Canary-shouldered Thorns moth

Thursday, September 3rd 2009

Yesterday the moth trap yielded only 38 moths of seven species. We had lots of Small Wainscot and 2 Canary-shouldered Thorns (pictured). This beautiful moth flies from July until September and is a common moth which sees the winter through as an egg on its food plant, which could be Downy or Silver Birch, Alder or Elm.

Another find today was this Robin's Pincushion which is a gall on a piece of rose stem along the access road to the reserve. The plant makes this growth in response to damage from a tiny wasp called Diploepsis rosea which lays eggs within the stem or leaf. The gall could be sheltering as many as 60 grubs, which overwinter inside and emerge in the spring as adult wasps.

Up on the raised fen the Grass of Parnassus is in full flower. This intricate flower stands about 30cm high and has the most beautiful markings. Definately worth a closer look.

Dinsdales Moorland Services continued working on the path to the new hide and started to top it with stone. The top car park is out of action because of the volume of stone which has been delivered.

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