I would visit as it is usually reliable for Small Tortoiseshells, Peacocks and Commas coming out of hibernation, but with the lack of travelling earlier in the year due to covid 19, this meant that I had not visited then. In fact, due to concentrating on some of my other local sites, I had still not yet been to Bickenhill this year, hence my decision to have a look today.
I arrived just after 1.30pm with some promising bits of blue sky heading in my direction and set off along the usual path alongside a hedgerow and towards a couple of meadow areas. Meadow Browns and Ringlets were soon seen in good numbers along with Small Skippers and a few Large Skippers.
- Ringlet - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
- Large Skipper female - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
- Small Skipper male - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
- Small Skipper male - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
- Small Skipper male - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
Most of my photos to confirm the ID's of the Essex Skippers were ropey record shots with grass stems all over the place, the one below showing a male being about the best of a bad bunch.
- Essex Skipper male - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
- Essex Skipper pair - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
- Essex Skipper pair - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
- Marbled White male - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
- Marbled White female - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
- Marbled White male - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
- Marbled White female - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
Small Tortoiseshells were flying here although not in the numbers at some of my other local spots with 'just' half a dozen seen today.
Commas also seem to be around in reasonable numbers at my local spots this summer, certainly more so than I saw in the spring, with half a dozen seen scattered around today.
- Comma - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
- Comma - Bickenhill 02.07.2020
For once, the forecast was almost bang on and I enjoyed a couple of hours of nice sunny spells and light cloud from around 2.00pm until just before 4.00pm when some approaching big black rain clouds prompted me to make a move back home.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Re: Neil Freeman
It's a good feeling getting back to a reserve you've not visited in a while Neil 
The travel restrictions were a bit of a bind at times but I don't think we had it as bad as in Wales - they've only just lifted the '5 miles travel' rule 
Great set of Smessex skippers - the male Essex nicely shows those important distinguishing features - great work with the pair in cop - I've only got one set of those in my collection 
Have a goodun and stay safe
Wurzel
The travel restrictions were a bit of a bind at times but I don't think we had it as bad as in Wales - they've only just lifted the '5 miles travel' rule Great set of Smessex skippers - the male Essex nicely shows those important distinguishing features - great work with the pair in cop - I've only got one set of those in my collection Have a goodun and stay safe
Wurzel
Re: Neil Freeman
Well done, Neil. I don't personally recall seeing mating pairs of this species although like you, I have regularly seen both Large and Small Skippers in cop.Neil Freeman wrote: ↑Mon Jul 06, 2020 5:53 pm....I also spotted a pair of Essex Skippers in cop which as far as I can remember is the first time I have seen this with this species although I have seen both Large and Small Skippers in cop plenty of times before.
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Neil Freeman
- Posts: 4443
- Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:25 pm
- Location: Solihull, West Midlands
Re: Neil Freeman
Cheers Wurzel. Funnily enough, I did not mind the travel restrictions that much, I have enjoyed paying more attention to my local spots this year. Yes, I have missed some species but I can live with that, there is always another year.
Thanks David. It's weird how it is quite easy to see some species in cop and not others.
Friday 3rd July.
After the short period of better weather on Thursday afternoon the dark clouds returned and we had some more rain overnight. Friday was back to mostly cloudy with occasional drizzle or light rain to make it another dull and dreary day. Nevertheless, after our Friday morning visit to my Mom, I dropped Jane off at her Mom's and carried on once again to Blythe Valley Park for a walk. My excuse was that despite the dull and wet conditions, I wanted to check out a couple of footpaths that I had previously noticed but not explored before.
I wandered along these paths for a bit and found some nice hedgerows and spotted a few of those dull weather specialists, Ringlets and Meadow Browns, bobbing about. For a few minutes the clouds thinned a bit, not enough for the sun to break though, but enough for me to spot a Marbled White flying over the long grass to the side of the path. Despite the cool and dull conditions he was very flighty but I managed to creep up on him and get a couple of shots.
The only butterfly I photographed today.
Sunday 5th July.
Saturday was a stop indoors day, not only cloudy and quite cold for the time of year but blowing a gale for most of the day.
Sunday was better in that it was much brighter although the blustery wind was still very much in evidence. It brightened up enough in the afternoon to tempt me out to my local spot at Castle Hills for a couple of hours although the blustery wind was still very much in evidence.
As expected, Ringlets and Meadow Browns were everywhere with probably hundreds of both species flying over the various meadow areas here.
