Things continue to wind down here in Wolvercote, Oxfordshire, but the night of the 15th was reasonably promising, and I deployed my mercury lamp to see whether I could get a reasonable catch. I was rewarded with 36 species and almost 150 individuals, with the highlight a handsome Large Ranunculus. There were also a couple of queries, as well as one from the previous night: I can't decide whether this is a worn specimen of a perfectly familiar species, or possibly an Acleris shepherdana:
This micro (like my one the other day) looks like an Elachista species, but isn't fully ticking any boxes for me:
And I'm usually very confident on Black Rustic, which is what I thought this individual was when I first found it; but it was distinctly on the small side - around 17/18mm - and the markings around the kidney mark aren't especially striking: so it could simply be a Deep-brown Dart (of which I've had several:
As ever, any suggestions/confirmations would be welcome!
Steve Goddard
Hi Steve, I'll pass on the first. The unknown micro is Bucculatrix nigricomella. I think Deep-brown Dart for the last, but not easy to tell from the photo, best to wait for other opinions.
ReplyDeleteFirst one Scleris schalleriana. Last one I agree poor photo but probably Black Rustic. Larger than Deep-brown Dart, more glossy and much more numerous.
ReplyDeleteThanks, both. Agreed on the quality of the last photo: I think on balance, I'll go for Black Rustic, as it was my first instinct upon seeing it.
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