A moth I caught a couple of nights ago is similar to two others found at about this time in previous years, but I have been a little unsure about identifying (see comparison below for these moths showing Rustic/Uncertain-like features but a relatively dark kidney mark and small somewhat diffuse oval mark, with 'wavy' crosslines and a dark sub-terminal band). Can someone confirm that these are Mottled Rustics or come up with a better ID? As noted before, these are photographed under standard conditions with a millimeter ruler and corrected for colour balance.
John Thacker
Harwell, Oxon
Hi John, they're all Mottled Rustics, the smudgy/blurred orbicular and reniform stigma are diagnostic. These features are well-defined in Uncertain and Rustic.
ReplyDeleteAlso, although not mentioned in my books, there's a rusty orange band that runs through both in typical examples which, in conjunction with the above, I personally find helpful.
Nigel
Thanks, Nigel. I hope that these examples, and your additional comments, will also be of use to others!
ReplyDelete