Tuesday 19 May 2015

I remember now

In the past I rarely trapped as it took me most of the day trying to ID the catch. Even with just the two moths last night I have spent much too long poring over the book. Anyone know of a key? if I could restrict my looking to just those at the right time of the year, right size and right part of the country it would help.

Any road over to you clever lot - the first looks like a Light Brocade but as they describe it as "local" that makes me wonder. The second, in spite of going through the book 3 times has me beat.





Tom Stevenson

4 comments:

  1. Hello Tom, the first is indeed Light Brocade. There's no reason why you shouldn't get it where you are at the base of the Chilterns - it appears in my garden too most years and I'm quite a distance from any chalk. The second looks to me like a Cabbage Moth. The white outline around the reniform stigma (kidney mark) is quite obvious and the spine on the front leg tibia seems to be present.

    Unfortunately there's no other way to get used to these moths than by familiarity - it will come in time!

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  2. I should also add that the Hampshire Moths website has a useful "What's flying tonight" page which might assist with your deliberations: http://www.hantsmoths.org.uk/flying_tonight.php

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  3. See also the "Common moths through the year" document on the Berkshire Moth Group website:
    https://sites.google.com/site/berksmoths/Home/resource_list

    and some of the links on my website might be useful:
    https://sites.google.com/site/kitenetter/Home/invertebrates/recording-moths-in-berkshire

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