Strangely enough, I didn't see many Skippers here today, just a few each of Large and Small with no Essex spotted amongst them.
Given how fresh many of the Small Skipper were at Bickenhill the other day, perhaps they are just starting here and the Essex not yet emerged ...or perhaps it was just the weather keeping them tucked down in the grass.
Speaking of the weather, a lot of this site is fairly open to the full effect of the blustery wind which meant that any butterfly that ventured out of the grass was quickly whisked away. Those that were settled were either low down in the grass or bobbing about on the end of their perch.
The last time I came here, a couple of weeks ago, I had seen a couple of Marbled Whites and was keen to see how they were doing today, this being one of the first places I had found them at around Solihull when they started spreading here a few years ago. Sure enough, there were plenty here with over fifty counted across a couple of areas. Some of these were in a more sheltered corner of a field where I managed to get some photos even though they were still moving about a fair bit.
A few Small Heaths were seen, mostly a bit worn looking now so probably between main emergences here which tend to overlap with a peak in June and again in August.
Commas and Small Tortoiseshells were also seen, about half a dozen of each, but they were usually blown away into the distance or settled out of reach.
A nice couple of hours despite the blustery wind which almost blew my hat off a couple of times.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Thanks David. It's weird how it is quite easy to see some species in cop and not others.
Friday 3rd July.
After the short period of better weather on Thursday afternoon the dark clouds returned and we had some more rain overnight. Friday was back to mostly cloudy with occasional drizzle or light rain to make it another dull and dreary day. Nevertheless, after our Friday morning visit to my Mom, I dropped Jane off at her Mom's and carried on once again to Blythe Valley Park for a walk. My excuse was that despite the dull and wet conditions, I wanted to check out a couple of footpaths that I had previously noticed but not explored before.
I wandered along these paths for a bit and found some nice hedgerows and spotted a few of those dull weather specialists, Ringlets and Meadow Browns, bobbing about. For a few minutes the clouds thinned a bit, not enough for the sun to break though, but enough for me to spot a Marbled White flying over the long grass to the side of the path. Despite the cool and dull conditions he was very flighty but I managed to creep up on him and get a couple of shots.
- Marbled White - Blythe Valley 03.07.2020
Sunday 5th July.
Saturday was a stop indoors day, not only cloudy and quite cold for the time of year but blowing a gale for most of the day.
Sunday was better in that it was much brighter although the blustery wind was still very much in evidence. It brightened up enough in the afternoon to tempt me out to my local spot at Castle Hills for a couple of hours although the blustery wind was still very much in evidence.
As expected, Ringlets and Meadow Browns were everywhere with probably hundreds of both species flying over the various meadow areas here.
- Ringlet - Castle Hills 03.07.2020
- Small Skipper - Castle Hills 03.07.2020
Speaking of the weather, a lot of this site is fairly open to the full effect of the blustery wind which meant that any butterfly that ventured out of the grass was quickly whisked away. Those that were settled were either low down in the grass or bobbing about on the end of their perch.
The last time I came here, a couple of weeks ago, I had seen a couple of Marbled Whites and was keen to see how they were doing today, this being one of the first places I had found them at around Solihull when they started spreading here a few years ago. Sure enough, there were plenty here with over fifty counted across a couple of areas. Some of these were in a more sheltered corner of a field where I managed to get some photos even though they were still moving about a fair bit.
- Marbled White - Castle Hills 03.07.2020
- Marbled White - Castle Hills 03.07.2020
- Marbled White - Castle Hills 03.07.2020
- Marbled White - Castle Hills 03.07.2020
- Small Heath - Castle Hills 03.07.2020
A nice couple of hours despite the blustery wind which almost blew my hat off a couple of times.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Last edited by Neil Freeman on Tue Jul 07, 2020 9:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Neil Freeman
Lovely Marbled Whites Neil - they are stunning looking butterflies, I never get bored of them WRT some butterflies in cop being easier to spot...I found a pair of Small Skippers in cop the other day, I'd been in the same place scanning about for about 10 minutes and not seen them and then all of a sudden they were there, the wind had changed direction ever so slightly and so they'd turned and I could just make out their profile, if it hadn't have been for that minute change in the wind I would have totally missed them
Have a goodun and stay safe
Wurzel
- they are stunning looking butterflies, I never get bored of them WRT some butterflies in cop being easier to spot...I found a pair of Small Skippers in cop the other day, I'd been in the same place scanning about for about 10 minutes and not seen them and then all of a sudden they were there, the wind had changed direction ever so slightly and so they'd turned and I could just make out their profile, if it hadn't have been for that minute change in the wind I would have totally missed them Have a goodun and stay safe
Wurzel
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Neil Freeman
- Posts: 4443
- Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:25 pm
- Location: Solihull, West Midlands
Re: Neil Freeman
Cheers Wurzel. Marbled Whites are Jane's favourite butterfly, she likes the simplicity of the black and white scheme. I am quite partial to them myself, especially as they have only been around here for a few years. They have been doing well all around the midlands in recent years and are steadily increasing their range.
