Tuesday 19 July 2016

Micros, a pug and another coastal species

Not a bad catch last night in our garden in Wolvercote, Oxfordshire, with what looked very much like a couple of Engrailed showing up - the Bible seems ambiguous about whether their flight season covers this period, but I seem to have late July records in previous years. Following it is a pug... very rich in white spots, but I can't see much sign of any in the right places on the abdomen, so we're not very sure about it - any views?

Possible Engrailed, 18/7/16
Possible White-spotted Pug, 18/7/16
There were several tricky micros, too: what looks like a Helcystogramma rufescens, but which I'm not quite sure about; and a couple of small, perhaps rather faded individuals, which may or may not be identifiable: as ever, any idea would be welcome.

Presumed Helcystogramma rufescens, 18/7/16

Unknown micro, 6-7mm, 18/7/16

Unknown micro, approx. 7mm, 18/7/16
And finally, another species, albeit not a moth, which (as its name suggests) is apparently most often found by the coast: Necrodes littoralis, rather a handsome beetle.

Necrodes littoralis, 18/7/16
Steve and Xander Goddard


5 comments:

  1. Agree with all your possibles and presumed id's. Can't think what the first unknown is offhand and I can't see the costal markings on the last one, is the wing in an unusual position? Any more views? And I agree with your Sexton beetle id.

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  2. Peter and I have regularly seen Necrodes littoralis at light in Bucks over at least 3 decades, so not unusual to see it away from the coast.
    Where did you get your distribution information from?

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  3. First unknown looks like a faded Recurvaria nanella

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  4. Thanks Adam for jogging the rather tired memory cell. I agree with you.

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  5. Many thanks, all: no other (or at least, no better) views of that last micro available, Peter, so I think it remains an unknown. Martin, the distribution info on the beetle was from Collins 'Complete British Insects', by Michael Chinery (probably not the most authoritative tome, but quite a convenient one to flick through in the hope of a quick ID): it says it's 'most often near the coast where it may hunt among debris on the beach', though the accompanying distribution map shows it present throughout Britain, inland as well as on the coast.

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