Sunday 1 September 2013

Rhydymwyn Valley Nature Reserve

1 September 2013 -  Rhydymwyn Valley Nature Reserve

I was very excited to go to the nature reserve as it is not normally open to the public.  The reserve was used in WW2 to make mustard gas.  I saw a lot of old buildings.

Slow Worm and Grass Snake
There are three types of reptiles at the reserve - grass snakes, slow worms and a common lizard.

We looked for a grass snake and a slow worm under things but we didn't find one. We had to get in the car lots of times and drive to different areas within the nature reserve as it was very big.

I saw a grass snake and held a slow worm when we got back to the centre. The slow worm pooed on mummy's hand ha ha! It was sheding it's skin all over me. It felt wet.




A slow worm
A grass snake


A Common Lizard

We found this common lizard in the grass when we were walking in the grass. It moved very, very quickly so we put it in a box to take a photo.  I loved seeing the lizard.  It looked a bit like the newt which we caught in our garden, but the lizard was longer and moved fast.


Marbled Beauty (Cryphia domestica)

Moths

Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) & Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua janthe)
Large Yellow Underwing
Canary Shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria)
I couldn't I I couldn't believe the number of moths which were caught overnight.  There were so many.  It was funny when the moths decided to crawl up my legs! Most of the moths were dark colours but some were yellow and white.  I like the yellow one the best, it was very pretty and had a fluffy head.  
Centre-barred Sallow
 
1764 Common Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata)
Sallow (Xanthia icteritia)

5 comments:

  1. Hey Little one and Mummy !!

    What a great set of pictures . You have been very busy finding all these things . They are all very interesting !! One of your moths is a Centre Barred Sallow here is something about it http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=2269. Keep up the good work

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  2. Thank you for your kind comments and for letting us know what the yellow moth is called. I'm so glad you like reading the blog.

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  3. The Bottom Left Moth is 1764 Common Marbled Carpet (Chloroclysta truncata) here is a link http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=1764

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  4. Some more moth IDs.

    The first one is Marbled Beauty (Cryphia domestica).

    The egg box with lots of moths in seems to be mainly Large Yellow Underwing (Noctua pronuba) but there is at least one Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (Noctua janthe) in there. I think the one sitting on your hand is a rather battered Large Yellow Underwing too.

    The yellow one with the fluffy head is probably Canary Shouldered Thorn (Ennomos alniaria).

    The final one is a Sallow (Xanthia icteritia).

    If you leave a light on in a room in your house and the window open you will probably get a few moths coming in which you can look at in the morning. Check with Mummy it is OK to do it first though.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for letting me know the names of all the moths, I have asked my mummy for a book on moths. I am going to leave a light on to try and see some more moths at the weekend, when I don't have school.

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