Sunday 5th July – Something a bit different.
Over recent years, a number of pheromone lures have become available and many people have started using them for Emperor Moths and various Clearwings, an interesting group of day flying moths that mimic various species of wasps. Recently I became aware that some members of both Warwickshire and West Midlands BC branches have been using Clearwing lures to try and get a better understanding of the distribution of these. The results so far seem to indicate that at least some of them are more common and widespread than previously thought, so I was keen to see if any turned up in my garden.
Last week, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and ordered some lures and a couple of traps to use with them. These arrived on Friday afternoon but the wet and windy weather that day and on Saturday precluded me from trying straight away. The following day (Sunday 5th) was not exactly ideal with blustery winds but at least it was dry with some sunny spells so I decided to try one of the lures in the garden. The one I chose to try first was for Current Clearwing, one of the more widespread species which is usually on the wing in June and July. I hung the trap up at the bottom of the garden and checked it every now and then but without any initial success.
I then left the trap hanging up whilst I went out to Castle Hills as described in my previous report. On my return I checked the trap again and was pleased to see a Current Clearwing Moth showing though the plastic side.
I then carefully used a plastic pot to move it onto one of the bits of wood that I use as a background to take a couple of photos before releasing him.
Given the generally early season this year, I was not sure if this species was still flying and this one was looking well past his best, but I was well chuffed with seeing it on my first attempt.
I have lures for other species to try but just need to wait for it to stop raining now.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Sunday 5th July – Something a bit different.
Over recent years, a number of pheromone lures have become available and many people have started using them for Emperor Moths and various Clearwings, an interesting group of day flying moths that mimic various species of wasps. Recently I became aware that some members of both Warwickshire and West Midlands BC branches have been using Clearwing lures to try and get a better understanding of the distribution of these. The results so far seem to indicate that at least some of them are more common and widespread than previously thought, so I was keen to see if any turned up in my garden.
Last week, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and ordered some lures and a couple of traps to use with them. These arrived on Friday afternoon but the wet and windy weather that day and on Saturday precluded me from trying straight away. The following day (Sunday 5th) was not exactly ideal with blustery winds but at least it was dry with some sunny spells so I decided to try one of the lures in the garden. The one I chose to try first was for Current Clearwing, one of the more widespread species which is usually on the wing in June and July. I hung the trap up at the bottom of the garden and checked it every now and then but without any initial success.
- Pheromone trap hanging up at the bottom of the garden
- Yay!...there's one in there.
I then carefully used a plastic pot to move it onto one of the bits of wood that I use as a background to take a couple of photos before releasing him.
- Current Clearwing - Coverdale 05.07.2020
I have lures for other species to try but just need to wait for it to stop raining now.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Re: Neil Freeman
That really is interesting Neil and congratulations on your successful first attempt. I shall be interested to know how you get on with the remaining lures. I've toyed with the idea myself but with the poor results from my moth trap ...............
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Neil Freeman
- Posts: 4443
- Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:25 pm
- Location: Solihull, West Midlands
Re: Neil Freeman
Thanks Pauline. I have had a bit more success with another lure but I have a couple of other reports to do first to keep the timeline.
Meanwhile, the grotty weather has meant I can catch up with another update from the garden moth trap.
Garden Moths
The second half of June carried on with conditions swinging wildly between hot and dry for most of the third week and wet and windy for the rest of the month. The conditions for running the moth trap continued to come in periods of a few consecutive nights of reasonable conditions alternated by nights when it was just too windy.
The best period was from the night of 22nd June to the 26th when I ran the trap every night and during which I had 15 new species for the year (NFY) and 1 new one for the garden (NFG) on the night of the 23rd.
The NFG was a Large Emerald, the largest member of this group of green moths, this one being all the more attractive due to it's size which is not far off that of a Peacock butterfly.
The same night (23rd) also produced a nice Scorched Wing, one of my favourites and one which I have only had to the garden trap once before, in 2017.
