Harwell, Oxon
A Blog for moth recorders in Bucks, Berks and Oxon
Monday 14 May 2018
Elachista sp. ?
On the night of the 8th I trapped this micro, with silvery markings on a brown-black ground colour, which I have been puzzling over. It appears to be an Elachista sp, similar to the one Steve Goddard illustrated below. My photos may give a better chance of identifying the species, although the moth was damaged on one wing and was almost on its last legs when photographed. I have included both top and side views and a close up showing the head and palps - according to the field guide the size (forewing just over 4 mm) suggests E. albifrontella, but there does seem to be (on the side view at least) some whitish scales near the apex (suggesting E. apicipunctella?). I would be grateful for any confirmation or otherwise.
John Thacker
Harwell, Oxon
Harwell, Oxon
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That's a good selection of photos, John, but I'm not sure I can offer a species ID. It is definitely an Elachista but I'm unsure as to which one and, for me, it would need dissection. Your two choices seem reasonable but it concerns me that only the very front of the head seems to show white rather than all of it. There are rather a lot of Elachistas (far more than are illustrated in the field guide) and finding decent images of some of them is not easy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave - I'll record it as sp.
ReplyDelete