Tuesday, 23 January 2018

Spring Usher

Last night's warmer weather brought Pale Brindled Beauty (5), Spring Usher (1) and Chestnut (1) to the actinic light here at Westcott.  It was particularly nice to see Spring Usher because this is not a guaranteed annual visitor and, when it does appear, more often than not it is just one visit by a singleton for the year.  There are few oaks in our immediate area.

Spring Usher, Westcott 22nd January

Last night also produced this year's first example of the nocturnal ichneumonid wasp Ophion obscuratus, with no doubt many more to come over the next couple of months (in the past I've had up to 30 a night to the actinic light, the peak being reached in February).  It is a very common parasite of noctuid moth larvae and at this time of the year is one of very few which can be identified safely thanks to the markings on its thorax.

Ophion obscuratus, Westcott 22nd January

Dave Wilton
Westcott, Bucks
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3 comments:

  1. Alan Diver23 January 2018 at 17:36

    Hi Dave,

    Your "Spring usher" looks like my "Pale brindled beauty"; have I got mine wrong?

    Alan

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  2. Dave Wilton23 January 2018 at 18:33

    Hello Alan, my Spring Usher is a Spring Usher, your Pale Brindled Beauty is a Pale Brindled Beauty! Although both are quite variable, they don't really look that much alike. For a start, Pale Brindled Beauty has a noticeably hairy thorax. Have a look at their images again in the field guide.

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  3. Alan Diver24 January 2018 at 02:20

    Many thanks!!

    ReplyDelete

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