The most productive night was on the 24th June when I had 147 moths of 48 species made up of 74 of 28 macros and 73 of 20 micros, although most of these were the common species to be expected at this time of year. This was closely followed by the night of 26th which produced 142 of 39 (75 of 25 macro and 67 of 14 micro) with highlights of another Elephant Hawk Moth and a nice fresh male Peppered Moth.
The night of the 26th also produced another nice Phoenix, my second this year and another species that has made a liar of me after saying I only get one of these a year. I'll have to try that with a few other species to see if it prompts them to turn up.
The last night of the month (30th) produced a reasonable 106 of 31 (59 of 17 macro and 47 of 14 micro). The best moth of the night for me was a Buff Arches, a lovely species that I have had previously but one that did not turn up last year.
Another species that did not turn up here last year, although I have had half a dozen so far this year, was The Flame. This moth takes it's name from the small 'gas flame' like marking on it's forewings although I think a more appropriate name might be The Stick.
Amongst the many micros I have had a couple of my favourites that only turn up in ones and twos each year.
Since then, I have only lit up a couple of times this month, on the night of Friday 3rd and then this week on the night of Monday 6th. The first of these was quite blustery and only produced 67 of 23 (46 of 15 macro and 21 of 8 micro) all of which were the usual suspects for this time of year with nothing outstanding. The night of Monday 6th produced 72 of 25 (42 of 17 macro and 30 of 8 micro), again mostly the usual common species but also including a NFY Gothic, a widespread but fairly local species and only the second I have had, the first being in 2017.
Since then we have had almost incessant rain, some of it quite heavy, and it looks like a few more days yet before I will be running the trap again.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Meanwhile, the grotty weather has meant I can catch up with another update from the garden moth trap.
Garden Moths
The second half of June carried on with conditions swinging wildly between hot and dry for most of the third week and wet and windy for the rest of the month. The conditions for running the moth trap continued to come in periods of a few consecutive nights of reasonable conditions alternated by nights when it was just too windy.
The best period was from the night of 22nd June to the 26th when I ran the trap every night and during which I had 15 new species for the year (NFY) and 1 new one for the garden (NFG) on the night of the 23rd.
The NFG was a Large Emerald, the largest member of this group of green moths, this one being all the more attractive due to it's size which is not far off that of a Peacock butterfly.
- Large Emerald - Coverdale 23.06.2020
- Scorched Wing - Coverdale 23.06.2020
- Elephant Hawk Moth - Coverdale 26.06.2020
- Elephant Hawk Moth - Coverdale 26.06.2020
- Peppered Moth - Coverdale 26.06.2020
- Phoenix - Coverdale 26.06.2020
- Buff Arches - Coverdale 30.06.2020
- Buff Arches - Coverdale 30.06.2020
- Flame - Coverdale 30.06.2020
- Lozotaeniodes formosana - Coverdale 23.06.2020
- Cherry Bark Tortrix - Coverdale 25.06.2020
- Gothic - Coverdale 06.07.2020
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Re: Neil Freeman
Hello Neil ,
Thouroughly enjoying your moth reports ,and like yourself I,ve also been experimenting with Pheromone lures ,its good to be able to watch species that are otherwise practically impossible to see under normal cicumstances . Funnily enough I was going to put a short report and pictures last evening
concerning Clearwings ………..but never quite got round to it ,although I did put a couple of pics on the June sightings page ,I,ve managed 3 species
so far (Yellow -legged ,Orange tailed ,and Six belted ) I,ve tried for Currant and Red-Tipped ,but as yet no joy!
At Dungeness yesterday ,a local lured 25 Lunar Hornets ! in ten minutes .(Owen Leyshon on twitter ,pictures and video ) , and another local has just recorded his tenth garden species ,its certainly a very different (and entertaining !) way of Mothing .
PS; That Cherry Bark Tortrix is a little stunner !
Regards Allan.W.
Thouroughly enjoying your moth reports ,and like yourself I,ve also been experimenting with Pheromone lures ,its good to be able to watch species that are otherwise practically impossible to see under normal cicumstances . Funnily enough I was going to put a short report and pictures last evening
concerning Clearwings ………..but never quite got round to it ,although I did put a couple of pics on the June sightings page ,I,ve managed 3 species
so far (Yellow -legged ,Orange tailed ,and Six belted ) I,ve tried for Currant and Red-Tipped ,but as yet no joy!
At Dungeness yesterday ,a local lured 25 Lunar Hornets ! in ten minutes .(Owen Leyshon on twitter ,pictures and video ) , and another local has just recorded his tenth garden species ,its certainly a very different (and entertaining !) way of Mothing .
