Monday, 27 November 2017

Winter moth question

My first Winter Moth of the year appeared at my kitchen window last night.


I wondered, is the Northern Winter Moth also found in our area of Berks/Bucks/Oxon? I don't recall the Northern Winter Moth ever being mentioned on this blog.

Steve Trigg, Cookham
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3 comments:

  1. Dave Wilton27 November 2017 at 14:36

    Hi Steve, Northern Winter Moth is indeed found locally. It seems to be nowhere near as common as Winter Moth, perhaps due to its preference for birch (Winter Moth caterpillars eat just about anything), but there's no real reason why you shouldn't get it. I've had it in my garden on several occasions as well as in local woodland. It is worth looking closely at larger specimens.

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    Replies
    1. Steve Trigg27 November 2017 at 16:07

      Thanks Dave. I will give any further Winter Moths a good look.

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  2. Martin Harvey30 November 2017 at 12:50

    It's ages since I've seen a Northern Winter Moth but as Dave says they should be in our area. Some links:

    https://www.norfolkmoths.co.uk/GenDets/1800%20Winter%20Moth%20-%20Northern%20Winter%20Moth%20comparison%20-%20Jon%20Clifton.jpg (via Norfolk Moths)

    https://britishlepidoptera.weebly.com/operophterini.html (Chris Lewis's British Lepidoptera)

    http://www.northumberlandmoths.org.uk/files/idtips/Winter---Northern-Winter-Moth.jpg (Northumberland Moths)

    http://www.hantsmoths.org.uk/species/mothcomp_operophtera.php (Hants Moths)

    http://www.lepiforum.de/webbbs/images/f1_2006/pic34944.jpg (the German Lepiforum site; includes the females)

    The specimen images on Lepiforum suggest that the underside of Northern Winter is noticeably paler than in 'normal' Winter moth, which may be a useful clue for moths on windows!:
    http://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Operophtera_Fagata

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