From last night's trap, a micro that looks like a
Lampronia species. Forewing length about 7.5 mm (see photos, ruler in mm), and with a pale yellowish head. According the the Field Guide and some other sources, there is
L. fuscatella (foodplant birch) and
L. pubicornis (foodplant Burnet rose) that might fit. As it happens I have both in my garden (a large quantity of the roses, looking particularly good at present), but it seems that
L. pubicornis occurs only up north? Any advice gratefully received.
I have also included photos of
the tiny moth
Argyresthia trifasciata, found in the same trap, since that seemed to be of interest to others (see yesterday's post by Andrew Kershaw below).
Top and side view of potential Lampronia sp.
Top and side view of Argyresthia trifasciata
John Thacker
Harwell, Oxon
Hello John, your Lampronia looks to me more like Prays ruficeps which feeds on ash.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave - it certainly looks right, although I'm still not sure how one tells the difference? It seems that this species has only recently (2013) been accepted as a valid species in the UK so I guess there are few records of it, which also explains why there is no illustration in the Field Guide (my copy published 2012).
ReplyDeleteThe clue is in the name. Ruficeps translates to rufous (or red) head. It’s also slightly smaller usually than fraxinella and there is no sign of any wing pattern within the dark wing colouration. You should be able to make out the wing patterning of the dark form of fraxinella with a little scrutiny.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Peter - but apologies that I did not make the question clear. I was asking about the distinction between Lampronia spp. (e.g., L. fuscatella) that I mentioned in the original post and Prays ruficeps. It is often difficult for the inexperienced observer to decide between two (or more) similar-looking species on the basis of short Field Guide descriptions, while this may be completely obvious to the experienced person. I have now compared these species using online descriptions/photos (Norfolk moths; Lepiforum, etc.). For what it's worth, apparently neither of these species has a red head (yellow to orange at best); from the specimens I have viewed (including my own), P. ruficeps would be better called P. flavescens (pale yellow)!
ReplyDeleteWhile both species have a similar size and start of flight period (May) and the overall colouration is very similar (dark brown with no distinguishing marks), the main difference is in shape: P. ruficeps has a much narrower body with a top-view outline gently curved along length towards the termen (contrast angular outline for L. fuscatella), and in side view the dorsal outline almost parallel to the surface (contrast the thicker body of L. fuscatella, with dorsal to ventral outlines widening from the wing base).