PS; That Cherry Bark Tortrix is a little stunner !
Regards Allan.W.
Re: Neil Freeman
Sorry …………...tell a lie ! posted the Clearwing pictures in the May sightings ! Allan.W.
Re: Neil Freeman
That Buff Arches is gorgeous Neil. Looking forward to reading about your other successes 
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Neil Freeman
- Posts: 4443
- Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:25 pm
- Location: Solihull, West Midlands
Re: Neil Freeman
Thanks Alan I must have missed your previous Clearwing pics. Just had a look, great stuff
I had some success with the new LUN lure for Lunar Hornet Moth both yesterday and this morning during brief windows in the rain. Report to come, hopefully soon in the next couple of days once I have got a couple of others done and posted.
The weather is looking better from tomorrow so I am hoping to try for Yellow-legged, Six-belted and Red-belted over the next few days.
Thanks Pauline The Buff Arches is a beauty and one I am always glad to see. See my comment to Allan above ref. the next Clearwing report, hopefully soon.
Another mostly grotty day has given me the chance to catch up on the next report.
Monday 6th July.
On Sunday night (5th July) I checked the forecast for the coming week and saw that Monday looked to be the best day before bands of rain swept across the midlands from Tuesday on. We therefore decided to have another run down to Snitterfield Bushes in the morning, a site that Jane is particularly fond of and one where the woods provide a good measure of shelter from the persistent wind.
We got up on Monday to a much cloudier and cooler morning than the forecast had predicted, and indeed when I looked at the forecast again, it had changed to show overcast for most of the day. I see that happen a lot these days, the forecast changes to reflect what the weather is actually doing at the time so it becomes less of a forecast and more of a current status report. Anyway, we decided to carry on to Snitterfield although we hung on for a bit and didn't leave until 10.00am in order to allow it to warm up a bit.
We arrived about forty minutes later and headed off through the north side of the reserve. It still felt fairly cool under a thick overcast, no more than 16 degrees at most but good numbers of Ringlets and Meadow Browns were fluttering about along the sides of the paths.
At one point the path passes through a clearing and as we reached there the clouds parted to allow some blue sky to be seen and the sun shone through for a few minutes. This immediately brought half a dozen Marbled Whites up into the air which pleased Jane as they are her favourite butterfly.
The clouds then covered the sun again and as we circled around the paths we felt some light rain drops for a few minutes which luckily faded away before they amounted to much. By this time it was getting on for midday so we returned to the car for a drink and a snack. Jane then said she would stop in the car and read a book while I had a look around the south side of the site where the paths are more uneven and which Jane finds more difficult to manage.
It was still very dull and overcast and a couple of times I felt some drizzle in the air as I made my way through the wood to a meadow where Marbled Whites can usually be found. In this meadow I found quite a few roosting up on some thistles and took some photos as they bobbed about in the wind and a light drizzle continued to come down.
This is not the first time I have photographed Marbled Whites here in the rain, I remember some years ago taking a shot of my son Chris photographing roosting MWs here under an umbrella as it rained on us.
Looking up at the sky, I noticed a patch of blue heading towards us so made my way back into the woods to a large bramble patch that I figured would be a good spot if the sun came out. I timed it just right because as soon as I arrived the sun did come out and almost immediately a female Silver-washed Fritillary drifted down from the trees.
She was soon joined by a couple of males and for ten minutes or so they flitted about the brambles until the clouds once again covered the sun and they went back up into the trees.
I also spotted a nice female Meadow Brown, yet another example with extra orange markings like those I have mentioned previously.
With thick clouds again stretching as far as the eye could see, I made my way back to the car and we headed home.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
I must have missed your previous Clearwing pics. Just had a look, great stuff I had some success with the new LUN lure for Lunar Hornet Moth both yesterday and this morning during brief windows in the rain. Report to come, hopefully soon in the next couple of days once I have got a couple of others done and posted.
The weather is looking better from tomorrow so I am hoping to try for Yellow-legged, Six-belted and Red-belted over the next few days.
Thanks Pauline
The Buff Arches is a beauty and one I am always glad to see. See my comment to Allan above ref. the next Clearwing report, hopefully soon.Another mostly grotty day has given me the chance to catch up on the next report.
Monday 6th July.
On Sunday night (5th July) I checked the forecast for the coming week and saw that Monday looked to be the best day before bands of rain swept across the midlands from Tuesday on. We therefore decided to have another run down to Snitterfield Bushes in the morning, a site that Jane is particularly fond of and one where the woods provide a good measure of shelter from the persistent wind.
