2005 - Whitby Naturalists

It rnay be illustrated in this report, and if so, you will see how unusuai
it was - up to 45mrns long with long yellow hairs and four yellow "pads",
described in one book as "likc shaving brushes" with a recl "spikc" near
the rear end. The ground colour and the colour of the hairs can vary
considerabiy but thc red spike makes i.dentification easier.
At onc time they were very abundant in hop gardens, where they were
known to the pickers as "Hop dogs"" The caterpillars feed openly in
late sumtner and autumn on various deciduous trees especialiy Beech.
On rare occasions "mass attacks" may take piace as happencd ir-r
Dcnmark in August 1940 when 170 hcctares of wood were completelv
defoliated.
BUTTERFLIES.
Sixteen species were recorded this year, two fewer than last 1-ear, but
new this year were two Speckied\Voods in June and one on Sept 10'r',
and a Dingy Skipper in June.
The last record in 7AA4 was c'rf two Peacocks flyrng inside a band
practice room in Scarborough, followed by one on lvlarch 23r'1, two on
April 2.a and one on April 2 L". Then no more reports until eight on
September lQttr, and one on October Jti', with others a little earlier.
A Srnall Tortoiseshell flyrng out of a garage on February 3"t was this
year's first rccord, followed by one filot-,g out of a greenhouse in Robin
Hoocl's Bay on February 16't''
One on March 21" and one on March 25,h in my dining room nearly
{inished this yeat's records, with no large numbers appearing later as
they usuaily do. There w:rs just one on my Buddleia on July 3rd, one in
a garden on August /.4, and two on a biue bush Caryopteris.
Very few Red Admirals were seen, only one on Septembcr 1?th, two on
September J{th, and two on October 1". Only one Painted Lady was
seen, on August 18't'.
There was one early Comrna on March Z3'd and onc on April20't'. A
lovely trrightly coloured one scemed to welcome me home from
convalescing in Newcastle by landing on my Lleylandia hedge on
August 25,n and there was one later reported on October 12*,.
Jd