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Saturday, 26 April 2014

Help requested with a micro

Rather thin pickings in Wolvercote over the last few days - a few more details to follow of what we have had - but before that, could anyone confirm the ID of the beast below? It's clearly a Phyllonorycter of some sort, but I can't make up my mind which... All help gratefully accepted! Steve and Xander Goddard.

Presumed Phyllonorycter species, 25/4/14

Presumed Phyllonorycter species, 25/4/14
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3 comments:

  1. Peter Hall26 April 2014 at 22:31

    Yes it's a Phyllonorycter species Steve. I'm not going to guess at which one.

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  2. Dave Wilton27 April 2014 at 09:55

    Hi Steve, as Peter says, trying to identify it would involve some guesswork because there are several species with that particular basic wing pattern. Some Phyllonorycters are "do-able" from photos as adults but many more need dissection or at least association with a particular food-plant. I've probably said before that the easiest way to get records is to look for the larval-stage leaf-mines, particularly in the autumn. Provided that you can accurately identify the tree/plant species on which they occur, that in itself may be sufficient for an accurate record. They are also reasonably easy to rear through to the adult stage, so with knowledge of the food-plant you've narrowed down the choice significantly where more than one species feeds on it.

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  3. Steve Goddard27 April 2014 at 12:27

    Thanks, both: I'd hoped for photo ID, but I know it's not always possible, especially for micro species. I'll try to remember to keep an eye open for leaf-mines, although I'm even less proficient identifying plants than moths...

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