We got up on Monday to a much cloudier and cooler morning than the forecast had predicted, and indeed when I looked at the forecast again, it had changed to show overcast for most of the day. I see that happen a lot these days, the forecast changes to reflect what the weather is actually doing at the time so it becomes less of a forecast and more of a current status report. Anyway, we decided to carry on to Snitterfield although we hung on for a bit and didn't leave until 10.00am in order to allow it to warm up a bit.
We arrived about forty minutes later and headed off through the north side of the reserve. It still felt fairly cool under a thick overcast, no more than 16 degrees at most but good numbers of Ringlets and Meadow Browns were fluttering about along the sides of the paths.
At one point the path passes through a clearing and as we reached there the clouds parted to allow some blue sky to be seen and the sun shone through for a few minutes. This immediately brought half a dozen Marbled Whites up into the air which pleased Jane as they are her favourite butterfly.
- Marbled White - Snitterfield Bushes 06.07.2020
It was still very dull and overcast and a couple of times I felt some drizzle in the air as I made my way through the wood to a meadow where Marbled Whites can usually be found. In this meadow I found quite a few roosting up on some thistles and took some photos as they bobbed about in the wind and a light drizzle continued to come down.
- Marbled White - Snitterfield Bushes 06.07.2020
- Marbled Whites - Snitterfield Bushes 06.07.2020
Looking up at the sky, I noticed a patch of blue heading towards us so made my way back into the woods to a large bramble patch that I figured would be a good spot if the sun came out. I timed it just right because as soon as I arrived the sun did come out and almost immediately a female Silver-washed Fritillary drifted down from the trees.
- Silver-washed Fritillary - Snitterfield Bushes 06.07.2020
- Silver-washed Fritillary - Snitterfield Bushes 06.07.2020
- Silver-washed Fritillary - Snitterfield Bushes 06.07.2020
- Meadow Brown - Snitterfield Bushes 06.07.2020
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Re: Neil Freeman
That Buff Arches - it seems to be an optical illusion - I look at it looks like the wing is rolled over because of the grey panel. 
What a cracking looking species
Lovely set of Silver-washed
Have a goodun and stay safe
Wurzel
- it seems to be an optical illusion - I look at it looks like the wing is rolled over because of the grey panel. What a cracking looking species Lovely set of Silver-washed
Have a goodun and stay safe
Wurzel
Re: Neil Freeman
Beautiful parade of moths again, Neil, especially the Buff Arches which is one I haven't seen before.
It's amazing how well those pheromone lures work. Moths seem to have an incredibly acute sense of smell so no surprise you got your target.
It's amazing how well those pheromone lures work. Moths seem to have an incredibly acute sense of smell so no surprise you got your target.
-
Neil Freeman
- Posts: 4443
- Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:25 pm
- Location: Solihull, West Midlands
Re: Neil Freeman
Cheers Wurzel. I see what you mean with the Buff Arches...although I hadn't until you mentioned it, you have an 'interesting' eye for things 
Thanks David. Pheromone lures are becoming a lot more popular as a way of seeing these elusive moths but they are species specific and some work better than others.
Monday 6th July – part 2.
After a mostly dull and cloudy couple of hours at Snitterfield as described in the last report, we returned home. Later in the afternoon, it began to brighten up a bit more so I went into the garden to potter about for a bit.
As it warmed up a few whites started to pass through and my attention was drawn to a bit of a fluttery commotion in one of the borders. This turned out to be a male Green-veined White trying to intrude on a mating pair.
After putting up with the attentions of the second male for a couple of minutes, the pair made their escape and fluttered further down the border before coming to rest in a nice pose for a photo.
The persistent male soon followed them though and they took off again over into next doors garden.
As well as the Green-veined Whites, a few Small Whites were also passing though and occasionally stopping on the brambles at the bottom of the garden, as well as at least one Large White that didn't stop. I'm still not seeing many Large Whites around here but numbers of Green-veined and Smalls are definitely on the increase.
Anyone that read this PD back in the spring may remember I had part of old elder tree that had fallen down, that I left lying in place and which became a favoured perching spot for a number of Speckled Woods and Peacocks. Well, it is still lying there although half of it is now somewhat overgrown with nettles and brambles. It is still used as a perching spot and today a Comma found it and kept returning between doing circuits of the garden.
