This arrival gave me a surprise this morning. Apart from Mother of Pearls, it's one of the biggest micros I've seen. I hope I'm right in thinking that it must be Schoenobius gigantella. In the macro world, Ruby Tigers have meanwhile taken over as my main visitors (among many). Martin Wainwright, Thrupp, Oxon
I'm sure you have a female Schoenobius gigantella in this case, Martin, although these large reed-feeding species are not as easy to separate as you might think (especially the males).
Sorry to pick up on this so long after the event, but to me the very convex costa and concave termen make this Donacaula forficella, not S. gigantella. (Reason I stumbled across this post was because I'm just double-checking Steve T's gigantella, which looks like being new for Berkshire!)
Hi Martin, I had one of these back in June - see my post " a very long micro" dated 21 June. My one had a forewing measuring a grand 21mm.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you have a female Schoenobius gigantella in this case, Martin, although these large reed-feeding species are not as easy to separate as you might think (especially the males).
ReplyDeleteThanks very much both - and I remember now, Steve. So many moths flash by! See you shortly for the Emperor handover; looking forward to that. M
ReplyDeleteSorry to pick up on this so long after the event, but to me the very convex costa and concave termen make this Donacaula forficella, not S. gigantella. (Reason I stumbled across this post was because I'm just double-checking Steve T's gigantella, which looks like being new for Berkshire!)
ReplyDelete