Friday 3 July 2020

Monochroa palustrellus: second time lucky?

About ten days ago, I mistakenly identified a moth as Monochroa palustrellus, but Dave pointed me to Anarsia innoxiella, commenting that there are only two Bucks records for M. palustrellus, one of which is roughly in my area, so I might get lucky one day. Well, I didn't think that day would arrive for a long while, if ever - and I am still hesitating as I write this. However, I think that the moth I caught last night (1st July) is M. palustrellus. Even though it is a bit worn, it is possible to see what I'm calling the white-outlined black "exclamation mark" - a dash at two-thirds followed by a dot at three-quarters, and the long black streak from that dot to the apex, plus the black line in the terminal cilia. But I'm prepared to be wrong again! I have retained the moth.
Monochroa palustrellus
Newton Longville 1st July
Also on the trap was what I think is Coleophora anatipennella: does it need to go under the knife to confirm? Forgive the photos through a glass tube: as it might need to be dissected, I didn't fancy letting it out in case it escaped.
Coleophora anatipennella
Newton Longville 1st July
Blogger seems to have joined the two photos.


Tim Arnold
Newton Longville, Bucks



2 comments:

  1. Looks good to me - well done!!

    As for your Coleophora species, it does look good to me but I've not had a chance to check for similar-looking species. However, BC's grading guidelines give anatipennella as '4' (= needing dissection) so I'm afraid there must be some!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes needs chopping I'm afraid

    ReplyDelete

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