Also seen in the garden later in the afternoon was a single Meadow Brown and a couple of Ringlets plus a male Large Skipper that had been hanging around for over a week.
Since then, the weather has been horrible here with almost constant rain from Tuesday morning. Up until today (Friday) it only stopped briefly a couple of times, once on Wednesday morning for an hour or so and again on Thursday morning for a similar amount of time.
Today was a bit better, at least we didn't have any rain, but instead of the forecast sunny spells and light cloud we got some more heavy overcast until later in the afternoon when it brightened up a bit, although with a cool blustery wind still.
The weekend is looking better, fingers crossed.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Thanks David. Pheromone lures are becoming a lot more popular as a way of seeing these elusive moths but they are species specific and some work better than others.
Monday 6th July – part 2.
After a mostly dull and cloudy couple of hours at Snitterfield as described in the last report, we returned home. Later in the afternoon, it began to brighten up a bit more so I went into the garden to potter about for a bit.
As it warmed up a few whites started to pass through and my attention was drawn to a bit of a fluttery commotion in one of the borders. This turned out to be a male Green-veined White trying to intrude on a mating pair.
- Two's company...three's a crowd.
- Green-veined White pair - Coverdale 06.07.2020
As well as the Green-veined Whites, a few Small Whites were also passing though and occasionally stopping on the brambles at the bottom of the garden, as well as at least one Large White that didn't stop. I'm still not seeing many Large Whites around here but numbers of Green-veined and Smalls are definitely on the increase.
- Small White - Coverdale 06.07.2020
- Comma - Coverdale 06.07.2020
- Comma - Coverdale 06.07.2020
- Ringlet - Coverdale 06.07.2020
- Large Skipper - Coverdale 06.07.2020
Today was a bit better, at least we didn't have any rain, but instead of the forecast sunny spells and light cloud we got some more heavy overcast until later in the afternoon when it brightened up a bit, although with a cool blustery wind still.
The weekend is looking better, fingers crossed.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Re: Neil Freeman
"you have an 'interesting' eye for things" - possibly a misspent youth
Brilliant set of White shots Neil I just can't seem to get close to fresh Green-veined Whites this year - I blame my knees I reckon they can hear me creaking my way to them 
Hope the weather got better for you
Have a goodun and stay safe
Wurzel
Brilliant set of White shots Neil
I just can't seem to get close to fresh Green-veined Whites this year - I blame my knees I reckon they can hear me creaking my way to them Hope the weather got better for you Have a goodun and stay safe
Wurzel
-
Neil Freeman
- Posts: 4443
- Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 6:25 pm
- Location: Solihull, West Midlands
Re: Neil Freeman
Cheers Wurzel. The weather improved a bit yesterday (Saturday), at least it was dry even if there was still a lot of thick cloud and a cool breeze here. As I write this on Sunday morning it is looking much better for today
Wednesday 8th July
One of the other pheromone lures that I now have is the new LUN lure for Lunar Hornet Moth. This lure is on trial for 2020 and reports so far are indicating that it is very effective with many people having success with it.
After yet more rain on Tuesday night, Wednesday started off damp and dismal but the rain had stopped early in the morning and although it stayed dull and overcast it felt fairly mild. I had seen reports and had a number of online conversations with members of Warwickshire Moth Group which indicated that the LHM was happy to fly in surprisingly dull conditions, unlike most other Clearwings that seem to prefer warm sunny days. This tempted me to try my lure out in the garden for the first time.
I put the lure out at around 09.00am and kept an eye on it every so often, as much to make sure it hadn't started raining again as the lures are not supposed to get wet, although the plastic trap does provide a bit of protection from showers as long as they are not too heavy.
Just before 10.00am I spotted something flying around the trap and went to investigate and sure enough, it was my first Lunar Hornet Moth. It wasn't showing any intention of actually entering the trap so I caught it in a small net that I have (which I usually use to try and catch any escapees from my normal moth trap when I am going through it) and potted it for some photos before releasing him.
Not long after, it started raining again and then carried on all day so that was that for the day.
Thursday 9th July.
Thursday mornings weather was a re-run of the previous day, i.e. it stopped raining first thing but remained overcast but reasonably mild. I decided to give the LUN lure another go and again put it out around 09.00. Once again, just before 10.00 the first one arrived but this time went into the trap. As I was looking at this one, another one arrived and started flying around the trap. I potted these two and took them into the garage so that if any more arrived I would not be counting these again. Around 10.30 the rain started coming down once more so I went out to fetch the trap in and found a third one sitting on top of the trap. I took some photos and then released them.
As on the previous day, once it started raining again, it settled in for the day. A bit of a Groundhog Day in that respect.
The Lunar Hornet Moth has always been considered to be the most widespread of the Clearwing Moths but this lure is proving that it is far more common than previously thought. Alan W mentioned a count of 25 at Dungeness in his reply to my earlier post and I saw a report earlier in the week of 32 at Ryton Country Park in Coventry where the rangers are specifically targeting Clearwings this year to find out which species they have in the park. The new lure is also providing new insights into the LHMs behaviour, i.e. flight times and the conditions that it will fly in.
The amazing mimicry will be obvious from the photos but I will also mention the effect this can have. Even though my brain knew they are harmless, I still felt a little nervous when getting close to them. We must be hard-wired to be wary of yellow and black stripy things, especially big ones like these. They even move and sound like Hornets or Wasps when they are in flight.
The weather has finally bucked up a bit this weekend and hopefully this will continue into next week so I can try for some of the other Clearwing species that I have lures for.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Wednesday 8th July
One of the other pheromone lures that I now have is the new LUN lure for Lunar Hornet Moth. This lure is on trial for 2020 and reports so far are indicating that it is very effective with many people having success with it.
After yet more rain on Tuesday night, Wednesday started off damp and dismal but the rain had stopped early in the morning and although it stayed dull and overcast it felt fairly mild. I had seen reports and had a number of online conversations with members of Warwickshire Moth Group which indicated that the LHM was happy to fly in surprisingly dull conditions, unlike most other Clearwings that seem to prefer warm sunny days. This tempted me to try my lure out in the garden for the first time.
I put the lure out at around 09.00am and kept an eye on it every so often, as much to make sure it hadn't started raining again as the lures are not supposed to get wet, although the plastic trap does provide a bit of protection from showers as long as they are not too heavy.
Just before 10.00am I spotted something flying around the trap and went to investigate and sure enough, it was my first Lunar Hornet Moth. It wasn't showing any intention of actually entering the trap so I caught it in a small net that I have (which I usually use to try and catch any escapees from my normal moth trap when I am going through it) and potted it for some photos before releasing him.
- Lunar Hornet Clearwing - Coverdale 08.07.2020
- Lunar Hornet Clearwing - Coverdale 08.07.2020
Thursday 9th July.
Thursday mornings weather was a re-run of the previous day, i.e. it stopped raining first thing but remained overcast but reasonably mild. I decided to give the LUN lure another go and again put it out around 09.00. Once again, just before 10.00 the first one arrived but this time went into the trap. As I was looking at this one, another one arrived and started flying around the trap. I potted these two and took them into the garage so that if any more arrived I would not be counting these again. Around 10.30 the rain started coming down once more so I went out to fetch the trap in and found a third one sitting on top of the trap. I took some photos and then released them.
- Lunar Hornet Clearwings - Coverdale 08.07.2020
The Lunar Hornet Moth has always been considered to be the most widespread of the Clearwing Moths but this lure is proving that it is far more common than previously thought. Alan W mentioned a count of 25 at Dungeness in his reply to my earlier post and I saw a report earlier in the week of 32 at Ryton Country Park in Coventry where the rangers are specifically targeting Clearwings this year to find out which species they have in the park. The new lure is also providing new insights into the LHMs behaviour, i.e. flight times and the conditions that it will fly in.
The amazing mimicry will be obvious from the photos but I will also mention the effect this can have. Even though my brain knew they are harmless, I still felt a little nervous when getting close to them. We must be hard-wired to be wary of yellow and black stripy things, especially big ones like these. They even move and sound like Hornets or Wasps when they are in flight.
The weather has finally bucked up a bit this weekend and hopefully this will continue into next week so I can try for some of the other Clearwing species that I have lures for.
Bye for now and stay safe,
Neil.
Re: Neil Freeman
That Lure certainly proved successful Neil I might have to invest in some of those as Lunar Hornet Clearwings are one of the moth species I'd dearly love to photograph - the mimicry is amazing!
Have a goodun and stay safe
Wurzel
I might have to invest in some of those as Lunar Hornet Clearwings are one of the moth species I'd dearly love to photograph - the mimicry is amazing! Have a goodun and stay safe
Wurzel
Re: Neil Freeman
Yet more amazing moth images, Neil. It'd be so easy to believe they were hornets which, I suppose, is the whole point of the strategy on their part.
It'll be good to see how well your next lure works.
It'll be good to see how well your next lure works.